Simulate the mission to the Moon under the ocean

Under the Atlantic Ocean, about 20 meters deep, surrounded by giant sharks and turtles off the coast of Florida, NASA space astronauts are preparing for future missions to explore the Moon.

Wearing a large yellow hat connected to the diving suit, astronaut Jose M. Hernandez and NASA space physicist Josef Schmid moved slowly under the seabed similar to walking on the Face The moon, the planet has the weight of 1/6 the Earth. Two people are assembling a tubular laboratory.

Inside the Aquarius laboratory, simulating a human-on-the-moon module, two remote-controlled robotic arms thousands of kilometers are performing an operation in a virtual patient. This test belongs to a NASA program called NEEMO to study walking techniques on the Moon, the medical field in space and other space activities.

The team of researchers who have been present for 10 days includes two astronauts, two doctors, including a space physiologist and two technicians. According to NASA experts, the cylindrical Aquarius laboratory covers coral that looks like a small submarine in an environment similar to the harsh conditions in space.

Astronaut Jose M. Hernandez (left) and Dr. Josef Schmid (Photo: spaceref)

The laboratory will allow you to learn about medical issues that may involve astronauts. It is known that viruses in latent bodies of 'undersea astronauts' grow faster than in space. NASA hopes this mission and the next missions will help researchers learn about this phenomenon.

Another goal of this experiment is to evaluate the remote robot control system for space surgeries performed by doctors on Earth.

Undersea astronauts will study all the space flight issues that NASA will address when preparing the Lunar mission back to the year 2018. In the long run, the goal will be the mission to deliver people go to Mars.

The module weighs 81 tons including 6 bunk beds, a shower, restroom, a microwave, a refrigerator and networked computers with NASA's Key Largo base in the state of Florida. Aquarius is supplied with water and oxygen through a umbilical cord connected to a floating device on the surface of a float.

VN