NASA Enhances 23.5 Million Liter Pool at the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) to Create a Moon-like Environment for Astronaut Training.
Astronauts dive to a depth of 12 meters in the pool at NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) at the Sonny Carter Training Facility in Texas to experience a simulated lunar gravity that is one-sixth of Earth’s gravity, aided by buoyancy devices and weights, as reported by Futurism on April 19. The pool holds approximately 23.5 million liters of water and measures 61.5m x 31m.
A simulation test of the lunar environment at NBL. (Image: NASA)
NASA is working to improve the underwater environment, enabling astronauts to feel as if they are actually working on the Moon. Experts are using pebbles, sand, and even considering the sun’s movement.
“We are building up sand to simulate the lunar surface,” said Clay Tomlinson, program manager at V2X, the contractor responsible for constructing a lunar replica. According to Tomlinson, astronauts can gain a sense of what it feels like to walk on the Moon when stepping onto the simulated environment.
This effort aims to lay the groundwork for a historic mission. During NASA’s Artemis III mission, expected to take place by the end of this decade, astronauts will once again walk on the Moon after more than 50 years since humans last set foot there.
Previously, the NBL pool was used for training astronauts living and working on the International Space Station (ISS) for extended periods. The facility also assists personnel in training for the recovery process of the Orion spacecraft, which successfully landed in the Pacific Ocean after completing the Artemis I mission in December 2022.
NASA also plans to use the NBL for astronaut training for the Lunar Gateway, a space station that will serve as a stepping stone for astronauts heading to the lunar surface in the future. As more companies enter the space industry, V2X also intends to provide underwater simulation environments for additional private companies.
