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This is JAXA's Japanese astronaut primary activity report for July 2006.
The 10th NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operation (NEEMO) |
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| Astronaut Wakata (right) and Aquanaut Karen Kohanowich, the NOAA Deputy Director, (left) reviewing the project's data inside Aquarius (Photo by NASA) | The 10th NEEMO members during a simulated EVA (Photo by NASA) |
Astronaut Wakata participated as the Commander of the 10th NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operation (NEEMO) in the underwater laboratory "Aquarius" owned by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Aquarius was located off the coast of Key Largo, Florida, at a depth of 20 meters. Astronaut Wakata spent one week in Aquarius with two NASA astronauts, one NOAA Program Officer and two Aquarius engineering support divers. The primary purpose for Astronaut Wakata in participating in the NEEMO 10 training activity was to improve leadership, teamwork, and personal development skills by living and working with others in an isolated facility. The NEEMO 10 Mission also included underwater extravehicular activities that simulated extraterrestrial walks that tested the mobility of future spacesuits, as well as other simulations and training for future Moon and Martian missions.
Astronaut Wakata, who participated as the Commander, led and coordinated the project's activities. He and his fellow astronauts conducted tests related to the next-generation spacesuits, which are being developed by NASA for human exploration on the Moon and Mars. They also carried out some tests using an underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) and conducted communication and navigation tests.
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As I recall, during the one-week undersea mission, I thought the flow of the Extravehicular Activity (EVA) procedures development, training, and the actual mission operations were very similar to those I experienced during my spaceflight. The EVA simulated the gravitational environments on the Moon and Mars, not the weightless environments that I had experienced at the International Space Station and on the space shuttles. Walking around on the ocean floor was thus a new experience for me. |
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Advanced Training Rehearsal |
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| Astronaut Furukawa operating the experiment device's Engineering Model (left) | Astronaut Furukawa receiving explanations on the experiment device (left) |
Astronaut Furukawa participated in the advanced training rehearsal for the Protein Crystallization Research Facility (PCRF) at the Tsukuba Space Center (TKSC). The PCRF will be installed in Kibo Pressurized Module (PM). Advanced training is part of the general operations training for the International Space Station (ISS) expedition crew members. This rehearsal was conducted to improve the quality of the advanced training sessions.
Astronaut Furukawa participated in the rehearsal by assuming the role of an astronaut being trained. He evaluated the advanced training program from an astronaut's perspective.
EVA Basic Training Curriculum Evaluation Test at the European Space Agency (ESA)  |
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| Astronaut Wakata before entering the pool (middle) | Astronaut Wakata entering the pool (middle) |
Astronaut Wakata participated in the EVA basic training curriculum evaluation test at the European Astronaut Centre (EAC) at the European Space Agency (ESA) in Germany. This training curriculum was developed by ESA in cooperation with NASA.
Together with ESA Astronaut Paolo Nespoli and NASA Astronaut Scott Parazynski, Astronaut Wakata participated in the test by assuming the role of an astronaut being trained. He received lectures and training based on the actual training curriculum at the Neutral Buoyancy Facility (NBF). Astronaut Wakata evaluated the training curriculum from an astronaut's perspective.
Lecture by Astronaut Furukawa: "Road to becoming an Astronaut"Astronaut Furukawa participated in a lecture program titled, "Fun Class in Okinawa: Space" at Ishikawa Hall in Uruma City, Okinawa. Astronaut Furukawa gave a lecture titled the "Road to becoming an Astronaut" to an audience of approximately 650 people.
During the lecture, Astronaut Furukawa talked about why he aspired to become an astronaut when he was a doctor. He also described what is required to become an astronaut. Astronaut Furukawa also talked about an astronaut's daily life and training, and showed video footage of the ISS. The children in the audience stared at the images with keen interest and listened attentively to Astronaut Furukawa's lecture. Members of the audience then asked him many questions.
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