Fri, Oct 28, 2011
Underwater Training Cut Short By Late-Season Storm
Due to the predicted path of Hurricane Rina, the 15th NASA
Extreme Environment Mission Operations, or NEEMO, ended earlier
than planned. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) operates the Aquarius Undersea Laboratory and the agency
determined Rina posed a risk to the safety of the mission taking
place near Key Largo, Florida.
The six aquanauts of the NEEMO crew left the facility, where
they lived for five days, and returned to the surface of the
Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary in Key Largo on Wednesday
morning.
The six-member NEEMO crew - Commander and NASA astronaut Shannon
Walker; Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Takuya Onishi;
Canadian Space Agency astronaut David Saint-Jacques; Steven Squyres
of Cornell University; and James Talacek and Nate Bender of the
University of North Carolina Wilmington - kicked off this year's
mission on Oct. 20, after an initial delay caused by another storm
in the area.
NASA File Image
The NEEMO crew conducted six underwater spacewalks and one day
of scientific research inside the Aquarius habitat. They also
completed four days of scientific asteroid exploration analog
operations using the deep worker submersibles that stood in for the
Space Exploration Vehicle. This year's mission was the first NEEMO
to focus on operational concepts that would be used in human
exploration of an asteroid.
"Despite the length, we accomplished a significant amount of
research," said NEEMO Project Manager Bill Todd. "We're already
learning lessons from working in this environment."
The remainder of NEEMO 15 will not be rescheduled, and all media
events are cancelled. The NEEMO 16 mission is tentatively set for
the summer of 2012.
More News
Hold Procedure A predetermined maneuver which keeps aircraft within a specified airspace while awaiting further clearance from air traffic control. Also used during ground operatio>[...]
Altitude Readout An aircraft’s altitude, transmitted via the Mode C transponder feature, that is visually displayed in 100-foot increments on a radar scope having readout cap>[...]
Aero Linx: European Hang Gliding and Paragliding Union (EHPU) The general aim of the EHPU is to promote and protect hang gliding and paragliding in Europe. In order to achieve this>[...]
Also: Skydio Chief, Uncle Sam Sues, Dash 7 magniX, OR UAS Accelerator US Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall was given a turn around the patch in the 'X-62A Variable In-flight>[...]
"The need for innovation at speed and scale is greater than ever. The X-62A VISTA is a crucial platform in our efforts to develop, test and integrate AI, as well as to establish AI>[...]