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NEEMO

NEEMO is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand NEEMO rather than just read about it. In short: NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations, or NEEMO, is a NASA analog mission that sends groups of astronauts, engineers and scientists to live in the Aquarius underwater laboratory, the world's only undersea research station, for up to three weeks at a time in preparation for future space exploration. Aquarius is an underwater habitat 3.5 miles (5.6 km) off Key Largo, Florida, in the Florida Keys National Marine…

NEEMO — main illustration
NEEMO — illustration

Key takeaways

  • NEEMO belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect NEEMO to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of NEEMO from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations, or NEEMO, is a NASA analog mission that sends groups of astronauts, engineers and scientists to live in the Aquarius underwater laboratory, the world's only undersea research station, for up to three weeks at a time in preparation for future space exploration. Aquarius is an underwater habitat 3.5 miles (5.6 km) off Key Largo, Florida, in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. It is deployed on the ocean floor next to deep coral reefs 62 feet (19 m) below the surface. NASA has used it since 2001 for a series of space exploration simulation missions, usually lasting 7 to 14 days, with space research mainly conducted by international astronauts. The mission had cost about 500 million U.S. dollars. The crew members are called aquanauts (as they live underwater at depth pressure for a period equal to or greater than 24 continuous hours without returning to the surface), and they perform EVAs in the underwater environment. A technique known as saturation diving allows the aquanauts to live and work underwater for days or weeks at a time. After twenty four hours underwater at any depth, the human body becomes saturated with dissolved gas. With saturation diving, divers can accurately predict exactly how much time they need to decompress before returning to the surface. This information limits the risk of decompression sickness. By living in the Aquarius habitat and working at the same depth on the ocean floor, NEEMO crews are able to remain underwater for the duration of their mission. For NASA, the Aquarius habitat and its surroundings provide a convincing analog for space exploration. Much like space, the undersea world is a hostile, alien place for humans to live. NEEMO crew members experience some of the same challenges there that they would on a distant asteroid, planet (i.e. Mars) or Moon. During NEEMO missions, the aquanauts are able to simulate living on a spacecraft and test spacewalk techniques for future space missions. Working in space and underwater environments requires extensive planning and sophisticated equipment. The underwater condition has the additional benefit of allowing NASA to "weight" the aquanauts to simulate different gravity environments. Until 2012, Aquarius was owned by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and operated by the National Undersea Research Center (NURC) at the University of North Carolina–Wilmington as a marine biology study base. Since 2013, Aquarius is owned by Florida International University (FIU). As part of the FIU Marine Education and Research Initiative, the Medina Aquarius Program is dedicated to the study and preservation of marine ecosystems worldwide and is enhancing the scope and impact of FIU on research, educational outreach, technology development, and professional training. At the heart of the program is the Aquarius Reef Base.

Missions

NEEMO 1: October 21–27, 2001

NASA Aquanaut Crew:

Bill Todd , Commander Michael L. Gernhardt Michael López-Alegría Dafydd Williams, CSA NURC Support Crew:

Mark Hulsbeck Ryan Snow

NEEMO 2: May 13–20, 2002 NASA Aquanaut Crew:

Michael Fincke , Commander Daniel M. Tani Sunita Williams Marc Reagan NURC Support Crew:

Thor Dunmire Ryan Snow

NEEMO 3: July 15–21, 2002 NASA Aquanaut Crew:

Jeffrey Williams , Commander Gregory Chamitoff John D. Olivas Jonathan Dory NURC Support Crew:

Byron Croker Michael Smith

NEEMO 4: September 23–27, 2002 NASA Aquanaut Crew:

Scott Kelly , Commander Paul Hill Rex Walheim Jessica Meir NURC Support Crew:

James Talacek Ryan Snow

NEEMO 5: June 16–29, 2003 NASA Aquanaut Crew:

Peggy Whitson , Commander Clayton Anderson Garrett Reisman Emma Hwang NURC Support Crew:

James Talacek Ryan Snow

NEEMO 6: July 12–21, 2004 NASA Aquanaut Crew:

John Herrington , Commander Nicholas Patrick Douglas H. Wheelock Tara Ruttley NURC Support Crew:

Craig B. Cooper Joseph March, Marc Reagan, Mission Director

NEEMO 7: October 11–21, 2004 NASA Aquanaut Crew:

Robert Thirsk , Commander Catherine Coleman Michael R. Barratt Craig McKinley NURC Support Crew:

James Talacek Billy Cooksey Bill Todd, Mission Director

NEEMO 8: April 20–22, 2005 NASA Aquanaut Crew:

Michael L. Gernhardt , Commander John D. Olivas Scott Kelly Monika Schultz NURC Support Crew:

Craig B. Cooper Joseph March Bill Todd, Mission Director

NEEMO 9: April 3–20, 2006

NASA Aquanaut Crew:

Dafydd Williams , Commander Nicole P. Stott Ronald J. Garan Jr. Timothy J. Broderick , M.D. NURC Support Crew:

James F. Buckley Ross Hein Marc Reagan, Mission Director

NEEMO 10: July 22–28, 2006 NASA Aquanaut Crew:

Koichi Wakata, Commander Andrew Feustel Karen L. Nyberg Karen Kohanowich NURC Support Crew:

Mark Hulsbeck Dominic Landucci Marc Reagan, Mission Director

NEEMO 11: September 16–22, 2006 NASA Aquanaut Crew:

Sandra Magnus, Commander Timothy Kopra Robert L. Behnken Timothy Creamer NURC Support Crew:

Larry Ward Roger Garcia Marc Reagan, Mission Director

NEEMO 12: May 7–18, 2007

NASA Aquanaut Crew:

Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Commander José M. Hernández Josef Schmid, M.D. Timothy J. Broderick, M.D. NURC Support Crew:

Dominic Landucci James Talacek Marc Reagan, Mission Director

NEEMO 13: August 6–15, 2007 NASA Aquanaut Crew:

Nicholas Patrick, Commander Richard R. Arnold Satoshi Furukawa Christopher E. Gerty NURC Support Crew:

James F. Buckley Dewey Smith Marc Reagan, Mission Director

NEEMO 14: May 10–23, 2010 NASA Aquanaut Crew:

Chris Hadfield, Commander Thomas H. Marshburn Andrew Abercromby Steve Chappell Aquarius Reef Base support crew:

James Talacek Nate Bender Bill Todd, Mission Director

NEEMO 15: October 20–26, 2011 NASA Aquanaut Crew:

Shannon Walker, Commander Takuya Onishi David Saint-Jacques Steve Squyres Aquarius Reef Base support crew:

James Talacek Nate Bender DeepWorker 2000 submersible crew:

Stanley G. Love Richard R. Arnold Michael L. Gernhardt

NEEMO 16: June 11–22, 2012

NASA Aquanaut Crew:

Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger, Commander Kimiya Yui Timothy Peake Steve Squyres Aquarius Reef Base support crew:

James Talacek Justin Brown DeepWorker 2000 submersible crew:

Stanley G. Love Steve Giddings Serena M. Auñón Bill Todd Michael L. Gernhardt Andrew Abercromby Steve Chappell

SEATEST II: September 9–13, 2013 Space Environment Analog for Testing EVA Systems and Training ( NEEMO 17 ) Designation skipped NASA Aquanaut Crew:

Joseph M. Acaba, Commander Kate Rubins Andreas Mogensen Soichi Noguchi Aquarius Reef Base support crew:

Mark Hulsbeck Otto Rutten

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

NEEMO illustration
NEEMO illustration
NEEMO: Floorplan of Aquarius.
Floorplan of Aquarius.
NEEMO: The first NEEMO crew, L–R: in front, Mike López-Alegría and Bill Todd, in back, Mike Gernhardt and Dave Williams
The first NEEMO crew, L–R: in front, Mike López-Alegría and Bill Todd, in back, Mike Gernhardt and Dave Williams
NEEMO: NEEMO 5 crew members are pictured in the bunkroom aboard the Aquarius research habitat. Top, L–R: Reisman, Hwang; Middle: Whitson, Anderson; Bottom: Talacek, Snow.
NEEMO 5 crew members are pictured in the bunkroom aboard the Aquarius research habitat. Top, L–R: Reisman, Hwang; Middle: Whitson, Anderson; Bottom: Talacek, Snow.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with NEEMO

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what NEEMO claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to NEEMO before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about NEEMO ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of NEEMO

In research
NEEMO appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses NEEMO in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
NEEMO is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Controlled ecological life support systems, Human analog missions, NASA programs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for NEEMO outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study NEEMO in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what NEEMO means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain NEEMO out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is NEEMO in simple terms?

NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations, or NEEMO, is a NASA analog mission that sends groups of astronauts, engineers and scientists to live in the Aquarius underwater laboratory, the world's only undersea research station, for up to three weeks at a time in preparation for future space explor…

Why does NEEMO matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study NEEMO?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on NEEMO.

Tags

  • Controlled ecological life support systems
  • Human analog missions
  • NASA programs

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