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Submersibles and underwater suits

Thomas and Drew will test submersibles and underwater suits to judge whether the new location is suitable as a stand-in for the environment astronauts will encounter on the Moon. Thomas is assigned as submersible pilot for the mission.

The underwater world offers similar geological features to the Moon and putting ideas to the test under high workload, real-world stress, and the unexpected problems that come with field work is one of the only ways to iron out any kinks in new exploration approaches and techniques.

Thomas was chosen to take part in this feasibility study due to his background as an airline pilot and spacewalk experience on the International Space Station during his Proxima mission in 2016. He also took part in ESA’s CAVES programme alongside Norishige, as well as two other NASA underwater missions, making him an ideal astronaut to assess the new programme.

“We have some really impressive technology to work with, including the underwater ‘spacesuit’ and submersible rover,” says Thomas, “but we expect a hectic two weeks where we will be spending a lot of time underwater.

“With these analogue missions everything is made to be as realistic as possible without leaving Earth, so we will be as busy as astronauts on the Space Station, using similar operational techniques with mission control, briefings and procedures.”

Support divers and ground-based personnel will monitor the tasks and guide the astronauts. Experts from ESA’s astronaut centre and Japan's space agency JAXA are taking part too.

This sortie, called NEEMO NXT, will start underwater operations tomorrow and last until 28 August and is being hosted by the University of South California. Follow the mission with updates on social media with hashtag #neemoNXT.