Four Astronauts Splash Down for Space Exploration Research

Friday, September 01 2006 @ 08:29 PM EDT

Edited by: Kandy Ringer

<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<table border="0" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="14">
<tr>
<td>
<table align="center" width="80%" border="0" cellpadding="10" cellspacing="0">
</tr>
</td>
<tr>
<td align="right">
<b>NASA News</b><p>Briefs and Releases<p>BBSNews 2006<p>Compiled by Kandy Ringer
</td>
<td align="center">
<img src="http://bbsnews.net/images/NASAlogo.gif">;
</p>

</tr>
</table>
<tr>
<td>

<font size="+1"><b>NASA CONTINUES SPACE EXPLORATION RESEARCH WITH UNDERSEA LAB</b></font>
</p><p>
NASA via BBSNews - 2006-09-01 -- NASA's third mission this year to an undersea laboratory off the
Florida coast begins when four astronauts splash down Sept. 16.
</p><table align="right" width="277" border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0">
<tr>
<td align="center" valign="middle">
<img src="http://bbsnews.net/bbsn_photos/topics/NASA/aquarius_1997_refurbished.jpg"; width="275" height="181" alt="Aquarius was refurbished in 1997 by the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.">
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">Aquarius was refurbished in 1997 by the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

<p>
<font size="-2">Image Courtesy: NOAA and UNC at Wilmington
</font>
</td></tr>

<tr>
<td align="left">
For the images shown above in a larger size, see <a href="http://bbsnews.net/bbsn_photos/NASA/aquarius_1997_refurbished"; title="Aquarius was refurbished in 1997 by the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.">Aquarius was refurbished in 1997 by the University of North Carolina at Wilmington</a>.
<p>
<font size="-2">More NASA images are available in <a href="http://bbsnews.net/bbsn_photos/"; title="BBSNews Photos.">BBSNews NASA Photos</a>.</font>
</p>
</td>
</tr>
</table><p>
Veteran space flyer astronaut Sandra H. Magnus will lead the crew on a
seven-day undersea mission Sept. 16 - 22 onboard the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Aquarius underwater
laboratory. Army Lt. Col. Timothy L. Kopra, Army Col. Timothy J.
Creamer and Air Force Maj. Robert L. Behnken round out the astronaut
crew. Roger Garcia and Larry Ward of the University of North Carolina
at Wilmington will provide engineering support inside the habitat.
All four astronauts are training for possible assignment to missions
to the International Space Station.
</p><p>
During the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) 11,
astronauts will imitate moonwalks, testing concepts for mobility
using various spacesuit configurations and weights to simulate lunar
gravity. Techniques for communication, navigation, geological sample
retrieval, construction and using remote-controlled robots on the
moon's surface also will be tested.
</p><p>
"We continue to press the limits of our imaginations as we test
operational concepts that may be used when we return to the moon,"
said NEEMO 11 Mission Director Marc Reagan. "Building on the NEEMO 9
and 10 missions, we will explore new challenges and learn to overcome
the inherent difficulties of living and working on the moon. These
results will allow our designers and engineers to improve designs of
habitats, robots and spacesuits."
</p><p>
Aquarius is owned and funded by NOAA and operated by the University of
North Carolina at Wilmington's Undersea Research Center. The center
is part of NOAA's Undersea Research Program. Aquarius hosts teams of
scientists on research missions, usually 10 days long, to study
science and management issues on its surrounding coral reef
ecosystems.
</p><p>
Aquarius is a 45-foot-long, 13-foot-diameter complex three miles off
Key Largo in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. The
laboratory rests 62 feet beneath the surface. A shore-based mission
control center in Florida monitors the habitat and crew. The NEEMO 11
work will be monitored at NASA's Johnson Space Center's Exploration
Planning Operations Center, Houston. This is the last NEEMO mission
this year. More are planned in 2007.
</p><p>
Magnus flew to the International Space Station on shuttle mission
STS-112 in October 2002. She used the station's robotic arm to help
attach a new segment to the station's truss structure. Magnus was
born in Belleville, Ill. She has a bachelor's in physics and a
master's in electrical engineering from the University of
Missouri-Rolla and a doctorate from the Georgia Institute of
Technology, Atlanta.
</p><p>
Kopra was selected as an astronaut in 2000 and is assigned to the
Space Station Operations Branch of the Astronaut Office. He was born
in Austin,Texas. He holds a bachelor's from the U.S. Military
Academy, West Point, N.Y., and a master's in aerospace engineering
from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
</p><p>
Selected as an astronaut in 1998, Creamer works in the Robotics Branch
of the Astronaut Office. Creamer considers Upper Marlboro, Md., his
hometown. He has a bachelor's from Loyola College and a master's from
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge.
</p><p>
Behnken was selected as an astronaut in 2000. He considers St. Ann,
Mo., his hometown. He has bachelor's degrees in mechanical
engineering and physics from Washington University, St. Louis, and a
master's and doctorate in mechanical engineering from the California
Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif. He is a graduate of the Air
Force Test Pilot School, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.
</p><p>
Through NASA's Digital Learning Network (DLN), classrooms will be able to videoconference with
Aquarius. Students will conduct experiments of their own before
talking with the aquanauts. The pre-event activities are designed to
complement the NEEMO 11 mission objectives.
</p><p>
For more information about NEEMO, including mission imagery, crew
journals, and links to webcams and the Digital Learning Network,
visit: <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/neemo"; title="www.nasa.gov/neemo"; target="_blank">NEEMO</a>.
<div align="center">###</div>
</p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>

Comments (0)

BBSNews
http://bbsnews.net/article.php/20060901202911414