NASA will venture to the depths of the Atlantic Ocean this month to investigate technologies and procedures for use in near- and long-term space missions. The commander of the seven-day mission, NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik, will be available for media interviews via phone or Skype between 2:15 and 2:45 p.m. EDT Friday, Sept. 12.

To participate in the interviews, contact William Jeffs at william.p.jeffs@nasa.gov by 5 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 10.

The 19th NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) mission begins Monday, Sept. 8. Bresnik will be joined by Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, and Herve Stevenin, ESA’s Head of Extravehicular Activity Training at the European Astronaut Center in Cologne, Germany.

The crew members of NEEMO 19 will test technologies and training techniques for use aboard the International Space Station and future deep space exploration missions. Mission objectives include evaluating technologies to improve crew performance when executing standard space station procedures; testing tools and techniques to conduct spacewalk tasks in varying levels of gravity; and, investigating the capability of just-in-time training to decrease crew training time while increasing crew efficiency for space station and future exploration missions.

The NEEMO crew, along with two professional habitat technicians, will conduct this mission in Florida International University’s undersea research habitat Aquarius Reef Base, located about six miles off the coast of Key Largo, Florida, and 62 feet below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean.

Embry Riddle Aeronautical University will conduct robotics and engineering investigations focused on technologies to support future space exploration missions and underwater operations.

The crew members will share their experiences during NEEMO 19 on Twitter at:

http://www.twitter.com/Astro_Andreas

http://www.twitter.com/Astro_Jeremy

http://www.twitter.com/ESAstro_trainer

For more information about NEEMO, the crew members, and links to follow the mission on Facebook and Twitter, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/neemo

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