Today, we had an awesome experience at the Neutral Buoyancy Lab at NASA.

Divers are seen positioning equipment in the massive pool which is over 40 feet deep.

The goal of the Neutral Buoyancy Lab is to provide as realistic training as possible on Earth for astronauts conducting "space walks". The pool which is 40 feet deep, contains a full size replica of the International Space Station.

The facility is impressive to see in terms of its manpower and sheer size:

IPhone panorama of the pool area. In the top center of the image, you can see the control room for the facility and training.

We were lucky enough to see astronauts gearing up for their training. Due to the size of the spacesuits (not the weight- as they are made neutrally buoyant!)- each astronaut requires 4 safety divers to monitor and move their position. Astronauts get to use mock-ups of the same tools they use in space, so they can build muscle memory for their mission.

Above- Astronaut, Dr. Serena M. Auñón-Chancellor, prepares for her training mission in the pool. Canadian Astronaut, David Saint-Jacques, is seen being lowered into the pool by the lift system. Click on the pictures for full size previews.

I also shot some 35mm film in the used Canon AE-1 I picked up the other day, and I am pretty excited to see how those images turn out.

Have a good week!

-Josh

* I am not affiliated with NASA in any way. This post does not represent any viewpoints of NASA.