July 6, 2006
Katherine Trinidad
Headquarters, Washington
(202) 358-3749
Kylie S. Clem
Johnson Space Center, Houston
(281) 483-5111
RELEASE: 06-276
NASA USES UNDERSEA LAB TO PREP FOR FUTURE SPACE EXPLORATION
NASA will test concepts for future space exploration next month by
sending three astronauts and an oceanographer on a mission to an
underwater laboratory off the coast of Florida.
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Koichi Wakata will
lead the crew on a seven-day undersea mission July 22 to 28 aboard
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Aquarius
underwater laboratory. NASA astronauts Andrew J. Feustel and Karen L.
Nyberg, and Karen Kohanowich, deputy director of NOAA's Undersea
Research Program, Silver Spring, Md., round out the crew. Mark
Hulsbeck and Dominic Landucci of the University of North Carolina at
Wilmington will provide engineering support.
The NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) 10 project
will include undersea extravehicular activities imitating moonwalks
to test concepts for mobility, using weighted backpacks to simulate
lunar and Martian gravity. Techniques for communication, navigation
and using remote-controlled robots on the moon's surface also will be
tested.
"Whether walking and working on the ocean floor or exploring the lunar
surface, significant prior planning, training and dependence on
sophisticated life support systems is necessary," said NEEMO Project
Manager Bill Todd, Johnson Space Flight Center (JSC), Houston. "Sure,
you won't see any pretty fish on a moonwalk, but you will see the
same types of crew, hardware and procedure challenges that are
associated with this type of an ocean habitation and research
mission."
This mission also exemplifies the partnership between NASA and NOAA
for NEEMO.
"NOAA will use this opportunity to build on its undersea research
efforts and interagency partnership successes," said Kohanowich.
"Humans working both in space and under the ocean face similar
challenges of lack of oxygen, weightlessness, remoteness, extreme
pressure differentials and cramped quarters. Many techniques,
technologies, and skills necessary to work underwater can be adapted
for lunar research, and vice versa," Kohanowich stated.
Aquarius is owned and funded by NOAA and operated by the University of
North Carolina at Wilmington. This is the second of three NEEMO
missions planned for this year. The work will be monitored at JSC's
Exploration Planning Operations Center (ExPOC), Houston. 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 shore-based mission control center in Florida
monitors the habitat and crew.
Born in Saitama, Japan, Wakata reported to JSC in August 1992. He flew
as the first Japanese mission specialist on the space shuttle mission
STS-72 in January 1996. He flew to the space station on STS-92 in
October 2000. Wakata has a Bachelor of Science, a Master of Science,
and doctorate in aerospace engineering from Kyushu University, Japan.
Selected as a mission specialist by NASA in July 2000, Feustel
completed two years of initial training and evaluation before
assignment to the Astronaut Office Space Shuttle and Space Station
branches. He has an Associate Science degree from Oakland Community
College in Michigan, a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science
from Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind., and a Ph.D. in
geological sciences from Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario,
Canada. Feustel considers Lake Orion, Mich., his hometown.
Selected as a mission specialist by NASA in July 2000, Nyberg
considers Vining, Minn., her hometown. She served as crew support
astronaut for Expedition 6 at the International Space Station and
currently supports the Space Shuttle Branch and the Exploration
Branch. She has a Bachelor of Science from the University of North
Dakota, and a Master of Science and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering
from the University of Texas at Austin.
Kohanowich became the deputy director of NOAA's Undersea Research
Program in April 2005. Previously she was a U.S. Navy deep sea diver
and oceanographer and retired as a commander after 23 years of
service. Early in her career, Kohanowich supported 1,000 FSW (feet of
sea water) saturation dives at the Navy Experimental Diving Unit.
To request interviews with the NEEMO 10 crew contact the JSC Newsroom
at 281-483-5111. Additional points of contact: Kumiko Tanabe, JAXA,
Houston at 281-483-2251 and Jana Goldman, NOAA, Silver Spring, Md.,
at 301-713-2483.
For information about NEEMO, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/neemo-end-
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