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While earthbound, NASA astronauts train using “analog missions” in locations similar to space – like the ocean. Astronauts and engineers frequently move into Aquarius, the world’s only undersea research station. They spend up to three weeks at 62 feet below sea level testing equipment, communications and behavior.
Last summer they traveled for the first time to the University of Southern California’s Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies to test an exosuit – a specialized dive suit that simulates a spacewalk suit. The suit allows participants to work at an incredible 1,000 feet below sea level with a mini-submarine that simulates a lunar rover.
– Donna Scaramastra Gorman, The Engineering 100