The only underwater laboratory in the world is located in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. This underwater lab is located more than three miles offshore at a depth of 63 feet. It is attached to a base plate which secures the laboratory about 13 feet off the bottom of the sea. The laboratory is known as Aquarius and is owned as a joint venture between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the University of North Carolina.
Scientists live and work inside the habitat when they are not exploring outside on the adjacent coral reefs. Entry to the module is through the "wet porch," which contains an open moon pool, dive equipment storage areas, hot water heater, and shower. There are two main compartments in the Aquarius module. The "entry lock" contains space for computers and experiments, power equipment, life support controls, small view ports, and bathroom facilities. The largest living space is in the "main lock" which is designed for a six-person crew. This area has computer work stations, two large view ports, and kitchen facilities. The kitchen facilities include a microwave, instant hot water dispenser, refrigerator, sink, dining, and work areas. The main lock also contains life support controls, so both the entry and main locks can be independently pressurized.
Since the early 1990s scientists have lived in the lab and explored the deep ocean in missions that can extend up to ten days in length. The laboratory is at a depth which requires 17 hours of depressurization for divers who stay down for more than a couple of hours. Scientists use a special technique called "saturation diving." Saturation diving refers to a condition involving a diver who is underwater for several hours. After this time, the diver's blood becomes saturated with gases. The diver will require the same amount of time for depressurization whenever he or she comes up to the surface.
Using Aquarius, the diver does not have to resurface and depressurize and can explore for days under water. Therefore, the module provides tremendous time savings for researchers. Scientists living in Aquarius can do work in days which would require weeks to accomplish if they had to dive from the surface. Research scientists usually stay for about 10 days in the Aquarius module doing research before they slowly return to the surface.
The scientists living in Aquarius have observed that life in the module is like living in an aquarium. Fish peer in every port hole and the adjoining coral reef is a habitat to many different varieties of fish. Aquarius is connected to the world above the ocean by a wire secured to the top of a 30-foot buoy on the surface that connects the laboratory to Key Largo. This connection allows the scientists to send an educational underwater video program of each mission across the Internet.
The laboratory has been home to close to 100 deep underwater missions since the early 1990s. The undersea lab's environment is very similar to conditions found on the International Space Station. This has provided NASA with a venue to do research about conditions involving moonwalks and to test concepts designed to be used in future space exploration.
During a recent mission, called NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO), participants practiced new long-distance medical techniques to keep space travelers healthy. Doctors thousands of miles away guided the aquanauts as they performed surgeries on a patient simulator. Also, doctors used virtual reality technology to guide simulated surgery by robots. The procedures simulated what one day may be used to respond to emergencies on the International Space Station, the Moon, or in long distance space flights to Mars. The aquanauts also walked on the ocean floor to simulate the lunar surface. This exercise used high-tech breathing helmets and weights to improve mobility and balance in conditions that were equivalent to the Moon's. NASA has also used Aquarius for astronauts to simulate living in the International Space Station.
Aquarius will continue to be a valuable research facility for NASA for the lunar and Mars missions in the years to come. In addition, Aquarius provides an important research venue to explore the mysteries of the undersea world on Earth. Indeed, the missions involving the Aquarius laboratory are providing the necessary research and experimentation for the conquest of man's next unexplored frontiers, under the sea and outer space.
