NASA astronauts restore Florida Keys coral reefs

As part of its training for space missions, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration – NASA, has decided to introduce an unusual training programme. Astronauts from NASA and ESA – European Space Agency, will take part in an expedition where they will rebuild damaged reefs off the coast of Florida as part of the exercise.

On the seabed near the Florida Keys, astronaut crews will build and install a series of underwater coral tree nurseries. The project is being conducted in partnership with the Coral Restoration Foundation and Florida International University. The expedition is being conducted under the name NEEMO 23 – NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations 23 and will last 10 days.

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Coral tree structures, developed by the Coral Restoration Foundation, are used worldwide as a means to grow large amounts of coral and have a fast and very efficient growth rate.

[blockquote style=”2″]”The nurseries being created as part of the NEEMO 23 mission are being built in environments that are very different from the ones we have done before. The water here is deeper, there are different communities of fish and marine life, and the light conditions are very different.” – Alice Grainger, communications director at the Coral Restoration Foundation, said. [/blockquote]

The project is also important because it provides an opportunity to better understand how different genotypes cope in different environments. This process will help to recreate the underwater ecosystem and also train astronauts to work – to use tools and vehicles so that they can cope with different tasks in a space-like environment.

Source: coralrestoration.org
Photo: nasa.gov