Thursday, July 18, 2002

Key Largo, FL -- The July mission in Aquarius, scheduled to run for nine days starting July 15, builds on a developing partnership between NASA and NOAA and will feature three NASA astronauts and one space habitability engineer. During the nine-day mission, the project team will live underwater using Aquarius as a space analogue for working and training under environmental conditions that are surprisingly similar to many of the challenges faced in outer space.

Aquarius is an underwater laboratory (aka "the habitat) where scientists live and work on the seafloor for extended periods using a special technique called saturation diving. The 12-foot by 43-foot habitat is located in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, 60 feet underwater, and 3.5 miles offshore. Owned by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and operated by the University of North Carolina at Wilmington (UNCW), Aquarius is the only undersea research platform of its kind.

The Aquarius "innerspace station" provides a remarkably similar environment to that of the International Space Station (ISS). Aquarius is similar in size to the ISS living module; like NASA astronauts, Aquarius aquanauts coordinate operations and conduct experiments with guidance from a distant mission control center; and like astronauts, aquanauts remain isolated from the outside world for the duration of their mission because saturation diving techniques require a lengthy decompression before surfacing is allowed.

NASA missions are being conducted under the project name “NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations” or “NEEMO.” NEEMO Project lead Bill Todd said, "During the past two NEEMO Missions, it has been clearly demonstrated that the unique challenges of living and working in space can be closely paralleled with missions aboard Aquarius. It’s a better analogue than we ever realized." The isolation, surrounded by an extreme environment, is important for studies related to behavior and physiology. In particular, the NASA Aquarius experience will be used to help build crew and mission control communication techniques, and will provide leadership and interpersonal skills training to everyone involved.

Several different NASA departments are involved in the mission. They will monitor the progress of the astronaut crew from the Johnson Space Center in real-time. Underwater communications equipment and cameras will provide interactive capability between the aquanauts and NASA staff in Houston. A number of tasks performed inside Aquarius are designed to simulate similar functions to be performed in space. A goal of the mission is to use results of the mission to help NASA planners shape future training programs.

NURC/UNCW Director, Dr. Steven Miller, said, "The foundation of the Aquarius program is based solidly on the science we support to help meet the environmental research and management needs of NOAA, but Aquarius is more than just a science program. Our partnership with NASA is helping us expand our undersea capabilities and technologies to the benefit of all scientists who use the facility. Further, our educational and outreach efforts provide a platform from which we can explain what we do - and why it's important."

As with each Aquarius mission, the July effort will consist of two UNCW habitat technicians, Byron Croker and Michael Smith, and three astronaut specialists from NASA’s Johnson Space Center: Crew Commander, Jeff Williams (Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army), astronauts Gregory Errol Chamitoff (Ph.D.) and John Daniel Olivas (Ph.D., P.E). A fourth crew member, Jonathan Dory, is space habitability engineer from SPACEHAB, Inc.’s, Habitability and Environmental Factors Office.

The Aquarius mission will also undertake several educational and outreach projects, including a one-hour webcast on Wednesday, July 17 at 12:00 pm EDT (http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/projects/space/aquarius/2002/index.html) and two 30-minute live video events Thursday, July 18, at 11:45 am and 12:30 pm EDT, involving schools and museums in Houston, TX, Winter, WI, El Paso, TX and Seattle, WA.

Throughout each Aquarius mission, expedition journals, photos and live undersea webcam views of the laboratory and surrounding area will be available, along with detailed information about Aquarius programs. For more information, visit the Aquarius website at: http://www.uncwil.edu/nurc/aquarius.