NEEMO 5 was the fifth mission in NASA’s Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) project, an underwater analog for spaceflight.  It is in this “extreme” environment where astronauts and scientists lived for an extended period in the Aquarius habitat located off the Florida coast.  For 14 days, the NEEMO 5 crew worked in a fashion similar to a space mission, training through simulating expected space conditions like confinement and spacewalks (Extravehicular Activities or EVAs).  Spacewalks were simulated through daily SCUBA dives, with dedicated tasking, e.g., building “Waterlab,” a PVC-based structure on the ocean floor.

This early NEEMO mission, conducted in the Aquarius Habitat Reef Base near Key Largo, Florida, tested crew procedures, equipment, space food, and human adaptation in a very hostile environment, laying the groundwork for future exploration by simulating long-duration space travel. The NEEMO 5 crew included astronauts Peggy “Boss” Whitson (PhD), Garrett “Chia Pet” Reisman (PhD), Anderson (“George”) and Scientist Emma “Fleece” Hwang.  They were accompanied by Aquarius Habitat Technicians Ryan “Candy Man” Snow and James “Base” Talacek.