Most people associate astronauts with space exploration. However, a recently wrapped-up mission involved skilled spacemen probing the ocean.
Most people associate astronauts with space exploration. However, a recently wrapped-up mission involved skilled spacemen probing the ocean.
Crew members of NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations 19, or NEEMO 19, lived 62 feet underwater off the coast of Key Largo, Florida in the Aquarius lab.
The goal of the mission was to prepare the astronauts and simulate the exploration of an asteroid.
NEEMO 19 and its predecessor NEEMO 18 involved experimenting with different techniques to handle communication delays, as that’s exactly what will occur when probing asteroids.
Examining a space rock located between our home planet and Mars means crews will have to deal with a roughly 10-minute communication lag.
Aside from the time factor, NEEMO 19 aimed to help prepare for an upcoming NASA mission, in which a large asteroid will be captured and dragged into orbit around the moon.
The conditions inside Aquarius are said to be very similar to what it’s like aboard the confined ISS or a space shuttle.
NEEMO 19 commander Randy Bresnik noted “We can only hope that we have helped further humankind’s knowledge of how to operate and explore in hostile environments so that future human explorers will be able to be highly efficient and successful.”
