New patches, flags and other souvenirs that took a trip around the moon will be distributed by NASA in the first few weeks of the new century.

The Artemis 1 Official Flight Kit returned to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday after splashing down and crossing the country. The contents of the Official Flight Kit will be presented to the organizations and individuals who supported the Artemis 1 mission.

The general public is not yet aware of the moon collectibles created by the U.S. since the end of Apollo. Some of the items will be passed on by their original recipients or come from NASA and its contractors.

The new year brings with it other opportunities to celebrate space exploration through new offerings in the years to come.

NASA's Artemis 1 moon mission had some great images.

It's not known if the USPS will be releasing new postage stamps related to space this year. There is still a chance that at least one issue will have a NASA or space theme, even though it has not had one yet.

USPS officials said that there is more to be revealed in the weeks and months ahead.

A quick search of several other countries' stamp programs yielded a few space commemorations. Russia has a new stamp coming out that shows its medal for "Merits in Space Exploration" as part of a series of stamps dedicated to the awards of the Russian Federation. The nation's first moon mission since the fall of the Soviet Union will be issued on a stamp sheet in May.

In addition to new flown-to-the-moon mementos, 2023 will bring a plethora of new space collectibles, mirroring the missions that NASA and the world's space agencies will launch this year.

In addition to new flown-to-the-moon mementos, 2023 will bring a plethora of new space collectibles, mirroring the missions that NASA and the world's space agencies will launch this year. (Image credit: NASA)

The U.S. Mint hasn't announced any space-related coins or medallions for the upcoming year. The American Women quarters and American Innovation dollar coins are just two of the space themes that the Mint has included in its programs.

There are bronze replicas of the Congressional Gold Medals that honor the Black women who worked for NASA as "human computers" during the early days of spaceflight. The designs for the five medals were last reviewed in late 2020 and were authorized by Congress in 2019.

Toys and models

There is a chance that the launch of a line of toys inspired by SpaceX will be the most anticipated space collectibles in the foreseeable future.

The global toy company has entered into a multi-year agreement with Musk's commercial spaceflight firm to make and market toys and "elevated collectibles" based on Musk's rockets and spaceships. The first toys will be released this year, but no details have been given.

It is expected that the Super Heavy rocket and the spaceship will be launched together. NASA wants to use a version of the Starship to land people on the moon.

The expected first launch of SpaceX's Starship in 2023 will advance both NASA's moon plans and Mattel's toy line.

The expected first launch of SpaceX's Starship in 2023 will advance both NASA's moon plans and Mattel's toy line. (Image credit: SpaceX)

The NASA astronauts are part of the Soda line of vinyl figures. The wide release of the astronauts was originally scheduled for September of last year, but has been pushed back to this month.

Lego, which flew four minifigures in the Artemis 1 OFK, has not announced any new space-themed sets in the foreseeable future, though a rumor of a Technic version of NASA's Perseverance Mars rover started to spread online just before the new year.

Mission patches and more

There will be a new collection of early spaceflight imagery in the year 2023.

The selection of the four astronauts chosen to fly on Artemis 2, the first mission of NASA's new moon program, is expected to be the highest profile crew to be announced in a long time. All we know is that one of the astronauts will be Canadian.

The Artemis 2 crew announcement could be followed by the release of an Artemis 2 mission patch this year, but it's not known when that will happen. The patch for Boeing's first CST-100 Starliner Crewed Flight Test, slated for launch to the International Space Station in April, will most likely be released in 2019.

The first flight patches for two rockets may be included in this year's insignia.

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