14 DAY TRIAL // According to officials from the American space agency, the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO 15) expedition to the ocean floor has been canceled due to stormy weather off the coasts of Key Largo, Florida.
A crew of six astronauts was supposed to enter the sea, and take up residence in the Aquarius Underwater Laboratory (AUL). From here, the scientists would launch observations campaigns to surrounding areas, analyzing the effects of climate change of marine life and other objectives.
Originally, the mission was scheduled to begin on October 17, but NASA spokesperson Brandi Dean told Space that the start of NEEMO 15 was delayed until no earlier than Thursday, October 20. The date may slip even further of the bad weather persists.
Some of the main scientific objectives the team needs to complete include testing methods of traveling on the surface of an asteroid, grappling it, extracting samples and so on. This is very important for NASA because the agency is heading for a near-Earth asteroid, which it must reach by 2025.