The NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) projects use extreme environments to test new materials, technologies and human reactions to extreme environments. NEEMO 14, in particular, is aptly named because it is located deep in the ocean — just like the clownish. However, unlike Nemo, NEEMO 14 uses its environmental extremes as bases for research, training and education.
Introduction to NEEMO 14
The 14th NEEMO is located 3.5 miles from Key Largo, FL, and 62 feet below the water’s surface. At this depth, the ocean is not adapted for human survival: Even with traditional diving equipment, humans become subject to the bends — nitrogen build up in the blood — which can be fatal.
NEEMO 14, however, has found a way for humans to survive and explore this extreme environment for up to three weeks at a time. The underwater research center is equipped with oxygen, a laboratory and beds, but the timing of descent, ascent and exploration is one of the more important factors in this extreme environment survival.
Because of decompression sickness (the bends), divers must slowly descend to the research center, 62 feet below the surface. Once there, divers can stay in the research center on the ocean floor for up to three weeks, as long as saturation diving protocols are followed correctly.
While researching, as long as the divers stay at 62 feet, they can use traditional scuba gear to explore the environment. However, when divers leave the experiment to return to the surface, they must slowly reacclimatize themselves to shallower depths.
The Science of NEEMO
This extreme experiment is integral to NASA because the low gravity environment provides an excellent training and research facility. By accounting for buoyancy with weighted vests, the astronauts (called aquanauts) can walk on the ocean floor just as free from gravity as they would experience in space.
The research facility also allows aquanauts to experience the isolation and close quarters of space shuttles, which trains them in the space experience and tests them for psychological and physical breaking points.
