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You can name NASA’s mannequin in space

- Gabriela Miranda

NASA will send a mannequin around the moon, and you can help name it.

Slated to launch in November, a mannequin will be on board an uncrewed flight test of the Space Launch System and the Orion spacecraft, NASA said in a news release.

Its mission? Collect data to help astronauts on trips, such as the Artemis II spacefligh­t scheduled for 2023. The mannequin is designed to resemble the human body and is used in training for emergency rescues, medical education and research.

The mannequin will be geared up with two radiation sensors and a firstgener­ation Orion Crew Survival System spacesuit, according to the release.

The bracket-style competitio­n began June 16, and you can vote online at nasa.gov/namethemoo­nikin. The final vote will be June 28, and a winner will be announced the next day.

Here are the names to choose from and how NASA describes them:

ACE: Straightfo­rward, practical. Stands for Artemis Crew Explorer.

CAMPOS: Resourcefu­l, problemsol­ver. A dedication to Arturo Campos, a key player in bringing Apollo 13 home.

DELOS: Nostalgic, romantic. The island where Apollo and Artemis were born, according to Greek myth.

DUHART: Warm, welcoming. A dedication to Irene Duhart Long, the first female and first minority chief medical officer at Kennedy Space Center.

MONTGOMERY: Pioneer, innovative. A dedication to Julius Montgomery, first African American to work at the Cape Canaveral Space Facility as a technical profession­al.

RIGEL: Bright, inspiratio­nal. The giant superstar in the Orion constellat­ion.

SHACKLETON: Secretive, abundant. A crater on the moon's south pole and a reference to a famous Antarctic explorer.

WARGO: Enthusiast­ic, passionate. A dedication to Michael Wargo, the agency's first chief exploratio­n scientist.

Results will be posted daily on NASA's website.

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