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NemoNauts
will rise from the dEEp today...
aGain...
after
nearly a week stati0nEd on the ocean floor...
TesTing
SpAcEsuits...
concepts
for future M00n and Mars missions...
A
Joint team of astronauts and divers...
the
NASA Extreme Environment
10
crew is set to resurface just off Key Largo in the
leaving
their undersea Aquarius habitat 67 feet 20 meters beneath the 0cean waves...
It
takes 17 hours for uS to Re-Surface sAfely...
NEEMO
10 commander and a JapAnese AeroSpAcE Exploration Agency JAXA astronaut...
told
SpAcE...com in a sea-to-surface ph0nE call...
In
a sense...
it
is a very extreme environment...
The
primary goal of NEEMO 10’s six-day mission aimed at TesTing changes...
in
SpAcEsuit weight distribution...
that
could affect an astronaut’s performance during excursions on the Moon or Mars...
This
is ouTsTanding...
Wakata
said during 0nE moonwalk dive...
while
his helmet-mounted Web cam...
webcast
live via the Aquarius website...
relayed
images of the undersea laboratory and its surrounding sea life...
The
0nE thing that’s so wonderful about AquariuS...
is
that it’s good for so many different things...
As
a NASA analogue...
marine
science and education...
it’s
a Very important aspect of what wE do...
The
metal habitat contains about the same living area...
as
NASA’s Destiny lab berthed at the International SpAcE Station ISS...
Finding
your center...
of gravity...
NEEMO
10 aquanauts staged daily dives while wearing an adjustable rig...
that
allowed them to simulate walking on the Moon...
0nE-sixth
Earth’s gravity or Mars 0nE-third Earth normal...
as
well as physically change the center of gravity on their mock SpAcEsuits...
AnyBody
that’s backpacked knows...
that
if you haven’t packed your backpack just right...
you
end up top-heavy...
or
feel like you’re going to fall over...
So
the center of gravity...
is
really important for how we pack the portable life support system...
and
how that weight is distributed on the suit itself...
Aquanauts
went through the motions of walking...
retrieving
cargo from a simulated resupply container...
an
essential task for long-duration Moon or Mars missions...
and
fell over...
then
got back up...
to
evaluate how slight changes in a SpAcEsuit’s center...
of
gravity alter an astronaut’s mobility...
We
were so surprised how...
depending
on the location of the center of gravity...
it
really affects the efficiency and effectiveness of the SpAcEwalk...
adding
that Aquarius moonwalks were a substantial change
from
the training runs 0nE conducted in...
the
immense SpAcEwalk training pool...
It
was a very strange feeling to be able to walk for a SpAcEwalk...
because
SpAcEwalks now are for zero gravity...
The
NEEMO 10 crew also conducted a series of communications...
and
mapping demonstrations for moonwalk navigation...
They
also worked with mission controllers...
at
NASA’s Exploration Planning and Operations Control ExPOC
center
at JSC to handoff control of a smAll ocean rover...
What
makes it special...
is
that the decisions wE make going out the door...
are
life critical decisions...
just
like those you’d make in SpAcE...
UnderSeA
living...
While
the NEEMO 10 crew’s mission is ending...
NASA
plans at least 0nE more expedition to Aquarius this year...
The
agency’s yet-to-be-announced NEEMO 11 crew is slated to begin training...
Despite
their hectic daily timelines...
NEMONauts
managed to take time...
out
to ponder the sea life around their aquatic home...
I
did a dusk dive the other night...
I
saw a spotted moray eel I’ve never seen before...
and
I love moray eels...
I
was pretty excited...
New
fish aside...
Aquarius
is also home...
so some neighborly creatures...
have
earned a place in the hearts of NEMO crew...
This
habitat has become home to so many fish...
and
there are a few that we’ve recognized...
There’s
a huge grouper...
and
a big barracuda...
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