Dubbed Artemis I, the mission to send this human stand-in known as mankin - or rather, Moonkin, as NASA dubbed this particular one - will see the anatomical model sent in place of humans on board the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft to test it for eventual use by humans in the eventual Artemis II mission.
NASA frequently makes use of mankins in training scenarios, such as testing whether astronauts are able to conduct emergency medical interventions.
The Moonkin isn't the only one on board this mission, however. Also on board are two anatomical models known as "phantom torsos."
Named Helga and Zohar, these two will sit in the lower part of the spacecraft and will be taking part in the Matroshka AstroRad Radiation Experiment (MARE), which is meant to measure the space radiation that astronauts could experience on lunar missions, as well as testing the usability of the AstroRad vests.
The vests, made by Tel Aviv-based company StemRad in partnership with aerospace and defense giant Lockheed Martin, were designed to be personal protective equipment to shield astronauts from space radiation exposure outside the Earth's magnetosphere.
Having been made in partnership between an American and Israeli company, the vest proudly displays the flags of both countries.
Of the two torsos, both of which were made to mimic women due to women typically having greater sensitivity to space radiation, only Zohar will be wearing the vest.
The vests have already been sent to the International Space Station for the Comfort and Human Factors AstroRad Radiation Garment Evaluation (CHARGE) study mean to test the vest in a microgravity environment. This study will help improve the vest's fit and function.
Both tests are being conducted by NASA in partnership with the Israel Space Agency (ISA) and could see the AstoRad become a critical component for NASA's future space exploration plans.
“Our vest is useful even for short visits to the Moon, a mission to swing by the Moon or any place outside Earth’s magnetic sphere, where you can experience fairly aggressive solar particle events [SPEs],” StemRad CEO Dr. Oren Milstein told The Jerusalem Post in 2019. “Of course, it will be super useful on long voyages all the way to Mars, and even settling Mars.”
While Helga and Zohar do have names, and were chosen by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the ISA respectively, the Moonkin does not yet have one, and NASA is looking to social media to find one.
Starting June 16 and continuing every other day, the space agency will be asking users of Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to vote between one of two names in a bracket consisting of eight such names, with an eventual winner announced June 29.
The eight names in the running are ACE, which stands for Artemis Crew Explorer; Campos, dedicated to Arturo Campos, who helped bring Apollo 13 home; Delos, the island where Artemis was said to have been born, according to Greek mythology; Duhart, named for Kennedy Space Center chief medical officer Irene Duhart Long; Montgomory, named for Julius Montgomery, the first African-American technical professor to work at Cape Canaveral; Rigel, named for the giant superstar in the Orion constellation; Shackleton, a reference to a crater on the Moon's south pole and after a famous Antarctic explorer; and Wargo, a tribute to NASA's first chief exploration scientist Michael Wargo.
Choose your player! Today’s bracket for the Name the Artemis Moonikin Challenge features: ACE: Straightforward, practical. Stands for #Artemis Crew Explorer. Wargo: Enthusiastic, passionate. A dedication to Michael Wargo, the agency’s first Chief Exploration Scientist.
— NASA’s Artemis Program (@NASAArtemis) June 16, 2021
NASA gave further details around the names on their Tumblr account.
Follow @NASAArtemis on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to participate in the bracket.
Eytan Halon contributed to this report.