[NAEP] [Fwd: Fwd: NEEMO 9 FROM SEA TO SPACE: RESEARCH IN MOTION]

[Dawn Wiseman]

>
> NEEMO 9
>
>  FROM SEA TO SPACE: RESEARCH IN MOTION
>  
> Canadian Space Agency astronaut Dr. Dave Williams was recently asked 
> to be the Commander of the NASA NEEMO 9 mission to the Aquarius 
> undersea habitat from April 3rd to April 20th. This will be the 
> longest NEEMO mission and the longest mission performed on Aquarius. 
> The crew includes Dave Williams (CSA), Ron Garan, Nicole Stott (both 
> NASA astronauts), Tim Broderick (a Surgeon at the University of 
> Cincinnati), Jim Buckley and Ross Hein (NURC Habitat Technicians).
>
> NEEMO 9 is a joint project involving McMaster University's Centre for 
> Minimal Access Surgery (CMAS), the U.S. Army Telemedicine and Advanced 
> Technology Research Center (TATRC), the National Space Biomedical 
> Research Institute (NSBRI), the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and NASA.
>
> The 18-day biomedical research mission will assess protocols to 
> deliver remote medical care and a prototype next-generation surgical 
> robot. Surgeons in Hamilton will perform remote surgical procedures 
> using the robot and a patient simulator in the Aquarius undersea 
> laboratory, 19 meters underwater off the Florida coast, some 2,000 
> kilometers away from Hamilton, Ontario.
>
>  There are three primary science objectives during the NEEMO 9 mission:
>  
> §         Telementoring - An experienced surgeon in an advanced 
> treatment facility in Hamilton will use pre-established two-way 
> telecommunications link to guide either a physician or a non-physician 
> in the Aquarius underwater habitat through a complex medical 
> procedure. Telementoring procedures will include the assessment and 
> diagnosis of extremity injuries and surgical management of fractures.
>
> §         Telerobotics - Using a prototype next generation surgical 
> robot, surgeons in Hamilton will perform real-time abdominal surgery 
> on a patient simulator in the Aquarius habitat. By varying the signal 
> transmission delays from less than a second to up to 3 seconds, the 
> mission can evaluate the capability of performing telerobotic surgery 
> in a wide range of remote settings, both on Earth and on future 
> missions to the Moon. Miniature robotic surgical cameras within the 
> abdomen will be used to enhance the surgeon's view.
>
>
> §         Human Performance - The effects of fatigue and a number of 
> stressors on the capabilities of a crew to perform complex experiments 
> both inside and outside the undersea habitat will be evaluated. This 
> information is of significant interest to health-care professionals on 
> Earth, but also in preparation for exploration missions to the Moon. 
>
> In addition to the telementoring and telerobotic surgery objectives, 
> this space-analog mission includes a number of research objectives to 
> support the vision for space exploration and the return of humans to 
> the Moon.  Crew members will perform a number of specific navigation 
> tasks similar to those required by future lunar astronauts. They will 
> also a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) controlled by the crew inside 
> the habitat or the control center in Houston to determine the optimum 
> techniques for efficiently recovering simulated lunar specimens from 
> an area around the habitat. The ROV will be used alone and in 
> conjunction with crew members walking on the seafloor in a manner 
> similar to planetary spacewalks to locate simulated lunar specimens.
>
> Once recovered to the habitat, the surgical robot will be used to sort 
> the simulated lunar specimens to evaluate the potential benefit of a 
> multi-purpose robotics platform for lunar habitats. Lessons learned 
> from the NEEMO 9 mission will be used to help prepare for future lunar 
> exploration research.
>  
>  Deployed 19 metres underwater, 5.6 km off Key Largo, in the Florida 
> Keys National Marine Sanctuary, Aquarius is an undersea laboratory 
> designed to support research in coastal and ocean resource science and 
> management. The habitat itself, a steel cylinder 3 metres in diameter 
> by 14 metres long, provides 11 cubic metres of living and laboratory 
> space for a six-person crew. The lab is equipped with computers 
> networked to shore, Internet, telephones, radios, and video 
> conferencing equipment.
>
>  
>  
> The following websites will help those of you that want to follow the 
> mission and bring its rich content directly into your classrooms:
>
> * Canadian Space Agency: <http://www.space.gc.ca/> (for information, 
> Dr. Dave's Daily Mission Diary and pedagogical resources on optics and 
> waves)- As of April 3, 2006
>
> *  Aquarius: < http://www.uncw.edu/aquarius/> 
>  
> There will be six opportunities (see timetable below) over the course 
> of the mission to view (and capture) underwater events and crew 
> interaction with students in Canada and the United States courtesy of 
> the CANARIE network at: http:// 
> <http://www.canarie.ca/conferences/Neemo/index.html%A0> 
> http://www.canarie.ca/conferences/Neemo/index.html 
> <http://www.canarie.ca/conferences/Neemo/index.html%A0>
>
>
>
>  
> DATE    TIME (EST)    
> April 4, 2006 (Canada)  1:25 -2:40 pm 
> April 5, 2006   10:15 am -11:00 am    
> April 5, 2006   11:15 am - 12:00 pm   
> April 11, 2006 (Canada) 12:35 pm - 13:35 pm   
> April 14, 2006  3:30 pm - 4:15 pm     
> April 17, 2006  12:10 pm -12:55 pm    
>  
>
> Note: Canadian Space Agency Astronaut, Dr Dave Williams will also be 
> participating in horticultural (plant growth) research underwater at 
> one of the Canadian Space Agency's Mars Analogue research sites at 
> Pavillion Lake British Columbia in August 2006. Pedagogical resources, 
> and a video taped presentation from Pavillion Lake will be made 
> available on the Canadian Space Agency website as of August 2006.
>
>

Steve Williams
smwillia at sd83.bc.ca
Salmon Arm Secondary
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