NASA Astronauts Go Underwater to Test Tools for a Mission to an Asteroid

Hey guys thebestscienceblog12 here and today I will be talking about an important preparation to travel to an asteroid.

NASA is planning to send astronauts to an asteroid in the early 2020's  and the astronauts are already undergoing preparation and drills for their trip. Two astronauts named Steve Bowen and Stan Love have spent 62 hours in space on 9 space walks. They will be aiding NASA on telling the astronauts what they will and will not to bring on the shuttle.




Wearing modified versions of the Orange suits for space, the two men went underwater on May 9, in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. NASA used a 40-feet-deep swimming pool to help provide the lack of gravity needed for astronauts to practice for spacewalks on the asteroids. Once underwater a  close replica of the Orion spacecraft will be used to carry astronauts to the asteroid.  Then  they will bring the asteroid into a stable orbit  near the moon with a backdrop provided for it to feel more real.

Some of the main goals of NASA For of visiting an asteroid will be to obtain a core sample that shows its layers intact. If such a sample could be found it would provide information on the age of the solar system and how it was formed. But the tools geologist use to collect core samples or even chips of rocks aren’t a good idea in space. Swinging a hammer in front of your face isn’t safe when the sheet of glass between you is necessary to keep you alive. Instead Love and Bowen tried out a hammer that would give them a feel for whether a battery-powered version might be more useful

They also tested a version of the spacesuit that  could be worn on an asteroid. Orion astronauts already needed a launch and entry suit to protect them during the most difficult  phases of their flights. Rather than add to the weight,  Orion has to carry into orbit and take up additional space inside the crew module. Engineers have been working to turn the Advanced Crew Escape Suit  (Aces) into something more usuable for spacewalks.

NASA is already working to identify an asteroid that could be reached by a robotic mission to capture  bring it into a stable orbit around the moon. Once it’s there, the Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket will launch a crew of astronauts to explore the asteroid and gather samples. The strategy makes good use of capabilities NASA already has, while also advancing a number of technologies needed for longer-term plans including another mission to Mars.

My reaction to this was that I am glad that NASA is sttarting to find new missions in the galaxy to carry out. I hope that their mission will be successful and that they find a good sample on the asteroid. I chose this article because I wanted to learn about up coming space missions.

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