NEEMO

Last updated
NEEMO Program
NEEMO Program Seal.png
Aquarius external.jpg
A NEEMO 11 crewmember works outside the undersea habitat "Aquarius"
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"
LocationFlorida, United States
Owner NASA, Florida International University, Aquarius Reef Base
Established2001 (2001)
Website www.nasa.gov/mission/neemo/

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]

Contents

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]

Missions

NEEMO 1: October 21–27, 2001

Floorplan of Aquarius. Aquarius floorplan.jpg
Floorplan of Aquarius.
The first NEEMO crew, L-R: in front, Mike Lopez-Alegria and Bill Todd, in back, Mike Gernhardt and Dave Williams NEEMO-1.jpg
The first NEEMO crew, L–R: in front, Mike López-Alegría and Bill Todd, in back, Mike Gernhardt and Dave Williams

NASA Aquanaut Crew:

NURC Support Crew:

NEEMO 2: May 13–20, 2002

NASA Aquanaut Crew:

NURC Support Crew:

NEEMO 3: July 15–21, 2002

NASA Aquanaut Crew:

NURC Support Crew:

NEEMO 4: September 23–27, 2002

NASA Aquanaut Crew:

NURC Support Crew:

NEEMO 5 crew members are pictured in the bunkroom aboard the Aquarius research habitat. Top, L-R: Reisman, Hwang; Middle: Whitson, Anderson; Bottom: Talacek, Snow. NEEMO5.jpg
NEEMO 5 crew members are pictured in the bunkroom aboard the Aquarius research habitat. Top, L–R: Reisman, Hwang; Middle: Whitson, Anderson; Bottom: Talacek, Snow.

NEEMO 5: June 16–29, 2003

NASA Aquanaut Crew:

NURC Support Crew:

NEEMO 6: July 12–21, 2004

NASA Aquanaut Crew:

NURC Support Crew:

NEEMO 7: October 11–21, 2004

NASA Aquanaut Crew:

NURC Support Crew:

NEEMO 8: April 20–22, 2005

NASA Aquanaut Crew:

NURC Support Crew:

NEEMO 9: April 3–20, 2006

The NEEMO 9 crew: Left to right (rear): Broderick, Williams; front: Stott, Garan. NEEMO 9.jpg
The NEEMO 9 crew: Left to right (rear): Broderick, Williams; front: Stott, Garan.

NASA Aquanaut Crew:

NURC Support Crew:

NEEMO 10: July 22–28, 2006

NASA Aquanaut Crew:

NURC Support Crew:

NEEMO 11: September 16–22, 2006

NASA Aquanaut Crew:

NURC Support Crew:

NEEMO 12: May 7–18, 2007

NEEMO 12 aquanaut Broderick works with a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), called Scuttle. NEEMO12 rover.jpg
NEEMO 12 aquanaut Broderick works with a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), called Scuttle.

NASA Aquanaut Crew:

NURC Support Crew:

NEEMO 13: August 6–15, 2007

NASA Aquanaut Crew:

NURC Support Crew:

NEEMO 14: May 10–23, 2010

NASA Aquanaut Crew:

Aquarius Reef Base support crew:

NEEMO 15: October 20–26, 2011

NASA Aquanaut Crew:

Aquarius Reef Base support crew:

DeepWorker 2000 submersible crew:

NEEMO 16: June 11–22, 2012

The NEEMO 16 crew: Left to right: Peake, Squyres, Brown, Yui, Metcalf-Lindenburger; inside habitat: Talacek. NEEMO 16 crew at Aquarius.jpg
The NEEMO 16 crew: Left to right: Peake, Squyres, Brown, Yui, Metcalf-Lindenburger; inside habitat: Talacek.

NASA Aquanaut Crew:

Aquarius Reef Base support crew:

DeepWorker 2000 submersible crew:

SEATEST II: September 9–13, 2013

Space Environment Analog for Testing EVA Systems and Training [44] ( NEEMO 17 ) Designation skipped [45]

NASA Aquanaut Crew:

Aquarius Reef Base support crew: [46]

NEEMO 18: July 21–29, 2014

NASA Aquanaut Crew:

Professional habitat technicians, Aquarius Reef Base support crew:

NEEMO 19: September 7–13, 2014

The NEEMO 19 crew: Left to right: Hansen, Stevenin, Mogensen, Bresnik; inside habitat: Hulsbeck, LaPete. NASA NEEMO 19 Aquanaut Crew.jpg
The NEEMO 19 crew: Left to right: Hansen, Stevenin, Mogensen, Bresnik; inside habitat: Hulsbeck, LaPete.

NASA Aquanaut Crew:

Aquarius Reef Base support crew:

NEEMO 20: July 20 – August 2, 2015

NASA Aquanaut Crew: [48]

NASA NEEMO 20 Aquanaut Crew.jpg

Professional habitat technicians, Aquarius Reef Base support crew:

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]

NEEMO 21: July 21 – August 5, 2016

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]

Professional habitat technicians, Aquarius Reef Base support crew:

NEEMO 22: June 18–27, 2017

NASA Aquanaut Crew:

Professional habitat technicians, Aquarius Reef Base support crew:

NEEMO 23: June 10–22, 2019

NASA all-female Aquanaut Crew: [52]

Professional habitat technicians, Aquarius Reef Base support crew:

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Squyres</span> Professor of Physical Sciences at Cornell University

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).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael L. Gernhardt</span> NASA astronaut and manager of Environmental Physiology Laboratory (born 1956)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aquarius Reef Base</span> Underwater habitat off Key Largo in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger</span> American astronaut

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Takuya Onishi</span> Japanese astronaut, engineer and pilot (born 1975)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kimiya Yui</span> Japanese pilot and astronaut (born 1970)

Kimiya Yui is a Japanese astronaut from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). He was selected for the agency in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Peake</span> British Army Air Corps officer and astronaut (born 1972)

Major Timothy "Tim" Nigel Peake is a British European Space Agency astronaut, Army Air Corps officer and author.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josef Schmid (flight surgeon)</span> NASA flight surgeon and Major General in the United States Air Force Reserves

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Abercromby</span> Biomedical engineer from Scotland working for NASA

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Chappell</span> American aerospace engineer

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Todd</span> Project Manager for Exploration Analogs at NASAs Johnson Space Center

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marc Reagan</span> American Station Training Lead in Mission Operations at NASAs Johnson Space Center

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Dory</span> Human Systems Integration Lead at NASAs Johnson Space Center

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dewey Smith</span> American aquanaut. Died in diving accident.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Craig B. Cooper</span> American aquanaut

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".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Talacek</span> American professional aquanaut

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dominic Landucci</span> American professional aquanaut and Network Analyst at the NOAA Aquarius Reef Base

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Hulsbeck</span> American professional aquanaut

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".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justin Brown (aquanaut)</span> American professional aquanaut and habitat technician

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hervé Stevenin</span> European aquanaut at the European Astronaut Centre (born 1962)

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.

References

  1. Loff, Sarah (Jun 24, 2015). "NEEMO - NASA Extreme Environment MIssion Operations". NASA.
  2. 1 2 3 NASA (March 21, 2006). "NEEMO History". National Aeronautics and Space Administration . Retrieved November 21, 2011.
  3. Loff, Sarah (Jun 24, 2015). "About NEEMO (NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations)". NASA.
  4. Communications, Florida International University-Digital. "Medina Aquarius Program". environment.fiu.edu.
  5. Communications, Florida International University-Digital. "About". environment.fiu.edu.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 NASA (February 27, 2006). "Behind the Scenes: Training - NEEMO History". NASA. Archived from the original on July 15, 2003. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
  7. NASA (June 2011). "Astronaut Bio: Edward Michael "Mike" Fincke (06/2011)". NASA. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
  8. NASA (April 21, 2011). "Life Sciences Data Archive : Experiment". NASA. Archived from the original on October 24, 2011. Retrieved November 9, 2011.
  9. Walheim, Rex (September 24, 2002). "NEEMO 4 Journals". NASA. Archived from the original on July 24, 2003. Retrieved March 10, 2012.
  10. NOAA (May 17, 2010). "NEEMO 4 Journals". NOAA. Archived from the original on March 20, 2012. Retrieved March 10, 2012.
  11. NASA (April 21, 2011). "Life Sciences Data Archive : Experiment". NASA. Archived from the original on March 22, 2012. Retrieved March 10, 2012.
  12. NASA (2003). "NEEMO 5". NASA. Archived from the original on November 18, 2004. Retrieved March 10, 2012.
  13. "Aquarius - First Space Station Science Officer Leads Crew of Four NASA Aquanauts On 14-Day NOAA Aquarius Undersea Mission". University of North Carolina Wilmington. May 17, 2010. Archived from the original on December 12, 2012. Retrieved March 10, 2012.
  14. Whitson, Peggy (June 19, 2003). "NEEMO 5 Journals". NASA. Archived from the original on July 15, 2003. Retrieved March 10, 2012.
  15. NASA (August 3, 2004). "NEEMO 6". NASA. Archived from the original on November 18, 2004. Retrieved February 26, 2012.
  16. NASA (September 6, 2011). "Life Sciences Data Archive : Experiment". NASA. Archived from the original on April 5, 2012. Retrieved February 26, 2012.
  17. NASA (October 13, 2004). "NEEMO 7". NASA. Archived from the original on October 30, 2004. Retrieved March 10, 2012.
  18. Canadian Space Agency (August 9, 2004). "CSA - Neemo 7 Mission". Canadian Space Agency. Archived from the original on March 9, 2012. Retrieved March 10, 2012.
  19. NASA (April 21, 2011). "Life Sciences Data Archive : Experiment". NASA. Archived from the original on April 5, 2012. Retrieved March 10, 2012.
  20. NOAA (May 18, 2010). "NEEMO 8". University of North Carolina Wilmington. Archived from the original on March 20, 2012. Retrieved February 25, 2012.
  21. NASA (April 21, 2011). "Life Sciences Data Archive : Experiment". NASA. Archived from the original on March 22, 2012. Retrieved February 25, 2012.
  22. NASA (2006). "NASA's Undersea Crew is Heads Above Water". NASA. Retrieved September 23, 2011.
  23. NASA (April 3, 2006). "NASA's NEEMO 9 Aquanaut Human Performance Study Begins". NASA. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
  24. NASA (2006). "NASA Uses Undersea Lab to Prep for Future Space Exploration". NASA. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
  25. NASA (July 22, 2006). "NASA - NEEMO 10 Mission Journal". NASA. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
  26. NASA (May 11, 2010). "NEEMO 11". NASA. Retrieved September 26, 2011.
  27. NASA (September 1, 2006). "NASA Continues Space Exploration Research With Undersea Lab". NASA. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
  28. NASA (May 17, 2007). "NEEMO 12". NASA. Retrieved March 10, 2012.
  29. NEEMO 12 Topside Team (May 6, 2007). "NASA - NEEMO 12 Topside Journal". NASA. Retrieved March 10, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  30. NASA (July 24, 2007). "NASA Announces Next Undersea Exploration Mission Dates and Crew". NASA. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
  31. Topside Team (August 8, 2007). "NEEMO 13 Topside Report - Training Week". NURC. Archived from the original on May 9, 2012. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
  32. NASA (July 9, 2010). "NASA - NEEMO 14". NASA. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
  33. Alexander, Aaron (2010). "Archive for the 'NEEMO 14' Mission". NURC. Archived from the original on March 28, 2012. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
  34. NASA (May 7, 2010). "NASA - NEEMO 14 Topside Report No. 1, May 7, 2010". NASA. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
  35. 1 2 NASA (September 19, 2011). "NASA - NASA Announces 15th Undersea Exploration Mission Date And Crew". NASA. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
  36. NASA (October 27, 2011). "NASA - NEEMO 15 Topside Reports". NASA. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
  37. NASA (April 16, 2012). "NASA - NASA Announces 16th Undersea Exploration Mission Dates and Crews". NASA. Retrieved April 17, 2012.
  38. Peake, Tim (April 29, 2012). "NEEMO 16 - In search of an asteroid". European Space Agency . Retrieved May 3, 2012.
  39. The NEEMO Mission Management and Topside Support Team (June 12, 2012). "NEEMO 16 Mission Day 2 - Status Report" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
  40. Love, Stan (June 17, 2012). "Dr. Love's Underwater Blog: NEEMO 16". NASA. Archived from the original on December 12, 2012. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
  41. Squyres, Steve (June 17, 2012). "NEEMO 16: EVA Divers and Subs". NASA. Archived from the original on December 13, 2012. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
  42. Love, Stan (June 18, 2012). "Dr. Love's Underwater Blog: Mobility and Stability with DeepWorkers". NASA. Archived from the original on June 21, 2012. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
  43. Stevenin, Hervé (June 19, 2012). "The NEEMO 16 Aquanauts meet the Men in Black". Yahoo! Inc . Retrieved July 13, 2012.
  44. Garcia, Mark (Apr 13, 2015). "NASA, International Partners Plan Undersea Training Mission". NASA.
  45. 1 2 Bergin, Chris (June 11, 2014). "NEEMO returns with two new underwater missions". NASASpaceflight . Retrieved June 24, 2014.
  46. Computing, HySpeed (Sep 16, 2013). "Aquarius SEATEST II – Astronauts emerge from a successful underwater mission".
  47. "Hervé Stevenin". www.esa.int.
  48. "NEEMO 20 Crew (L to R) CDR Luca Parmitano (ESA), Serena Aunon (NASA), David Coan (NASA), Norishige Kanai, (JAXA), inside Aquarius Mark Hulsbeck (FIU) and Sean Moore (FIU)". Jul 20, 2015 via Flickr.
  49. "NASA Prepares for Future Space Exploration with International Undersea Crew". June 24, 2015.
  50. "NEEMO 20 to build knowledge base on delayed deep space communications, Chris Bergin, nasaspaceflight". July 6, 2015.
  51. Loff, Sarah (2016-07-22). "Aquanauts Splash Down, Beginning NEEMO 21 Research Mission" . Retrieved 2016-07-24.
  52. Emily Toomey (July 29, 2019). "NASA Scientists and Astronauts Practice for Space Missions on the Seafloor". Smithsonian magazine.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to NEEMO at Wikimedia Commons

24°57′00″N80°27′13″W / 24.95000°N 80.45361°W / 24.95000; -80.45361