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Space Simulation and Training Project: NEEMO V. FIRST SPACE STATION SCIENCE OFFICER LEADS CREW OF FOUR NASA AQUANAUTS ON 14-DAY NOAA AQUARIUS UNDERSEA MISSION Expedition Four NASA Science Officer Peggy Whitson, who lived and conducted research aboard the International Space Station for 190 days in 2002 will command the longest NASA undersea mission so far to NOAA's undersea laboratory Aquarius this month. Joining Whitson on the crew of this year's first NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations mission, designated NEEMO 5, from June 16-29, will be fellow astronauts Clayton Anderson and Garrett Reisman, and space station support scientist Emma Hwang. The quartet will expand the research component of the NASA missions to the underwater research facility over 14 days. The NEEMO missions are a cooperative project of NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Undersea Research Center (NURC) and the University of North Carolina at Wilmington (UNCW). Two UNCW staff will lead operational support inside Aquarius, Ryan Snow and James Talacek, both of whom are experienced aquanauts with 8 previous Aquarius missions conducted between them. Aquarius is owned by NOAA and managed by UNCW. The 14-meter-long (45 feet) by 3-meter-diameter (9 feet) underwater laboratory operates 4.5 kilometers (3 miles) off Tavernier in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (10 miles from mission control in Key Largo). The crew will use the undersea habitat as practice for long-duration space habitation, living in a volume similar to the living module of the International Space Station, conducting scientific research on the human body and coral reef environment off the coast of Key Largo, Fla., and building undersea structures to simulate space station assembly spacewalk activities. "NEEMO 5, our next-generation mission, goes beyond the bounds of a space analog experience and will attempt to answer several significant scientific questions about long duration isolation in extreme environments," said Bill Todd, NEEMO project manager at the Johnson Space Center (JSC), and a veteran of two previous Aquarius missions. "We have ratcheted up the isolation factor, complexity and science objectives to a level that closely parallels a space mission experience. And the science we are performing may very well help answer several critical path questions on our road map for journeying to Mars and beyond." Details of the Life Science Package for NEEMO 5 are provided as an attachment. Similar in size to the International Space Station's Zvezda Service Module,
Aquarius is situated next to deep coral reefs and provides life support
systems that allow scientists to live and work in reasonably comfortable
quarters. The facility is supported by a 10-meter life support buoy on
the surface that provides power, life support and communication. There
also is a shore-based mission control that supports all Aquarius missions
with 24-hour mission monitoring. This mission also will be supported by
JSC's Exploration Planning and Operations Center (ExPOC) control room,
simulating the interactions between astronauts and control rooms on space
flights. Students in Titonka, Iowa, Jersey City, New Jersey, Omaha, Nebraska,
Nashville, Tennessee, Orlando, Florida, Charlotte, North Carolina, Seattle,
Washington, and three National Guard Bureau locations will be able to
see live television pictures and talk with the crewmembers via a DLO videoconferencing
system on various dates throughout the mission. For more information about
the Distance Learning Outpost and other JSC educational programs, visit:
http://education.jsc.nasa.gov/ Life
Sciences Project Details for NEEMO 5 |
Mission
Date: June, 2003 |
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