Today we began autonomous operations, as a lunar habitat on the moon or Mars will one day operate. We have been working with built-in communication delays and limited direction from the ground. We have been given several prioritized tasks to complete over the next few days but have been left to our own to develop and implement the plan to get the tasks done. We are learning very quickly about the challenges autonomy brings, as we are very used to relying on very smart people on the ground to help us solve our problems. Down here at 20 meters below sea level, we really feel like we are on our own.
Our day started out supporting science back on Earth. Satoshi had us all up bright and early, which had the entire crew anticipating a traditional, home-cooked Japanese breakfast. Much to our chagrin, the only thing he had prepared for us was a blood draw. Doctors back at Johnson Space Center are very interested in the similar blood changes that occur on orbit and during saturation diving.
On the moon and Mars, we will need to build structures to allow astronauts on foot or in rovers to explore farther and farther away from their habitat. To simulate this, one of our major objectives this week is to build a communications relay tower at a prescribed distance from Aquarius. Today we assembled several components of our tower (called “Luna Sea”) and surveyed a location that we believe fits all the criteria established by mission control. Tomorrow we will finish building the components of the tower and deliver them to our chosen construction site. We also did a field survey, marking points of interest than can be used to track the health of the reef around Aquarius. The lessons learned from this exercise will be used to develop similar geologic surveys that will take place on other planets.
Chris and Ricky begin construction on the “Luna Sea” communications tower
Nick surveys the ocean floor around Aquarius.
Tomorrow we’ll be “out the hatch” early, for another six-hour excursion on the ocean floor. Though it is always great to be working in the sea, tomorrow will be even more special as we’ll be the first NEEMO crew to drive a rover across Carpenter Basin.
Written by Aquanaut Crew
Today we started preparing for autonomous operations. This means all of our communications with “mission control” now have a built-in time delay of 20 minutes in each direction, as 20 minutes is the average delay in communication between Earth and Mars. This morning, in place of a morning teleconference with our mission control team, we watched a video they had ‘up-linked’ to us. In the evening, we videotaped our reply and sent it to them.
We also had the opportunity to talk with interested members of the media about our mission and the current station and shuttle missions. We talked about our status and how we are happy with the mission. We were also excited to share that we our growing our own basil on Aquarius in a growth chamber similar to one that was just delivered to Expedition 15 crew member Clay Anderson by the crew of Endeavour. Clay will also be trying to grow basil on the space station. Additionally, Endeavour will return to Earth carrying millions of basil seeds that will be available to students for use in their own experiments. We want students to think about how we can grow our own food in extreme environments and build growth chambers that will make true autonomy possible on the moon and Mars.
Chris and Ricky prepare our plant growth chamber. By day 5 of the mission, we have seedlings!
Our first task today was a pair of medical drills. We evaluated the status of the patients (ably played by Ricky and Chris), did cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and administered simulated medicine according to our procedures. If you were watching, we hope you saw the sign we posted on the main lock wall to say that these were just drills! The drill went well. We hope such emergencies do not happen in space, but it is nice to be prepared. On a six-month stay on the International Space Station (ISS), you can’t count on being lucky enough to have a doctor on board as we do here on Aquarius (JAXA astronaut Dr. Satoshi Furukawa), so we need to have procedures that any crew member can follow to stabilize and treat a critically ill patient.
Nick and Ricky work through a medical emergency drill on the habitat floor.
In the afternoon, we set up a small robotic manipulator for handling coral samples in the habitat. When we go to the moon and Mars we will need to find a way for astronauts to collect, catalogue, and analyze rock samples without contaminating them. The robotic arm we are using on Aquarius will help us provide data to those people developing the hardware and procedures for those future missions. Of course, all of us on Aquarius dream of conducting future robotic arm operations on the shuttle, ISS, or the moon. We also think a lot about the advances that will be made in robotics by the time students in school today will actually be using robots on Mars.
Nick and Chris set up a robotic arm for processing “lunar” samples
The other big task today was ‘potting’. Supplies come down to Aquarius in large steel cylinders called ‘pots’. Each watertight pot is packed at the surface and must be slowly equalized with the habitats atmosphere, which is at 2.5 times the pressure at sea level. The ‘topside’ team sent down the supplies we will need over the next four days for our autonomous exploration spacewalks – scuba gear, navigation equipment, and a special propeller-driven, wheeled rover that will help us get around the sea floor.
Tomorrow we begin our autonomous phase spacewalk plan. We will be surveying the area for an optimal site for building a lunar communication tower as well as doing a geology exercise using the beautiful coral surrounding Aquarius. We are hoping that through our work, we can help our partners at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration monitor the health of the reef around Aquarius while we develop procedures to perform geology excursions on the moon and Mars. Finally, we will also be testing Apollo-era tools (shovel, rake, etc.) for efficiency and ease of use.
We are really looking forward to our spacewalks over the next three days!
Written by Aquanaut Crew
Today we had our last dives in the ‘special diving’ helmets. They are super, but they are not light at all. They weigh 27 pounds, which is not an issue in the water, but is when you are getting “hatted” (or, in other words, are having it put on your head). Having the opportunity to work in these helmets has been critical (and fun) as any spacesuit designed for the moon will require a helmet for head protection, visibility, and communication. The helmet provided us all three.
You have probably noticed that we have spent quite a bit of time working outside Aquarius over the past few days. Aquarius is a complicated machine, and the reason we are able to devote so much time to our exploration projects is that our two habitat technicians - Jim Buckley and Dewey Smith – are working very hard to keep her running. They are the first ones out of their bunks each morning, checking the health of Aquarius, and the last ones to turn in at night. In the interim, they spend the better part of the day on the incredible amount of maintenance and upkeep that one would expect when humans put a metal house in this highly corrosive marine environment. Aquarius reminds us a lot of the International Space Station – another complicated machine in another unforgiving environment.
Habitat technician Dewey Smith keeping our view of Carpenter Basin crystal clear.
Tomorrow is a turn-around day. We’ll have a lot of supplies sent down as we prepare for our four days of autonomy. All of our communication with “mission control” will have a built-in time delay of 20 minutes in both directions — 20 minutes is the average delay in communication we experience between Earth and Mars. Tomorrow also marks the halfway point of our mission. It’s hard to believe we’ll soon be on the downhill side, especially with the amount of work we have left to do.
Habitat technician Jim Buckley works on valves of Aquarius’ life support system.
It is great seeing the crew settle into a rhythm aboard Aquarius. Everyone is happy, healthy….and busy!
Written by Aquanaut Crew
Our third day on the surface of Carpenter Basin started with a planning conference with our NEEMO mission control. After going over the schedule for the day’s events, we went right to work preparing for the simulated spacewalks on the surface of the ocean floor. Once again, with the help of our habitat technicians Jim and Dewey, we prepared our helmets and suits for a morning “spacewalk”. Just like yesterday, two of us went out in the morning and the other two in the afternoon, each for around two or three hours. While one pair was outside, the other remained inside manning the radio, and reading instructions. As you may have seen on our webcam, some of the tasks were very challenging, but we still loved every minute of it. Later in the mission all four NASA crewmembers will go out at the same time on six-hour spacewalks, with no support from inside the habitat.
One of the striking things about this area is all of the interesting (and interested) wildlife around us. We’ll be walking across a patch of sand while a barracuda gazes from a few feet away, and after we leave, dozens of bottom-dwellers will feed on the microbes in the sand that we just kicked up. After a day of such bizarre and beautiful sights, we cannot help but think about the bizarre and beautiful discoveries we may someday make on other planets.
Ricky Arnold catches his breath underneath Aquarius
Apart from the spacewalks, back in Aquarius we had a very special day. From the bunkroom we watched as Shuttle Endeavour launch to the International Space Station. We feel very much a part of what is going on in space right now. Not only is there the common bond of NEEMO aquanauts on each of these three missions, but a goal of each mission is to bring the benefits of spaceflight into the classroom – especially since our future programs will need the generation of students who are in our classrooms today.
The NEEMO 13 crew watching the launch of Endeavour from the Aquarius bunkroom
Our thoughts are with the crewmembers of Endeavour and ISS for a successful launch and a great mission in the coming two weeks. It was an inspirational sight to see from the ocean floor!
Written by Aquanaut Crew
Our first breakfast on the reef was followed by our first heavy work of the mission: a set of two ‘spacewalks’ that took up most of our day. First out of the ‘airlock’ were Nick and Satoshi, who spent about three hours running an obstacle course of lunar activities on the sea floor: running, walking, picking up rocks, climbing. For each run around the course we wore a large metal backpack that allowed support divers to adjust our centers of gravity to mimic one of several proposed spacesuit designs. In the afternoon, Ricky and Chris performed a similar space walk, wearing a diver’s weight suit, which allowed their weights to be adjusted to change their traction and locomotion. As each pair went outside, the remaining pair played the role of ‘mission control’ from inside the habitat – a role which Houston will not be able to play easily when we’re on Mars – the communications time delay will be too long for two-way radio from Earth.
Satoshi Furukawa climbs the habitat’s ladder in his lunar suit simulator
Today was a day of firsts for us as a crew, and none was more significant than the end of our first night sleeping on the reef. The confined quarters of Aquarius (no more than two people can stand in the bunk room at once!) are an excellent preparation for life aboard any spacecraft – past, present or future.
Chris, Ricky, and Nick wait for their ear-drops to take effect after a hard day of diving
And at 10:19 a.m. Eastern time, Ricky, Satoshi and Chris officially became aquanauts, having spent a full 24 hours underwater! Nick hopes he has retained his aquanaut status from 2003.
Good night from Aquarius and the NEEMO 13 crew!