NASA Astronauts Prepare For Mars Conditions in Atlantic Ocean

Starting July 21, NASA astronauts have begun training in the depths of the Atlantic Ocean, in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

While it may sound strange to have space men training underwater, NASA’s 16-day mission is supposed to mimic conditions similar to those on planet Mars.

Six astronauts have dived into Aquarius Reef Base, which is located 19 meters below sea level. The mission – dubbed as NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) – is designed to help astronauts and the additional mission teams to check their skill and equipment for potential Mars missions.

According to the space agency, the conditions at Aquarius Reef Base are, in fact, quite similar to the conditions astronauts deal with when they work in microgravity environments.

NASA revealed that the NEEMO aquanauts learn to deal with the changes that come with living and working on a distant asteroid, planet or moon.

During the 16-day training, NASA astronauts had one special experiment that required using DNA sequencer. Reid Wiseman, one of the astronauts in the mission, shared a picture of the tool in action.

The DNA Sequencer, named Minion, helps crew members perform the necessary DNA analyses, test microbes, and monitor their own health.

NASA astronaut Kate Rubins said the DNA sequencer is a useful tool at the International Space Station (ISS).

“NEEMO 21 astronauts and crew will pioneer complex tasks on the seafloor utilising the most advanced underwater navigation and science tools which are methodically choreographed to mimic a Mars exploration traverse,” said Bill Todd, leader of the NEEMO Project.

The NEEMO team chosen for this particular mission is made up of Marc O Griofa (Teloregen/VEGA/AirDocs), NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, Noel Du Toit (Naval Postgraduate School), Matthias Maurer from European Space Agency, Dawn Kernagis (Institute for Human & Machine Cognition), and NASA astronaut Megan McArthur.

The mission involves simulated spacewalks and lessons of piloting underwater vehicles. One of the first challenges for the team was building a coral nursery, which allowed the crew members to practice their construction skills in low-gravity.

The NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) teams involved in the NEEMO 21 Project are confident this kind of missions could offer astronauts some much-needed practice before engaging in extraterrestrial trips.

Image Sources: 1, 2, 3

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Karen Jackson

Karen Jackson has always been passionate about technology. All the way through high-school she immersed herself in computers and web-design. Her ambitious nature helped her become a pro in Adobe Photoshop only by watching online videos and working with the program herself. This is also the program that she mostly uses in the creation of websites at her work-place. Technological innovation and gadgets that push the boundaries of what we are comfortable with have always fascinated her, so expect to see some weird gadget reviews coming from her.