A job not of this Earth - diving with astronauts - video

A team of high-level specialists works for months, sometimes years, to prepare an astronaut to leave the Earth and send him into orbit around the Earth. Their task is to prepare him for all the changes his body will undergo. One of the most important of these is functioning in a state of weightlessness. This is where people like Chris Peterman come into action, and their task is to train the astronauts properly through… diving training!

Peterman works as a Dive Operations Specialist at the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL), located at the Sonny Carter Training Facility near NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, USA. It is here that astronauts come under his care for a special Neutral Buoyancy diving course to help them adapt and learn to function in conditions similar to those they will face in weightlessness.

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The state of neutral buoyancy is experienced by both divers and astronauts. In the case of divers, however, it is a slightly different feeling, as we feel the weight of the equipment all the time, as well as the resistance of the water. However, the whole thing is close enough to serve as a great and easily accessible way of training to prepare the astronaut mentally and physically for the experience of a true weightless state and the challenges that come with it.

How did Chris Peterman end up in such an unusual and interesting job? Working as a technology consultant, he became certified as a diver one day in 2002 and decided to pursue his career in that direction.

“Initially, I pursued my career as a technology consultant and at the same time worked part-time in various dive shops, taught diving courses, occasionally made a living searching underwater for various things on commission, and also lectured about diving at the University of Texas at Austin. In short, if there was a diving job to be done, I took it,” he says of his path to NASA.

“I applied to the NBL twice. Once right after getting my diving certification and the second time when my diving CV was already looking a bit more impressive. The second time I was successful and got the position.” – he recalls.

Today, Chris Peterman has a job he loves and many development paths to follow.

“If someone has been accepted as a diver into the NBL, there are many paths they can choose to follow and continue their professional development. For example, one can focus on the operation of communication and video systems, maintenance and preparation of the equipment we use in training, robotics in the broadest sense, gas mixing and surface survival techniques,” Peterman lists.

For those who would like to realise themselves in a similar way to him, Chris has some advice about diving. Among the skills you need to possess is perfect buoyancy control, or multitasking while diving. Also essential is something that cannot be further defined, which Chris calls diving instinct. Those who have it now surely know what we are talking about…

According to Peterman, it is also necessary to have persistence in pursuing one’s goal, the desire for constant development and following one’s dreams. Only then are we able to achieve the highest goals.

“Don’t let others tell you that something is impossible. It’s all up to you!” – he adds at the end.

Source: arstechnica.com