Here's who NASA is sending for a trip around the Moon this month

NASA is gearing up for the first mission of its Artemis program, which will be the first big step the agency takes to getting humans back on the Moon and eventually stepping up an off-world base.

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Commander Moonikin Campos wearing the new Orion Crew Survival System spacesuit.

NASA is closing in on the launch date for its Artemis I mission which will include launching its new Space Launch System, which features the SLS mega-rocket along with the Orion capsule. The goal is to send the rocket around the Moon to record vital data that will be used to ensure the safety on efficiency of humans revisiting the lunar surface in Artemis III. The Artemis I mission will be uncrewed, which means no humans will be on board the Orion capsule, but that doesn't mean the capsule will be empty.

As the rocket is traveling through Earth's atmosphere and around the Moon, on a trip that is further than any rocket humans have constructed so far, mannequins inside the Orion capsule will be recording vital health information such as radiation exposure, acceleration, vibration, and more. One of the mannequins is Commander Moonikin Campos, which was named after Arturo Campos, an electrical engineer renowned for his efforts in returning Apollo 13 safely back to Earth.

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Not only will Commander Moonikin Campos record vital data that will be used in future space trips, but two other mannequins named Helga and Zohar will also be stationed inside the Orion capsule. These two mannequins have torsos that have been specifically constructed to mimic a women's soft tissue, organs, and bones. Each of the mannequins are equipped with 5,600 sensors and 34 radiation detectors. Notably, the only difference between the two mannequins is that Zohar is wearing a radiation protection vest, and Helga isn't.

"It's critical for us to get data from the Artemis I manikin to ensure all of the newly designed systems, coupled with an energy dampening system that the seats are mounted on, integrate together and provide the protection crew members will need in preparation for our first crewed mission on Artemis II," said Jason Hutt, NASA lead for Orion Crew Systems Integration.

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Other items that will be present inside the Orion capsule will be visual zero-gravity indicators such as Shaun, the Sheep, which will ride aboard the Orion capsule as a plush toy. Snoopy will also be present on the Artemis I mission along with Lego minifigures from Lego's Build to Launch series and space exploration artifacts such as a small piece of moon rock and a bolt from one of Apollo 11's F-1 engines.

Launch of the uncrewed flight test is targeted for no earlier than Aug. 29.