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Mission Blog

Greetings!

Ever wonder how the crew knows what it is they are supposed to do when they are in space, or in our case underwater? The short answer is that we use timelines and procedures, but of course the devil is in the details… For the Space Shuttle, there is a hardcopy of the timeline, as well as volumes of procedure books. If/when changes are made, we send up a new file electronically, and the crew prints a new hardcopy. For the ISS, it was easily apparent that we could never keep up with the changes (that are happening daily) that way. We designed custom tools to aid the crew in executing their tasks for the day. By design, the ISS crew can view their whole timeline and all their procedures on the screen of a laptop. They still have a printer if they need a hardcopy (of
procedures, anyway), but the intent is to be able to manage it all electronically. The timeline tool is called OSTPV (Onboard Short Term Plan Viewer) and it allows the crew (and ground team) to view not only a timeline of when the activities are scheduled but also information regarding how to perform that activity in the form of Execute and Ops Notes. The major downside to this tool is that it requires a special - and often cranky - computer and software to generate these timelines. From the timeline you can link to the procedure if desired. Currently we use a special tool to view procedures called MPV (Manual Procedure Viewer). This tool allows the user to see and manipulate the procedure as it’s being executed. The downside to it is that it’s INCREDIBLY slow and frustrating to use - especially when the procedure contains photos. The next generation of OSTPV will be web-based. A “beta” version of it is being used for the first time operationally on this NEEMO mission.

Over the course of the mission we will have identified dozens of features and limitations that need improvement before using it onboard the ISS for the first time. The next version of the procedure viewer, called IPV (International Procedure Viewer) allows much faster and easier viewing of procedures. We are using it as well for the first time on NEEMO 6. For
our crew these new tools provide a number of advantages: they resemble the current ISS tools they’re already familiar with; they are the predecessors to the versions they will be using on their own ISS missions, and they have the first opportunity to provide inputs to how the tools end up. As an added advantage, we can access both here in Key Largo, and our Mission Control Team in Houston can access them as well - which guarantees we’re all on the same page, so to speak

A number of people in the Operations Division at the Johnson Space Center have worked very hard over the last few months working out problems in these two tools so that we could use them for this mission. It was at times questionable whether they would be ready on time, but thanks to the hard work and dedication of a few people, it was possible. It’s
certainly true that our mission benefits from this, but we’re proud to be helping mature these tools for use on the ISS as well.

One of the more interesting and fun aspects of a mission is participating in the Educational Outreach events. This mission features 5 separate time-lined events. They range from a conference of educators, to web casts that anyone can join, to targeted events at museums and science centers across the nation. Today the crew participated in the first of these. The first was a linkup with some Educators at an AIAA conference in Ft. Lauderdale. The event went off swimmingly (sorry!) and was recorded live. It’s intended for use in science classrooms throughout Broward county (the 5th largest school district in the nation). The second event was with an audience at our very own Space Center Houston. If you’re interested in following along with future events, the following web site shows you when and where:

http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/5-8/features/F_NEEMO_6_Webcast.
html

Mission Journal 5-Marc Reagan: Mission Day 3: Wednesday, July 14, 2004

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Greetings!
Ever wonder how the crew knows what it is they are supposed to do when
they are in space, or in our case underwater? The short answer is that
we use timelines and procedures, but of course the devil is in the
details… For the Space Shuttle, there is a hardcopy of the timeline,
as well as volumes of procedure books. If/when changes are made, we send
up a new file electronically, and the crew prints a new hardcopy.
For the ISS, it was easily apparent that we could never keep up with the
changes (that are happening daily) that way. We designed custom tools to
aid the crew in executing their tasks for the day. By design, the ISS
crew can view their whole timeline and all their procedures on the screen
of a laptop. They still have a printer if they need a hardcopy (of
procedures, anyway), but the intent is to be able to manage it all
electronically. The timeline tool is called OSTPV (Onboard Short Term
Plan Viewer) and it allows the crew (and ground team) to view not only a
timeline of when the activities are scheduled but also information
regarding how to perform that activity in the form of Execute and Ops
Notes. The major downside to this tool is that it requires a special -
and often cranky - computer and software to generate these timelines.
From the timeline you can link to the procedure if desired. Currently we
use a special tool to view procedures called MPV (Manual Procedure
Viewer). This tool allows the user to see and manipulate the procedure as
it’s being executed. The downside to it is that it’s INCREDIBLY slow and
frustrating to use - especially when the procedure contains photos.
The next generation of OSTPV will be web-based. A “beta” version of it
is being used for the first time operationally on this NEEMO mission.
Over the course of the mission we will have identified dozens of features
and limitations that need improvement before using it onboard the ISS for
the first time. The next version of the procedure viewer, called IPV
(International Procedure Viewer) allows much faster and easier viewing of
procedures. We are using it as well for the first time on NEEMO 6. For
our crew these new tools provide a number of advantages: they resemble
the current ISS tools they’re already familiar with; they are the
predecessors to the versions they will be using on their own ISS
missions, and they have the first opportunity to provide inputs to how
the tools end up. As an added advantage, we can access both here in Key
Largo, and our Mission Control Team in Houston can access them as well -
which guarantees we’re all on the same page, so to speak.
A number of people in the Operations Division at the Johnson Space Center
have worked very hard over the last few months working out problems in
these two tools so that we could use them for this mission. It was at
times questionable whether they would be ready on time, but thanks to the
hard work and dedication of a few people, it was possible. It’s
certainly true that our mission benefits from this, but we’re proud to be
helping mature these tools for use on the ISS as well.

————
One of the more interesting and fun aspects of a mission is participating
in the Educational Outreach events. This mission features 5 separate
time-lined events. They range from a conference of educators, to web casts
that anyone can join, to targeted events at museums and science centers
across the nation. Today the crew participated in the first of these.
The first was a linkup with some Educators at an AIAA conference in Ft.
Lauderdale. The event went off swimmingly (sorry!) and was recorded
live. It’s intended for use in science classrooms throughout Broward
county (the 5th largest school district in the nation). The second event
was with an audience at our very own Space Center Houston. If you’re
interested in following along with future events, the following web site
shows you when and where:

http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/5-8/features/F_NEEMO_6_Webcast.
html

Thanks for joining us. “Sea” you next time.
- NEEMO Topside Team

Greetings!

At about 10:16 a.m.this morning, the NEEMO 6 crew had been in saturation for 24 hours. This is an exciting milestone for them because by definition, they truly have become “aquanauts”. Also, John joins a very small and elite cadre of people including Scott Carpenter, Dave Williams, Mike Gernhardt, Mike Lopez-Alegria, Dan Tani, Mike Fincke, Jeff Williams, Scott Kelly, Rex Walheim, and Peggy Whitson to have both flown in space and lived undersea.

The crew remains in good spirits and have readily adapted to their new environment. They had a challenging day with two separate PAO events, two “EVAs” (which included working with our “MCC” team in Houston using underwater comm), more unpacking, and several experiment activities. The in-habitat experiments are sponsored by the Biomedical Systems Division at Johnson Space Center. All of these experiments are being used to investigate new technologies or techniques for improving the human experience in space. Most are probably early versions of experiments that will be manifested soon to the International Space Station.

Two of the experiments today were focused on countermeasures - i.e., countering the negative effects that the microgravity environment in space has on the human body. On the Space Station, there are basically 3 different kinds of exercise equipment: stationary bikes, a treadmill, and resistive exercise devices which use bungees. On this mission we are investigating a different kind of resistive device - one that uses constant torque springs. The springs reside in cartridges in 5 or 10 lb increments, and can just be easily clipped into place. The aquanauts have about a dozen different exercises to do several times during the mission to evaluate the usability and durability of the device.

The other countermeasure investigation involves stretching. It’s been found that if a stretching force is held against a flexed muscle, when the muscle relaxes it gets stretched more than it was previously. Keep the force on, resist again and then relax, and it stretches more still. While this has obvious benefits for flexibility, it seems to have benefits to muscle strength as well. It also loads the bone, which helps keep the bones strong. Thus, it becomes a countermeasure to the effects of microgravity. The different muscles are stretched with the use of a strap that can hook over a foot and be pulled by hand. The problem is that when doing it in microgravity, the stretcher will be likely to start rolling off and tumbling. We are hopeful that testing this in a neutral buoyancy environment can give us some clues as to how best to implement these techniques on orbit.

Finally, we tested a wireless tracking system today. Knowing which module our crewmembers are in (in space) could be very helpful in a life threatening situation, for example. However, it’s a complicated problem being able to track the location of objects accurately using local sensors. Today we tested a radio frequency system commonly used in hospitals inside Aquarius. Aquarius, much like the ISS, is a metal-walled cylinder. It also has the advantage of being extremely insulated from outside radio interferences (being insulated by all the sea water above) and is an ideal location for doing this type of evaluation. Later in the mission we’ll be doing a similar evaluation using an optical (infrared) system.

Thanks for following along and for your support!

What a day! Waking up to the sight of a four- or five-foot barracuda (had to be at least seven feet long, but I’m making it smaller just so it will be believable) swimming by the bow window, smacking his jaws after his morning meal. He came out of the darkness straight for the window, with a big toothy grin!

Physically, I feel much like I did in-flight on STS-113. Down here at a depth of 46 feet you experience about 2.5 atmospheres. On the surface you are at one atmosphere, so the pressure down here is greater by two-and-one-half times. The first thing you realize is that you talk funny. Much more nasal than on the surface. I sound like I’ve been sucking on a helium balloon and trying to chat. Also, I feel much more congested. I can still clear my ears, but I feel like I have more sinus congestion. I felt the same type of stuffy feeling in orbit, but it was due to the fluid shift from microgravity. Either way, the stuffy feeling is manageable and not an issue. For my crewmates, this is certainly a good taste for what it will be like on orbit.

Our first event of the day was a public affairs event with some morning news programs in Colorado and Oklahoma. Unfortunately, technical difficulties prevented our connecting, but we appreciate everyone’s efforts in trying to make it work. Our connection to a Houston newspaper came off without a hitch.

Our first EVA took us down to the pinnacle excursion line. The current started out strong from the northeast, but eventually came back around from the southwest. It made for slow going out to the end of the excursion line, roughly 750 feet from the habitat. Seven hundred and fifty feet may not seem like much on the ground, but when you are bucking a current, sucking down air from a mask and you can only see about 25 feet in front of you, it gets to be a challenge. The first dive went fine and we returned to the habitat on time.

After lunch, Wheels (Doug Wheelock) and I made our way to the grating located just to the left side of the habitat. We donned a separate breathing apparatus which allowed us to dive without the use of our big twin cylinder diving gear. We simulated the weightlessness of being on orbit by becoming neutrally buoyant, just like floating below the surface of a swimming pool. Using some gear sent down from the surface, we practiced isometric stretching exercises. The intent was to determine if we could conduct these exercises in a weightless manner. These exercises may one day allow us to use isometric stretching in place of some resistive exercises to maintain muscle mass on orbit. We are just trying to determine if we can get in the proper body position without spinning out of control. Not something you can simulate standing on the ground.

After finishing the stretching (good workout prior to our EVA) Wheels and I headed out to “tag” the pinnacle excursion line. By tagging the line, Wheels and I placed markers every 50 feet and reported back to mission control in Houston (known as the ExPOC, Expedition Operations Center). Handling these little tiny tags and wrapping them around the line using small plastic wire ties turned out to be a handful (no pun intended). We had planned on tagging four separate lines, but ended up only completing one line. The current and visibility were certainly factors, but I believe we could have helped ourselves by rearranging our hardware such that it was easier to get the tags off and wrapped on the line. Better planning on my part may have allowed me to work the task more efficiently without needing more than two hands. At times I had to hold the tape measure between my knees while threading the wire ties through the tag and back onto itself. For someone with 45-year-old eyes, focusing on something so small (in the water) is quite a challenge and it makes the task just that much more difficult. When training for space flight we have the opportunity to train numerous times in the Neutral Buoyancy Lab before we actually perform the EVA. Down here we have not had that luxury, but I think this task forces us to think on our feet and come up with a plan as we go. Being able to quickly adapt to changing situations is a must for space flight EVAs and the training we get down here drives that home.

After completing the tagging, we filled our tanks at the way station and headed back to the habitat. I wanted to finish the remainder of our tagging on the south pinnacle line, but my team inside reminded me that we had a PAO event at 1700.

Just prior to departing the pinnacle way station, I looked back to see Wheels and he was pointing past me with his eyes as wide as saucers. I turned around to see a flash of white loop in front of me. As it came closer, I could make out that it was a huge manta ray performing loops in what appeared to be a feeding pattern. He glided by performing loop after loop. I floated there in awestruck disbelief at what I had just seen. What a magnificent creature!

After that amazing show we turned toward home. We hustled back to the wet porch and quickly doffed our dive gear. Our PAO events came off well and we settled down for a planning conference with our topside support team. We discussed changes to tomorrow’s plan and the lessons learned from today. Even mistakes are discussed with the understanding that this is a learning process and each lesson will teach us something new.

Meals have been prepared collectively and shared with the crew. Most of it is freeze-dried camping food with a few exceptions for snacks. I find that I eat on the go in space and down here it is no different. You have a lot to do and you find the time to eat as time allows.

After reviewing e-mail for the day, I decided to climb in my bunk and type using a portable keyboard and my personal digital assistant. I have the bow window at my feet and the bow lights are turned on bright. What’s amazing is the number of small animals that inhabit this water. Tiny creatures flittering about like bugs under the porch light on a hot summer night.

Huge schools of fish will gather about the windows and dart about as if tied together by some invisible string. The only time they part is when a larger fish swims through hoping for a meal. As the fish passes, the group will gather together again and begin the same fluid dance.

I am very fortunate to have the opportunity to work in such a remarkable place. Working with such fantastic people makes this all the more enjoyable. When I flew aboard the Endeavour on STS-113, I marveled at Mother Earth as I flew above her! Now, from here in Aquarius, I have the opportunity to view her from within. From high above you cannot make out the individual. You see things on a grand scale and marvel at the enormity of it all. The view from above reminds me of how insignificant the individual really is. But down here, you see the tiniest creature managing its own existence. Down here you see predator and prey.

I have had the unique opportunity to view both perspectives and they fit together in an odd, mysterious sort of way. In orbit, you can’t make out the details, but you know in your heart there are huge chasms that divide us, ideologically speaking. When viewed from within, there is a clear distinction between friend and foe. You see it and you can almost reach out and touch it. There is some meaning here that I’ll take with me when I leave. Perhaps a better sense of my place in the world above.

So as I kick back and pull the covers over, I’ll glance out the bow window and look into the darkness. Every so often, my barracuda friend will swim out of the shadows, sporting that big toothy grin…

Greetings from beneath the surface of the sea. What a fantastic day it has been. We loaded up our gear on the Research Diver and made it out to the dive site by 1000. We began our dive shortly thereafter and made our way to the Aquarius habitat. Our first dive consisted of an orientation along three excursion lines to the east. The names of the excursion lines were Kamper, 5th Leg and S4. Between the 5th and S4 lines there are two additional lines we named Becca North and Becca South in honor of Rebecca Cutri-Kohart, one of our support personnel in Houston. She was responsible for working our mapping issues for this expedition. Hence, her name captured in the briny deep!!

After our first dive we headed back to the habitat and received our briefings from our habitat support personnel, Craig “Coop” Cooper and Joe March. Both guys are super to work with and we look forward to the week ahead working with them.

Our second dive in the afternoon consisted of an orientation run along the northern most excursion line, the Northeast line and deep Northeast line. Doug Wheelock (call-sign “Wheels”) and I (call-sign “Bone”) ventured out toward the end of the deep northeast line until we hit our maximum allowable depth of 95 feet. From there we returned to the intersection of the NE and NE deep lines. Nick and Tara joined us for our return to the habitat. Both excursions gave us a chance to become accustomed to our surroundings and will help us in our orientation for future dives.

Most of our tasks back here in the habitat have been geared toward making this our home away from home for the next few days. The cramped quarters are about the size of a large motorhome, but not too confining. The difference between this habitat and the Service Module on the International Space Station is that you can float to the top of the ISS to get above the rest of your crewmates. Down here you just have to turn sideways and make room for people to pass by.

During our evening planning conference I noticed a large Grouper float by the window at the bow (forward end) of the habitat. Nick and Joe took some great photos that will end up on the website. It would be reasonable to say the Grouper was pushing 100 pounds easy. He actually smiled (opened his mouth wide) when the camera was upon him.

My first day has been exactly as I expected. Great views and great people. The similarities to space flight are very real and gives me a bit of a deja vu feeling except that my food doesn’t float and I can type without having to hold myself down to the computer. Working a schedule while dealing with a new environment is just the same as arriving on orbit. The ride to get here was not as quick, but very enjoyable in the morning sun of south Florida. We are all new to this realm and we have each adapted to our new surroundings rapidly with huge smiles across our faces. I’m looking forward to sharing much more of our adventures with my family and friends in the coming days. Stay tuned…

Greetings!

At L-1 day, we are go for “splashdown” of the 6th NEEMO crew and the beginning of a very challenging engineering research mission. We hope you, as friends, family and management of NEEMO participants will enjoy reading our status reports and monitoring the mission as it progresses.

The NEEMO 6 mission will focus on 7 engineering experiments sponsored by EB (Biomedical Sciences Division here at JSC). They range from wireless networks of sensors, to zero-g countermeasures, to in flight microbial control. All are early versions of hardware and concepts that are likely to fly on ISS soon. The crew is commanded by CB/John Herrington, with “MS”s Doug Wheelock, Nick Patrick, and EB/Tara Ruttley. I will be the Mission Director, and Bill Todd, Michelle Lucas, and Monika Schultz will round out the “Topside” team as usual. The crew successfully completed their aquanaut training yesterday (Saturday) in Key Largo, FL which is where the National Undersea Research Center (NURC) which operates Aquarius (the only operational undersea research facility in the world) is located.

Attached are a couple of photos from their training week:
The mission starts on Monday, July 12 with the crew “splashdown”. You can follow the mission from the following links:

For crew journals, images and aquanaut profiles, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/home/index.html
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov

For JSC employees, also visit:
http://mod.jsc.nasa.gov/dt/Schd/NEEMO/NEEMO.htm

Thanks for tuning in!