NASA's NEEMO 21 research mission begins, aquanauts splash down!

Photo Credits: NASA/Karl Shreeves

New Delhi: The US space agency began its new mission named 'NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) 21' on July 21, 2016.

In this mission, a group of astronauts, engineers and scientists will venture to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean to prepare for future deep space missions and the journey to the red planet, Mars.

According to NASA, an international crew of aquanauts have splashed down to the undersea Aquarius Reef Base which is located 62 feet below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

The NEEMO 21 crew will explore tools and techniques will be tested during a 16-day simulated space mission for future space exploration by living in simulated spacecraft conditions and conducting simulated spacewalks outside of their undersea habitat, Aquarius.

Inside the habitat, the crew's objectives include testing a DNA sequencer, a medical telemetry device, and HoloLens operational performance for human spaceflight cargo transfer, as reported.