---
title: "NASA is Using This Underwater Lab to Train Astronauts for the Moon"
description: "This summer, NASA astronauts will join an international diving crew in a special underwater laboratory under the Atlantic to prepare astronauts space."
date: "2019-05-28"
modified: "2019-05-28"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/nasa-underwater-habitat-moon"
categories:
  - "Astronomy"
  - "Moon"
  - "NASA"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "mars"
  - "moon"
  - "NASA"
  - "underwater base"
---

# NASA is Using This Underwater Lab to Train Astronauts for the Moon

![This summer, NASA astronauts will join an international diving crew in a special underwater laboratory under the Atlantic to prepare astronauts space.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/nasa-underwater-habitat-moon.png>)
*\<em\>Image: NASA\</em\>*

## Life Aquatic

NASA [is preparing](<https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-prepares-for-future-moon-exploration-with-international-undersea-crew>) for its future moon exploration program by sending astronauts to another inhospitable environment: the depths of the ocean.

This summer, NASA astronauts will join an international diving crew in a special underwater laboratory under the Atlantic to prepare astronauts for the harsh environment of space as well as the lunar and Martian surfaces.

## NASA and the Aquanauts

The team of astronauts and "aquanauts" will collect data about sleep, body composition, and using augmented reality for navigation while stationed at the Aquarius laboratory some 62 feet (19 meters) below the surface, six miles off the shore near Key Largo, Florida.

The Aquarius Reef Base is [the only](<https://aquarius.fiu.edu/about/index.html>) operational permanent underwater research facility in the world. It can fit six researchers and is operated by Florida International University (FIU) — but also used by NASA and the Navy.

"The close parallels of inner and outer space exploration will be clearly demonstrated during this undersea mission, " NEEMO Project Lead Bill Todd said in a statement. "In the interior of Aquarius, aquanauts and astronauts will tackle an array of experiments and human research related to long duration space travel."

NASA is gearing up for a very aggressive timeline to return Americans to the surface of the Moon. But [budget troubles](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-executive-moon-mission-sirangelo-quit>) are putting the [2024 Moon mission](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-lunar-outpost>) in jeopardy.

**READ MORE:** [Astronauts Are Heading Under the Sea to Test Moon Mission Tech](<https://www.space.com/astronauts-explore-moon-technology-undersea-habitat.html>) \[*Space.com*\]

**More on NASA's Moon mission:** *[NASA’s Moon Mission Leader Just Quit After Only Six Weeks](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-executive-moon-mission-sirangelo-quit>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)