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NASA plans two underwater missions this year

The American Space Agency – NASA has announced its diving plans for this year! Thus, the return to the ocean floor has become a fact. This summer, aquanauts participating in NASA’s Extreme Environment Mission Operations – NEEMO programme will enter the deep sea twice, making preparations for an expedition to the International Space Station and

ByMałgorzata Brykała

Published: June 17, 2014 - 18:20

Updated: July 22, 2023 - 08:22

NASA plans two underwater missions this year

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As it is known to those who have followed the activities of the programme NEEMO have followed the programme before, research conducted underwater provides information that is perfectly applicable to life on the International Space Station, in Earth’s orbit. Similar conditions and much lower costs have made NASA more and more willing to choose diving to the bottom of the Ocean instead of flying into space.

“A situation like this is very exciting, but it also presents a challenge to the astronaut crews who take part in underwater missions before their flight into space. The underwater environment and what we face on the bottom is almost a representation of what we face on space missions,” said Bill Todd, NEEMO project manager.

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The NEEMO 18 mission will start on 21 July and will last 9 days. During its duration, participants will focus on body reactions, general condition and adaptation problems. Command of the mission has been given to Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency – JAXA. NASA astronauts Jeanette Epps and Mark Vande Hei, and Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency – ESA – complete the mission line-up.

NEEMO 19 is, in turn, a seven-day mission scheduled to start on 7 September. Its main objective will be to test telecommunications solutions (tele-mentoring) by ESA. This tele-mentoring is nothing other than the “guidance” of an astronaut’s activities remotely, by an expert, thanks to combined audio and video transmissions. This mission will be led by an American – Randy Bresnik. He will be accompanied by: Canadian – Jeremy Hansen and Andreas Mogensen and Herve Stevenin from ESA.

Both missions will be conducted at a depth of approximately 20m, in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, 5.5 nautical miles off Key Largo, Florida. This is where the legendary underwater Aquarius Naval Base is located.

Source: nasa.gov