The Story Behind $ASTEROID

Liv's story begins with a very ordinary wish — to see space.

🌟 The Starting Point of Dreams: A Gift from Space

Liv Perrotto was born on July 28, 2010, in Pennsylvania, USA. From a very young age, she was filled with endless curiosity about the starry sky above her head.

On March 10, 2021, she was officially diagnosed with undifferentiated sarcoma at Geisinger Medical Center, with the tumor located on the right side of her neck and surrounding the carotid artery. This was the darkest period of her life, and it was during this time that fate introduced her to her greatest passion. During treatment, she learned about the “Inspiration4” mission — the first all-civilian spaceflight in human history.

In September 2021, on her 11th birthday, the entire Inspiration4 crew made a video call to her and invited her to witness the rocket launch in person. This experience changed her. Her mother recalled, “Liv went through the worst six months of her life, then embarked on a dreamlike rocket launch journey. It’s hard to imagine that the worst thing in her life ultimately led to the most wonderful thing.”

✨ Creating an “Asteroid”: Dreams Come True

In January 2022, at the invitation of the “Polaris Project” crew, she participated in designing a zero-gravity indicator — a plush toy that would float once the spacecraft entered space. The 11-year-old completed her sketch within about 30 minutes: inspired by Elon Musk’s Shiba Inu, Floki, Liv wanted it to be a Shiba Inu in a spacesuit, and named it “Asteroid.”

In September 2024, “Asteroid” accompanied the Polaris Dawn mission into space. Her design will be reproduced and sold, with all proceeds donated to her chosen charity — St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

In September 2024, on the same week that Asteroid went into space with the Polaris Dawn mission, inspired by Asteroid’s story, someone spontaneously created the $ASTEROID token on the Ethereum blockchain. Community members of $ASTEROID organized multiple purchases of Asteroid plush toys and conducted on-chain donations, directly transferring $ASTEROID tokens to the St. Jude Children’s Hospital wallet address.

💔 Missed Calls and Unfulfilled Wishes

However, the cancer eventually relapsed and spread to her brain and around her spine.

In her final days, Liv finally had the chance to speak with Elon Musk, but she was too weak to answer and could only ask him to call back later. She passed away at home on January 14, 2026, surrounded by her family.

📜 A Long-Awaited Answer

On April 16, 2026, Liv’s mother Rebecca publicly shared her daughter’s list of questions via comments on X, responding to commentator Glenn Beck.

Elon Musk quickly saw the post and promised, “Will reply soon.” On April 18, he fulfilled his promise, providing brief yet clear responses to each question under the post.

1. Will you make your own phones?

→ No

2. Will you expand Tesla restaurants to more locations?

→ Yes

3. Will Tesla update more games in the future?

→ Yes

4. What is your favorite anime?

→ “Your Name”

5. Have you been to Japan? Which place do you like most?

→ Multiple times, most favorite Kyoto and the teamLab art collective

6. Do you know Hatsune Miku?

→ Yes

7. Is the character Ani inspired by Misa Amane from “Death Note”?

→ Yes

8. Can you turn her personally designed Asteroid Shiba Inu plush into the official SpaceX mascot?

→ Sure 😊 (Ok 😊)

💖 A Mother’s Heart and the Eternal Continuation

Three months after Liv’s passing, Musk’s reply brought a warm conclusion to her years-long struggle and wish.

Rebecca emotionally wrote on X: “You not only fulfilled a young girl’s dream but also kept her spirit alive forever.”