Washington, May 11: A group of NASA scientists and astronauts are gearing up for an undersea mission to test concepts and techniques for future space expeditions.
This week, engineers are laying the foundations for the 15th expedition of NASA’s Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO 15), space.com reported.
To launch the project, which is slated to begin on October 17, diving crews are setting up the tools and the rocky environment needed to simulate an asteroid landscape.
NEEMO expeditions take place at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Aquarius Underwater Laboratory.
It is located some 62 feet (19 meters) below the ocean’s surface, off the coast of Key Largo in the Florida Keys.
The NEEMO 15 expedition will simulate a trip to an asteroid, says NASA.
The so-called “aquanauts” will study the best possible ways of anchoring to the surface of a space rock and moving around.
To prepare for the 10-day October mission, various engineering tests will be conducted from May 9 to May 13 at the Aquarius laboratory.
There is also a support team to carry out surface dives to lay out the test site, NASA said.
Among other responsibilities of the team will be to check up on the communications systems and run initial tests for NEEMO 15.
——–Agencies