May 14, 2007 John Yembrick Headquarters, Washington 202-358-0602 Kyle Herring Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 MEDIA ADVISORY: M07-54 NASA UNDERSEA CREW AVAILABLE FOR LIVE SATELLITE INTERVIEWS HOUSTON - The crew members of the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) project will be available for satellite interviews from inside the Aquarius underwater habitat from 2:45 to 3:45 p.m. CDT on Wednesday, May 16. NASA sent a flight surgeon, two astronauts and a Cincinnati doctor into the ocean depths off the Florida coast May 7 for a 12-day undersea mission. The crew is testing space medicine concepts, robotic telesurgery operations and moon-walking techniques. Veteran space flyer Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper leads the undersea mission aboard the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Aquarius underwater laboratory. NASA Flight Surgeon Josef Schmid, NASA astronaut Jose Hernandez and Dr. Tim Broderick of the University of Cincinnati complete the crew. To participate in the interviews, contact producer Karen Svetaka at 281-483-8684, or the Johnson Space Center newsroom at 281-483-5111 by 2 p.m. Tuesday. The interviews will be carried live on the NASA Television analog satellite AMC-6, at 72 degrees west longitude; transponder 5C, 3800 MHz, vertical polarization, with audio at 6.8 MHz. Aquarius is the world's only permanent underwater habitat and laboratory. Similar in size to the International Space Station's living quarters, the 45-foot long, 13-foot diameter complex is three miles off Key Largo in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, about 62 feet beneath the surface. The University of North Carolina at Wilmington operates Aquarius on behalf of NOAA as part of NOAA's Undersea Research Program. The NEEMO missions are a cooperative project among NASA, NOAA and the university. For information about the NEEMO 12 mission, including crew journals and pictures, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/neemo -end- To subscribe to the list, send a message to: hqnews-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx To remove your address from the list, send a message to: hqnews-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
