NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NASA Continues Space Exploration Research With Undersea Lab

Image above: NEEMO 11 crew members and habitat technicians take a moment to pose for a group photo inside their undersea habitat for the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) project. Image credit: NASA

NASA's third mission this year to an undersea laboratory off the Florida coast began when four astronauts splashed down Sept. 16.

+ Read the Sept. 1 press release

Veteran space flyer astronaut Sandra H. Magnus led the crew on a seven-day undersea mission Sept. 16 - 22 onboard the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Aquarius underwater laboratory. Army Lt. Col. Timothy L. Kopra, Army Col. Timothy J. Creamer and Air Force Maj. Robert L. Behnken rounded out the astronaut crew. Roger Garcia and Larry Ward of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington provided engineering support inside the habitat. All four astronauts were training for possible assignment to missions to the International Space Station.

+ Read the NEEMO 11 crew's journal

During the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) 11, astronauts imitated moonwalks, tested concepts for mobility using various spacesuit configurations and weights to simulate lunar gravity. Techniques for communication, navigation, geological sample retrieval, construction and using remote-controlled robots on the moon's surface also were tested.

Through NASA's Digital Learning Network (DLN), classrooms were able to videoconference with Aquarius. Students also conducted experiments of their own before talking with the aquanauts.

+ NASA Digital Learning Network