|Posted on Apr 30, 2012 09:26:30 AM | NASA Testing for Human
Space Exploration | ||| By NEEMO 16 Commander Dottie Metcalf-
Lindenburger NASA’s Johnson Space Center is located southeast of
two highway loops that encircle the city of Houston. The
outermost highway is known as Beltway 8. While the NEEMO 16 crew
conducted training April 17-20 outside this beltway, our
upcoming June mission is focused on simulating a mission inside
another beltway – the asteroid beltway! During training week,
the crew assembled face-to-face for the first time and learned
details about Near Earth Asteroids (NEAs). Future missions to
these asteroids could help us learn more about deep-space
exploration and the beginnings of our solar system. Depending on
the target NEA composition, future missions could also prospect
and mine resources; and develop mitigation options for NEAs
threatening planet We also learned about the spacewalk tools we
will be using during the mission and then practiced using these
tools on the Active Response Gra