NASA completes installation of Moonikin, the 1st passenger of Artemis I, in Orion capsule

NASA has completed an important leg of the Artemis I mission-- installing Commander Moonikin Campos inside the Orion spacecraft. Campos is a mannequin that will be strapped to a seat inside the uncrewed Orion and will be used to gather data about the effects of spaceflight on a human. It will be accompanied by two other 'passengers'-- Helga and Zohar-- that will be installed in the coming weeks and have their own mission objectives. 

The three mannequins are being fitted into the Orion capsule for the Artemis I launch, which has been targeted for launch on August 29. Recently NASA announced the dates and revealed that the launch window extends till September 2 and September 6.

During the recent phase of development, the engineers replaced new seals on the tail service mast umbilical (TSMU), which will be used to fuel the rocket. It was the same TSMU that encountered a leakage of fuel during the pre-launch tests that concluded in June. "The seals were replaced to address a hydrogen leak during the final wet dress rehearsal in June. Following testing, teams will complete closeouts to ready that section for flight", NASA said in a statement. 

Besides this, the teams also installed batteries for the solid rocket boosters and interim cryogenic propulsion stage. These batteries, according to NASA would power the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket elements during the final portion of the countdown on launch day and through the ascent.  

Moonikin and its companions

All three mannequins are being launched to measure the effects astronauts would actually experience during their expedition to the Moon. While the Moonikin will be equipped with sensors and a first-generation Orion Crew Survival System suit to measure acceleration and vibrations, Helga and Zohar will measure the amount of space radiation astronauts may experience inside Orion during missions to the Moon. 

Notably, the last two will don a special vest called AstroRad and they have been designed to simulate the body of female astronauts as NASA has plans to land the first woman on the Moon under its Artemis Program. These AstroRad suits are part of the Matroshka AstroRad Radiation Experiment (MARE), which would test their ability to prevent astronauts from harmful radiation.