NASA wants to send humans back to the moon. But first, it needs a little practice.

Later this month, the launch window will open for the Artemis I mission — the first step in a larger, $93 billion program of the same name. It hopes to land people on the lunar surface by 2025.

This first mission won’t have a crew. But it will have a giant rocket called the Space Launch System. It’s taller than the Statue of Liberty and can carry a payload to the moon of 59,000 pounds. That’s equivalent to six to nine African elephants.

Artemis I will spend four to six weeks carrying the Orion spacecraft — the capsule that will eventually carry astronauts — farther than any spacecraft built for humans has ever flown. Mannequins will sit in place of space crusaders during the upcoming test voyage.

Mike Sarafin is the mission manager for Artemis but got his start on a farm in the upstate New York town of Herkimer. He and WNYC host Tiffany Hanssen discussed what to expect from the mission.

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