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NEEMO
5
NEEMO 5 was
the longest and most challenging mission to date. The NEEMO 5 crew's
mission began with splashdown on June 16 and ended with decompression
and splash-up on Sunday, June 29, 2003.
The
Crew
The NEEMO 5
crew included three astronauts -- Clayton
Anderson, Garrett
Reisman and Peggy
Whitson -- and Emma
Hwang, a NASA scientist from the Johnson Space Center in Houston,
Texas.
![IMAGE: Sea turtle](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090512060820im_/http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/support/training/neemo/images/jsc2002e36931.jpg) | A
crewmember photographed this sea turtle near the sea floor. |
|
![IMAGE: NEEMO crewmembers](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090512060820im_/http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/support/training/neemo/images/jsc2002e36935.jpg) | Crewmembers
practice underwater for long-duration space habitation. |
|
![IMAGE: Peggy Whitson](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090512060820im_/http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/support/training/neemo/images/jsc2003e43950.jpg) | Astronaut/aquanaut
Peggy A. Whitson performs an extravehicular activity. |
| |
Mission
Objectives
Objectives
of the mission included experiencing living conditions similar to
those on the Space Station; developing new ways of interacting with
researchers from a remote laboratory location; developing a communications
system for use when a spacewalking crew is working at a significant
distance from the habitat; and exercising teambuilding, interpersonal
and leadership skills.
Living in microgravity
for days or months can cause a number of physiological, psychological
and behavioral changes, both during flight and after landing. To
gather additional data on some of these effects, the NEEMO 5 crew
participated in 12 research activities. These include a study of
how their environment affects sleep and the body’s immune system,
the growth of bacteria in the habitat, the use of wireless medical
monitoring equipment and nutrition-related studies.
They also tested
a piece of equipment that could be used by future spacewalkers.
The In-suit Doppler was used to look for nitrogen bubbles in the
blood stream, which could provide an early warning of possible decompression
sickness. |