NASA is preparing astronauts for the day they explore the moon’s south pole by leaving it underwater without light.
Astronauts are rehearsing for spacewalks in a large swimming pool called the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, which acts as a simulation.
According to experts, underwater walks provide an experience close to the space environment, where gravity is limited.
Nasa officials, however, did not find the underwater hikes sufficient in their current form and decided to turn off the lights.
“Turn off the lights,” a new statement from nasa’s johnson space center’s official Twitter account said. We are simulating the moonwalk!”
The post also included an eerie image of people practicing under dark water for a spacewalk:
Kill the lights – we’re simulating a Moonwalk!
Divers at NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory turned off the lights to simulate what an Artemis astronaut might experience at the lunar south pole – long, dark shadows. pic.twitter.com/naslhzzix7
— NASA's Johnson Space Center (@NASA_Johnson) February 2, 2022
Divers at the Neutral Flotation Laboratory turned off the lights to simulate the long, dark shadows an Artemis astronaut would encounter at the moon’s south pole.
South of the moon, the sun remains only a few degrees above the horizon. This causes very long, dark shadows to form. NASA’s statement mentions these conditions on the moon.
The space agency plans to send humans back to the moon in 2026 as part of a mission it calls Artemis. This marks the first time a manned mission to the moon has been carried out since the Apollo program ended in 1972.
In the new mission, astronauts will explore the south pole of the natural satellite. Because scientists think there’s plenty of water in this area.
The water to be discovered will probably be in the form of ice. Because these areas are almost constantly dark.
Which means explorers have to work with almost no light.
Space, Space Coast Daily
