Canadian Space Agency astronaut Chris Hadfield will lead the NASA team on a 14-day underwater mission aboard the Submarine LaboratoryAquarium, near Cayo Largo, owned by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Joining Hadfield will be NASA astronaut and flight surgeon Thomas Marshburn, lunar rover project engineer Andrew Abercromby and Steve Chappell, a research scientist.
DuringNEEMO 14, I knowsimulate aspects of the surface of another planet and a low-gravity environment at the bottom of the ocean. The crew will live aboard the underwater laboratory, will venture intosimulated spacewalksHe will operate the crane and maneuver the vehicles just as explorers would do in creating a habitat on another planet. As astronauts interact with these developing technologies, they can provide useful information to NASA engineers.
The crew will also simulate the removal of a mock-up lunar rover from the lander, the retrieval of small payloads from the module and the ocean floor, and the transfer of an incapacitated astronaut from the seabed to the deck of the boat.
Meanwhile, insideAquarium, the crew will conduct life science experiments focusing onhuman behavior, performance and physiology. The mission also includes a study of the work of the autonomous crew. There will even be periods when there is limited communication between the crew and the mission control center, just like what could happen during future missions to the Moon or Mars.
