[meteorite-list] Engineering Tests Leading The Way For NASA's Next Neemo Mission

[Ron Baalke]

May 09, 2011

J.D. Harrington/Michael Braukus 
Headquarters, Washington                                
202-358-5241/1979 
j.d.harrington at nasa.gov/michael.j.braukus at nasa.gov 

Brandi Dean 
Johnson Space Center, Houston 
281-244-1403 
brandi.k.dean at nasa.gov 

RELEASE: 11-141

ENGINEERING TESTS LEADING THE WAY FOR NASA'S NEXT NEEMO MISSION

HOUSTON -- To determine how best to explore asteroids in the future, 
NASA scientists and engineers are taking their experiments underwater 
in the 15th expedition of NASA Extreme Environment Mission 
Operations, or NEEMO. 

This year's NEEMO expedition, which will include the usual compliment 
of astronauts and engineers, is slated for October. Since this is the 
first mission to simulate a trip to an asteroid, there's a lot of 
work to do before the mission can start. To prepare, engineers have 
journeyed to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's 
Aquarius Underwater Laboratory near Key Largo, Fla., to work through 
some of the concepts that will be tested in the fall. 

"Even experts don't know what the surface of an asteroid is going to 
be like," said NEEMO Project Manager Bill Todd. "There may be 
asteroids that we don't even know about yet that we'll be visiting. 
So we're figuring out the best way to do that." 

NEEMO 15 will investigate three aspects of a mission to an asteroid: 
how to anchor to the surface; how to move around; and how best to 
collect data. Unlike the moon or Mars, an asteroid would have little, 
if any, gravity to hold astronauts or vehicles, so an anchor would be 
necessary. NEEMO 15 will evaluate different anchoring methods and how 
to connect the multiple anchors to form pathways. The aquanauts and 
engineers will study whether it's more efficient to join the anchors 
in a straight line or set them up similar to the spokes of a wagon 
wheel. 

Starting Tuesday, May 10, engineers and scientists will begin work to 
ensure they're prepared for rigorous testing of these concepts in 
October. During these preliminary tests, they will work on the ocean 
floor, but will not stay inside the Aquarius. This allows 
participants to come to the surface and retool equipment if 
necessary. 

For more information on NEEMO, visit: 

http://www.nasa.gov/neemo 

For more information on NASA analogs, missions that simulate 
conditions on other planetary bodies, visit: 

http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/analogs/ 
	
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