NEEMO Program | |
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Mission statement | "To see what extreme environmental challenges astronauts may face in space, and to form solutions by using the ocean, as an equivalent environment on earth" |
Location | Florida, United States |
Owner | NASA, Florida International University, Aquarius Reef Base |
Established | 2001 |
Website | www |
NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations, or NEEMO, [1] is a NASA analog mission that sends groups of astronauts, engineers and scientists to live in the Aquarius underwater laboratory, the world's only undersea research station, for up to three weeks at a time in preparation for future space exploration. [2]
Aquarius is an underwater habitat 3.5 miles (5.6 km) off Key Largo, Florida, in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. It is deployed on the ocean floor next to deep coral reefs 62 feet (19 m) below the surface.
NASA has used it since 2001 for a series of space exploration simulation missions, usually lasting 7 to 14 days, with space research mainly conducted by international astronauts. The mission had cost about 500 million U.S. dollars. The crew members are called aquanauts (as they live underwater at depth pressure for a period equal to or greater than 24 continuous hours without returning to the surface), and they perform EVAs in the underwater environment. [2] A technique known as saturation diving allows the aquanauts to live and work underwater for days or weeks at a time. After twenty four hours underwater at any depth, the human body becomes saturated with dissolved gas. With saturation diving, divers can accurately predict exactly how much time they need to decompress before returning to the surface. This information limits the risk of decompression sickness. By living in the Aquarius habitat and working at the same depth on the ocean floor, NEEMO crews are able to remain underwater for the duration of their mission.
For NASA, the Aquarius habitat and its surroundings provide a convincing analog for space exploration. [2] Much like space, the undersea world is a hostile, alien place for humans to live. NEEMO crew members experience some of the same challenges there that they would on a distant asteroid, planet (i.e. Mars) or Moon. During NEEMO missions, the aquanauts are able to simulate living on a spacecraft and test spacewalk techniques for future space missions. Working in space and underwater environments requires extensive planning and sophisticated equipment. The underwater condition has the additional benefit of allowing NASA to "weight" the aquanauts to simulate different gravity environments. [3]
Until 2012, Aquarius was owned by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and operated by the National Undersea Research Center (NURC) at the University of North Carolina–Wilmington as a marine biology study base.
Since 2013, Aquarius is owned by Florida International University (FIU). [4] As part of the FIU Marine Education and Research Initiative, the Medina Aquarius Program is dedicated to the study and preservation of marine ecosystems worldwide and is enhancing the scope and impact of FIU on research, educational outreach, technology development, and professional training. At the heart of the program is the Aquarius Reef Base. [5]
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Space Environment Analog for Testing EVA Systems and Training [44] ( NEEMO 17 ) Designation skipped [45]
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NEEMO 20 mission objective was to simulate the time delays associated with sending and receiving commands between controllers on Earth and astronauts on Mars. Additional EVAs will simulate working on the surface of an asteroid, and the use of the DeepWorker submersible as an underwater stand-in for the Multi-Mission Space Exploration Vehicle. [50]
The NEEMO 21 mission was scheduled to begin July 18, 2016 and conclude August 3, 2016; however, the mission start was shifted to July 21, 2016 as a result of unfavorable weather conditions.
NASA Aquanaut Crew: [51]
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NASA all-female Aquanaut Crew: [52]
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Steven Weldon Squyres is an American geologist and planetary scientist. He was the James A. Weeks Professor of Physical Sciences at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. His research area is in planetary sciences, with a focus on large solid bodies in the Solar System such as the terrestrial planets and the moons of the Jovian planets. Squyres was the principal investigator of the Mars Exploration Rover Mission (MER).
Michael Landon Gernhardt is a NASA astronaut and manager of the Environmental Physiology Laboratory, and principal investigator of the Prebreathe Reduction Program (PRP) at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center.
The Aquarius Reef Base is an underwater habitat located 5.4 mi (8.7 km) off Key Largo in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, Florida, United States. It is the world's only undersea research laboratory and it is operated by Florida International University. It is deployed on the ocean floor 62 ft (19 m) below the surface and next to a deep coral reef named Conch Reef.
Dorothy Marie "Dottie" Metcalf-Lindenburger is a retired American astronaut. She was a science teacher at Hudson's Bay High School in Vancouver, Washington when she was selected in 2004 as an educator mission specialist. She was the first Space Camp alumna to become an astronaut.
Takuya Onishi is a Japanese astronaut who was selected for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in 2009. He spent four months on board the International Space Station in 2016.
Kimiya Yui is a Japanese astronaut from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). He was selected for the agency in 2009.
Major TimothyNigel Peake is a retired British European Space Agency astronaut, Army Air Corps officer and author.
Josef F. Schmid is a German-American physician, NASA flight surgeon and a major general in the United States Air Force Reserves. He served as an aquanaut on the joint NASA-NOAA NEEMO 12 underwater exploration mission in May 2007. On 8 October 2021 he became one of the first humans to be Holoported off the planet and into space, visiting the International Space Station by telepresence.
Dr. Andrew Frank Jorgensen Abercromby is a scientist and biomedical engineer who designs and tests spacesuit systems and exercise countermeasures for future exploration of the Solar System. He is employed by NASA as Lead of the Human Physiology, Performance, Protection & Operations (H-3PO) Laboratory at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. As an aquanaut, Abercromby served as a member of the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations 14 crew. Abercromby has more than fifteen years of experience working in the Human Health and Performance (HH&P) and Engineering Directorates at the Johnson Space Center. He is married with two daughters.
Steven Patrick Chappell is an American aerospace engineer. He is a Technical Lead & Research Specialist for Wyle Integrated Science & Engineering at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas. He is helping to define and execute the research needed to optimize human performance in next-generation spacesuits and extra-vehicular activity (EVA) systems. Chappell served as an aquanaut on the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations 14 crew.
William Laurence Todd is a Project Manager for Exploration Analogs at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas. He has also served as a NASA Undersea Research Team Project Lead and Spaceflight Training Simulation Supervisor at NASA JSC. Todd is a veteran Aquanaut of 5 missions. In 2001, he commanded the first NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) mission, a joint NASA-NOAA program to study human survival in the Aquarius underwater laboratory in preparation for future space exploration.
Marcum "Marc" Reagan is a Station Training Lead in Mission Operations at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. He leads a team of instructors who together are responsible for developing and executing complex simulations for International Space Station (ISS) assembly and operations. Reagan also serves as an ISS "Capcom" from Mission Control, communicating with ISS astronauts in orbit. In May 2002, Reagan served as an aquanaut on the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations 2 crew. He subsequently served as Mission Director for multiple NEEMO missions.
Jonathan Robert Dory is a Human Systems Integration Lead at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas. He is Branch Chief of NASA's Habitability and Human Factors Branch, part of the Habitability and Environmental Factors Division at NASA/JSC. Dory supports crew safety and productivity on the International Space Station (ISS) Program by planning and assessing the on-orbit interior configuration of ISS, as well as performing anthropometric analysis of crew tasks. He contributes to the integrated operation of the Space Station while using 3D computer graphics and animation software as part of his daily work. In July 2002, Dory served as an aquanaut on the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations 3 crew.
Dewey Dewayne Smith was an underwater diver, former United States Navy medic and professional aquanaut. He died during a dive from the Aquarius underwater habitat off Key Largo in May 2009. A subsequent investigation determined that multiple factors combined to cause the accident.
Craig B. Cooper is a professional aquanaut from the United States who served from 1991 to 2010 as Operations Manager for the Aquarius Reef Base underwater habitat. Cooper is known to fellow divers by the nickname "Coop".
James Raymond Talacek is an American professional aquanaut with the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW). He serves as Oceanographic Field Operations Manager at Aquarius Reef Base, the world's only undersea research laboratory.
Dominic Landucci is an American professional aquanaut with the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW). He served as the Network Analyst at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Aquarius Reef Base, the world's only undersea research laboratory.
Mark Whitney Hulsbeck is an American professional aquanaut. He serves as an Oceanographic Operations Field Manager and research diver for the Aquarius Reef Base, the world's only undersea research laboratory, operated by Florida International University. Hulsbeck is nicknamed "Otter".
Justin Brown is an American professional aquanaut with the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW). He serves as a habitat technician at Aquarius Reef Base, the world's only undersea research laboratory.
Hervé Stevenin is a European aquanaut leading ESA Neutral Buoyancy Facility Operations and the EVA Training Unit at the European Astronaut Centre (EAC) in Cologne, Germany. He served as an aquanaut on the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations 19 crew.
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