Gruta do Natal on the island of Terceira, Azores, consisting of lava tunnels, will be the training arena for seven astronauts who will be isolated there for seven days, simulating a lunar environment, it became known this Thursday.
“What will happen is a lunar simulation. In other words, it’s space training. We will spend seven days and six nights in this volcanic cave, simulating a lunar environment,” explained Ana Pires, researcher at INESC TEC – Institute of Engineering. Lusa Agency for Systems and Computers, Technology and Science and Mission Commander.
This is the first lunar analogue mission, which will take place from November 22 to 28 and will bring together a team of seven people of different nationalities.
The project is being promoted by the Os Montanheiros association, which manages the Grotto, and INESC TEC, and will be officially presented on November 8 at the institute’s Robotics and Autonomous Systems Laboratory.
“It is a great pride for the region to offer this place of experience that will finally appear in Portugal, the Azores and in particular the island of Terceira, as a place where the national and international community can develop similar lunar missions,” stressed Ana . Pires.
The researcher added that this is “the first lunar analogue mission in Portugal”, explaining that Gruta do Natal, open to the public, “offers all the conditions and safety” for training, and the Nativity Grotto is expected to be a new location for similar missions in 2024 .
“And by doing this training while being in a closed environment, we can test technology, do science, do a lot of experiments, and also test our own limits as humans,” he explained to Lusa.
This is the first mission of the CAMões project – Caving Analog Mission for Ocean, Earth and Space Exploration – which “will make it possible to turn the Azores into a ‘testing ground’ for astronauts from all over the world,” he emphasized. mission coordinator.
“The cave is a fantastic lava tube that offers all the safety and logistics conditions. And from a geological and scientific point of view, living there for seven days will be fantastic,” he emphasized.
According to the researcher, “Astronauts from various space agencies such as ESA and NASA have been looking for these types of structures and scenarios to conduct their planetary geology training as there are similarities to lava tubes existing on Mars and the Moon.”
The crew of this first mission consists of seven people from five countries speaking eight languages.
Research will be carried out in various sectors, including training, technology testing, data collection, and other scientific activities.
Outside, a group of experts in the fields of speleology, volcanism, microbiology, geochemistry and space medicine will “control the flight.”
A multidisciplinary medical team will be present on an ongoing basis and volunteer to participate in the project.
Ana Pires also reported that this first mission is “commanded by two women.”
“Of the seven people in the cave, three are women,” the researcher explained, noting that the project has a “strong pedagogical component” as the mission will go “to schools on the continent, the Azores and the United States.” video conference “from the cave”.
In a statement sent to Lusa, João Claro, Director General of INESC TEC, emphasizes that “this will be an important milestone in Portugal’s positioning in this field,” given that it is “a large-scale initiative that demonstrates the country’s potential.” not only in terms of natural and geological resources, with a high level of accuracy, but also in terms of the capacity of institutions and our researchers”
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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