NASA has transformed its massive Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL), which holds 6.2 million gallons of water, into a simulated replica of the Moon's surface to train astronauts who will soon embark on actual lunar missions for the Artemis program, Futurism reported.
The facility, located in Houston, Texas, is being modified to replicate the challenging conditions on the Moon by immersing future astronauts in a 40-foot deep pool. Through the help of weights and floatation devices, the 202-by-102-foot diving tank simulates one-sixth of Earth's gravity.
The training pool at the NASA Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory in Houston, Texas, on August 5, 2022.
Replicating Experience on the Moon's Surface
For over three decades, NASA has been training astronauts at the NBL in the Sonny Carter Training Facility, where the weightlessness of zero gravity is simulated by 6.2 million gallons of water. As NASA's Artemis program plans to send astronauts back to the Moon, the pool's floor is being transformed to mimic the lunar surface.
To make the simulation feel as real as possible, NASA is adding boulders, sand, and a replica of the Sun's movement. V2X, the company in charge of the transformation, told Gizmodo that they are building a replica lunar environment at the bottom of the pool. The sand will resemble the lunar regolith and allow astronauts to understand how it feels to traverse through that environment.
In addition, the bottom of the pool is equipped with boulders and rocks, both real and manufactured, to replicate the rock-littered surface of the Moon.
The simulated environment will also provide training for the dim-lit conditions expected at the Artemis landing sites, Yahoo! News reported. V2X is recreating the lighting conditions found at the Moon's south pole, where astronauts will land as part of the Artemis 3 mission scheduled for later in the decade.
Before the training begins, divers are testing the underwater lunar environment to perfect the technique for weighing out at one-sixth of the Earth's gravity, which is the gravity experienced on the Moon.
As mission requirements demand, the training will become more specific, and the environment will become more high fidelity. For now, the focus is on perfecting the technique and ensuring that the simulated lunar environment can prepare astronauts for the challenges of walking on the Moon.
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About the Giant Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory
According to NASA, the Sonny Carter Training Facility: The Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory was named after Astronaut Manley L. "Sonny" Carter Jr., who was a physician, aviator, and NASA astronaut that passed away in a civil aviation accident at the age of 43. The primary mission of the NBL is to prepare for space missions involving spacewalks.
The giant swimming pool is used by NASA team members to develop flight procedures, verify hardware compatibility, train astronauts, and refine spacewalk procedures during flight. These preparations are essential to ensure the success of the mission, and the ability to perform on-orbit assembly and maintenance operations is critical for future space endeavors.
For instance, hundreds of hours of spacewalks will be required for the assembly of the International Space Station. Successful maintenance of spacewalks have resulted in the phenomenal scientific discoveries made by the Hubble Space Telescope.
Therefore, spacewalks are the cornerstone for current and future space initiatives, and the NBL is the foundation for the successful preparation of spacewalks.
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