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NASA
Prepares for Space Exploration in Undersea Lab
NASA
will send three astronauts and a Cincinnati doctor under the
ocean next month to test space medicine concepts and moon-walking
techniques.
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A diver
approaches the Aquarius undersea research laboratory.
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During the mission, called
the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) project,
new long-distance medical techniques that could help keep
spacefarers healthy will be practiced. Doctors thousands of miles
away will guide aquanauts as they perform surgeries on a patient
simulator. Doctors also will remotely control robotic instruments
to do the work. The procedures simulated in Aquarius may one day
be used to respond to emergencies on the International Space
Station, the moon or Mars.
Canadian astronaut Dave
Williams will lead the undersea mission April 3-20 on board the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Aquarius
Underwater Laboratory. NASA astronauts Nicole Stott and Ron Garan
and Dr. Tim Broderick of the University of Cincinnati round out
the crew. Jim Buckley and Ross Hein of the University of North
Carolina at Wilmington will provide engineering support.
The
crew members will conduct simulated undersea "moon walks"
to test concepts for future lunar exploration. During those
simulated moon walks, they will construct an underwater structure
with the help of a remotely operated vehicle, similar to what may
be done by the next travelers to the moon. This will be the ninth
undersea mission conducted by NASA in cooperation with NOAA.
A
"mission control" at NASA's Johnson Space Center,
Houston, will monitor the underwater expedition. Johnson's
Exploration Planning Operations Center will simulate future space
challenges, among them the two-second communications delay
between Earth and the moon.
"This mission will be
the longest NEEMO and Aquarius mission," said NEEMO Project
Manager Bill Todd. "Our partnerships with other agencies and
countries should provide a treasure chest of useful medical and
exploration operations knowledge."
NEEMO 9 will
demonstrate and evaluate innovative technologies and procedures
for remote surgery. Dr. Mehran Anvari will remotely guide
astronauts through diagnosis and surgery and use virtual-reality
technology to remotely guide simulated surgery by robots. Anvari
is director of the McMaster University Centre for Minimal Access
Surgery at St. Joseph's Healthcare, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Similar in size to the space station's living quarters,
Aquarius is the world's only permanent underwater habitat and
laboratory. The 45-foot long, 13-foot diameter complex is three
miles off Key Largo in the Florida Keys National Marine
Sanctuary. It rests about 62 feet beneath the surface. A surface
buoy provides an outlet for power, life support and
communications. A shore-based control center monitors the habitat
and crew. Aquarius is owned and funded by NOAA and operated by
the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. The NEEMO
missions are a cooperative project among NASA, NOAA and the
university.
This mission originally was scheduled for
October 2005, but it was postponed due to hurricanes. Because of
the NEEMO and space shuttle mission schedules, Williams is
replacing NASA astronaut Lee Morin as commander.
Source
/ Credit: NASA
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