In January of this year, Liv Perrotto, a devoted fan of Elon Musk, tragically passed away at the age of 15. Her design, Asteroid, was officially recognized by Musk as SpaceX's mascot early this morning. The meme of the same name, ASTEROID, saw its market capitalization surge by over $6 million on SL and over $170 million on ETH. The last meme with such explosive growth was Binance Life, just six months ago.
Latest price movement of ASTEROID on ETH
Asteroid designer Liv Perrotto's space dream
Liv Perrotto was born in 2010. From a very young age, she was passionate about space and dreamed of becoming an astronaut or fighter pilot.
In March 2021, she felt unwell and a subsequent examination revealed a huge tumor in her neck. She was later diagnosed with a rare and highly aggressive cancer and began a long and arduous battle against the disease. Despite undergoing intensive chemotherapy, radiotherapy, multiple surgeries, and clinical trials, and enduring immense physical and psychological stress, she maintained her love for space and an optimistic attitude.
During her treatment, Liv came across SpaceX's Inspiration 4 mission . This was the world's first all-civilian orbital flight project, which also raised funds for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Through this opportunity, Liv not only connected with the project team but was also invited to watch the launch with her family on her 11th birthday. This experience brought her truly closer to her space dream for the first time and became one of the most important sources of emotional support during her fight against cancer.
In early 2022, Liv underwent a high-risk surgery that successfully removed the tumor, and she was subsequently confirmed to be in remission. For the next two years, her condition remained stable, and her ties with the aerospace field continued to deepen.
In SpaceX's subsequent Polaris project, she was invited to participate in designing the "zero-gravity indicator" for the mission . This was a small doll that would float when the spacecraft entered zero gravity to mark the entry into space. Liv completed the design in a short time—a plush Shiba Inu named Asteroid, inspired by her imagination of space and her love for cute characters.
Liv's sketch "ASTEROID" flew into space with Inspiration4.
In 2024, her design "Asteroid" was launched into space aboard the Polaris Dawn mission and floated in a weightless environment. For her, this was not only a design realization, but also a concrete expression of her dream.
During this time, she also continued to participate in charity activities, hoping to help other sick children, and donated the proceeds from related activities to St. Jude Children's Hospital.
However, fate intervened. In the latter half of 2024, Liv's cancer recurred and gradually spread to her lungs, bones, and brain. Despite trying various treatment options, including surgery, immunotherapy, and clinical trials, her condition continued to deteriorate.
In January 2026, Liv entered hospice care with her family by her side and passed away on January 14 at the age of 15.
In the final stages of her life, she remained concerned about space, friends, and family, and never gave up on a simple wish—to meet Elon Musk, whom she had always admired .
Musk had originally agreed to meet with her during the next Starship launch and had tried to arrange a call while her condition worsened. One evening, her family received a message that he could contact her that night or the next day. Because it was late, Liv simply said, "Let him call tomorrow, I'm a little tired." Her family still laughs when they recall her "standing Musk up."
But the call didn't go through the next day. She didn't get to see Musk, nor did she get to speak with him. The list of questions she prepared for the meeting is still on her bedside table.
Liv Perrotto's list of questions to ask Musk
American media personality fueled the meme's spread on the blockchain.
On April 17, an X user named Glenn Beck posted a thread retelling the story, not only posting the list of questions shown in the image above, but also directly tagging Musk in the face.
Musk agreed, saying he would be back soon. This "signal" was quickly picked up by the on-chain market.
The last question, in particular, "Could you make Asteroid the mascot of SpaceX?", ignited a surge of interest in related memes on the blockchain.
First, the SOL chain's name-based meme coin ASTEROID quickly rose to a market capitalization of 10 million. Then, the Ethereum chain's name-based meme coin ASTEROID also began to rise and quickly surpassed the SOL chain version.
With Musk confirming Asteroid as SpaceX's mascot early this morning, ASTEROID on Ethereum quickly surpassed a market capitalization of $100 million, currently trading at $177 million.
Mascot themes used to be an important part of memes, but in the past six months, the overall performance of the crypto market has been poor, and the meme field has been highly competitive, so this kind of success has not been seen for a long time.
ASTEROID's rapid rise in just a few days is inseparable from the amplification of hot topics by this special time (earlier this month, SpaceX raised its IPO target valuation to over $2 trillion ), and also cleverly leverages Glenn Beck's influence.
Are you wondering why Musk publicly responded to Glenn Beck's "inquiry" a few months after Liv's death?
Glenn Beck, an American "internet celebrity" media personality, previously hosted programs on CNN and Fox News. After starting his own channel in 2011, he transitioned to political commentary, founding BlazeTV, where he gained considerable controversy for his conspiracy theories and unverified, everyday inflammatory rhetoric. While frequently criticized by "objective journalism" proponents, his storytelling skills remain consistently strong, and he possesses the power to influence Musk's commentary .
On April 17th, Glenn released a video on his main site titled " Glenn Reveals Trump's Chess Board for the Golden Age ," discussing everything from the US meat supply issue to the left's deliberate actions to harm the economy. The guest in this episode was Liv's mother, Rebecca Perrotto. The two recounted how NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman supported Liv's dreams, and the list of questions Liv posed to Musk.
Given Glenn Beck's highly reactionary content, those interested are encouraged to search for and watch it themselves.
Liv Perrotto and "ASTEROID" deserve to be seen by more people.
Returning to the origin of the story, the "ASTEROID" in Liv Perrotto's painting was originally just a design about space and dreams.
However, when various external factors come together, a story that originally belonged to an individual is amplified into a narrative that can be traded and spread. Regardless of the final outcome of ASTEROID, Liv Perrotto will be remembered by more people.
