NASA Asteroid Analog Mission Tackles Surface Mobility

HOUSTON — NASA’s undersea analog missions — elaborate dress rehearsals that unite astronauts, scientists and engineers on the ocean floor to test hardware and mission operations strategies — are playing a crucial role in preparations for the next wave of human deep-space exploration, according to Steve Squyres of Cornell University, principal investigator for the Mars Exploration Rover mission and the current chair of the NASA Advisory Council. Squyres is scheduled to surface June 22 from his second visit to the Aquarius Reef Base off Key Largo, Fla., an undersea habitat chosen by NASA’s Extreme Environment Mission Operations (Neemo) to simulate a 12-day mission to a small asteroid ...