I have never traveled to the space and chances are that neither do you. But we, scuba divers, have the opportunity to experience a similar environment in every immersion.
The NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) uses the Aquarius facilities. The Aquarius is the only undersea laboratory dedicated to marine science operating in the world. This underwater structure is owned by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and managed by the University of North Carolina at Wilmington (UNCW); Aquarius operates 4.5 kilometers offshore of Key Largo, Florida. The underwater laboratory is deployed next to deep coral reefs, 20 meters beneath the ocean surface. Aquarius provides life support systems that allow scientists to live and work underwater, in reasonably comfortable living quarters, with sophisticated research capabilities.
In this underwater laboratory the NASA employees and contractors have tested and practice lunar exploration concepts and also a complete range of long-duration spaceflight medical research projects. During the NASA NEEMO Missions, the crew conducted a variety of undersea "moon walks" to test concepts for future lunar exploration using advanced navigation and communication equipment.
I always thought that scuba divers are explorers of the oceans and underwater world; and it is good that the NASA is using an underwater facility to train future Space Station habitants, but I think that if we still do not have a complete understanding of the earth’s oceanic system, (my question always has been) would it make more sense explore and understand the oceans first?
