June 06, 2012

Joshua Buck Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100 jbuck@nasa gov

Brandi Dean Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 brandi k dean@nasa gov

MEDIA ADVISORY: M12-107

NASA SETS MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES FOR NEEMO UNDERSEA MISSION

HOUSTON -- NASA astronaut and commander for the 16th NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO), Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger, will be available for live satellite interviews while performing a simulated spacewalk under water The interviews will take place between 8:45 and 9:45 a m EDT June 15 NASA will also host a media day June 21 in Key Largo, Fla

NEEMO sends groups of NASA employees and contractors to live for 12 days, 63 feet below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean, in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Aquarius lab The laboratory is located in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary in Key Largo For NASA, Aquarius provides a convincing analog to space exploration, and NEEMO crew members experience some of the same tasks and challenges under water as they would in space

This year's NEEMO expedition begins June 11 and will simulate a mission to an asteroid The mission will focus on three areas -- communication delays, restraint and translation techniques and optimum crew size Metcalf-Lindenburger will be joined by European Space Agency astronaut Timothy Peake; Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Kimiya Yui; and Steven W Squyres, Goldwin Smith professor of astronomy at Cornell University and chairman of the NASA Advisory Council Squyres also was a member of NEEMO 15

Journalists are invited to a media day where they will have the opportunity to tour the Mobile Mission Control Center, interview scientists and engineers involved in the mission and take part in a remote news conference with the NEEMO crew members who will be aboard Aquarius The NASA Live Interview Media Service (LIMS) satellite will be used for the underwater interviews The NASA producer will provide confirmed clients with LIMS satellite parameters

The interviews also will be simulcast on NASA Television, which can be viewed by those not participating

To request a slot in the underwater interviews with Metcalf-Lindenburger or to participate in the media day activities, reporters must contact Brandi Dean at brandi k dean@nasa gov by 5 p m CDT (6 p m EDT) on Wednesday, June 13

The NEEMO mission is sponsored by NASA's Advanced Exploration Systems Program

For more information about NEEMO and the crew, and links to follow the mission on Facebook and Twitter, visit:

http://www nasa gov/neemo

For NASA TV downlink, schedule and streaming video information, visit:

http://www nasa gov/ntv

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