NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NASA Uses Undersea Lab to Prep for Future Space Exploration


Image above: NEEMO 10 crew members pose for a crew photo near their undersea habitat. From right to left are Karen Kohanowich, Koichi Wakata, Karen Nyberg and Drew Feustel. Credit: NASA

NASA continued testing concepts for future space exploration at an underwater laboratory off the coast of Florida.

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Koichi Wakata led the crew on a seven-day undersea mission July 22 to 28 aboard the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Aquarius underwater laboratory. NASA astronauts Andrew J. Feustel and Karen L. Nyberg, and Karen Kohanowich, deputy director of NOAA's Undersea Research Program, Silver Spring, Md., rounded out the crew. Mark Hulsbeck and Dominic Landucci of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington provided engineering support.

The NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) 10 project included undersea extravehicular activities imitating moonwalks to test concepts for mobility, using weighted backpacks to simulate lunar and Martian gravity. Techniques for communication, navigation and using remote-controlled robots on the moon's surface were also tested.

+ Read July 6 press release