Code SS Weekly Highlights
September 20, 2018
SMD Space Science & Astrobiology
· SUBSEA research project completes successful mission to the
Lo`ihi Seamount off the coast of the Big Island of Hawai`i.
· POC: Darlene Lim (SST)
· Short story:
The SUBSEA research project is lead by Dr. Darlene Lim from Code
SST at the NASA Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley. SUBSEA is
funded by the NASA SMD P-STAR program with significant in-kind
support from NOAA’s Office of Ocean Exploration and Research. The
SUBSEA team completed their first of two at-sea missions on
September 14, 2018. Their first expedition, known as Cruise A, was
to the Lo`ihi Seamount, Hawai`i. Cruise A took place over 24 days
during which time 14 dives with the Remotely Operated Vehicles
(ROVs) Hercules and Argus were completed to depths of over 1300m.
SUBSEA research included science, science operations and technology
research elements, and contributors from the Ocean Exploration
Trust, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Arizona State
University, Idaho State University, University of Texas, and
Harvard University. Eight SUBSEA team members were located on the
U.S. Federal Exploration Vessel Nautilus from which the ROVs were
launched and managed, while another 12 team members were located at
the Inner Space Center, University of Rhode Island where they
remotely participated in the cruise via a Telepresence
Architecture. In addition to conducting research during the cruise,
the SUBSEA team was highly active in a number of outreach
activities including ship-to-shore school interactions and various
media interviews.
This year, the SUBSEA team is focused on the following research
interests:
SUBSEA Science: Our science is focused on fluid venting at
isolated seamounts in the deep ocean as analog environments to
hydrothermal systems on other Ocean Worlds. A major reason why
Ocean Worlds such as Enceladus are thought to be habitable is the
likelihood that water-rock reactions at their seafloors yield
chemical reductants that, when combined with oxidants in the
overlying ocean, provide redox couples that are energetically
favorable for sustaining microbial metabolism. The SUBSEA team
investigated the intra-plate submarine volcano, Lo`ihi given that
this area hosts a distinct class of lower-temperature (<150°C)
fluid flow systems that have been comparatively overlooked on
Earth, but which may be a particularly pertinent analog for any
other Ocean World that possesses discrete seafloor volcanism
regardless of planetary-scale tectonics. Furthermore, the
conditions anticipated for Enceladus (T=50-200°C; P=10-50 MPa)
coincide closely with those that were found at Lo`ihi. Numerous
hydrothermal vents around the Lo`ihi seamount as well as the new
ocean entry point that was recently active due to eruptions on the
Big Island were sampled by the team during the Cruise A mission
that are currently on their way to be processed and analyzed in
order to characterize the chemistry, biology and geology of these
systems.
SUBSEA Science Operations: The E/V/ Nautilus-to-shore
science-driven telepresence mission architecture provided the
SUBSEA team with a high-fidelity, ‘flight like’ analog to Low
Latency Telerobotic (LLT) mission concepts. LLT concepts are
envisioned as an important component of NASA’s long-term strategy
for achieving extended human presence in deep-space, and offer
opportunities for what the terrestrial robotics community considers
to be high-quality telepresence. LLT mission concepts also involve
a supporting Mission Support Center and Science Support Team that
is located on Earth, and separated from the LLT crew by unavoidable
and high communication latencies. This year, the SUBSEA Science Ops
team conducted a work domain analysis leveraging a
multi-disciplinary approach from the fields of cognitive systems
engineering and work ethnography. This research will produce a
first-of-its-kind characterization of best practices associated
with LLT operations and a rigorous assessment-based analysis of the
supporting capability requirements and their corresponding ability
to enhance and enable science return under these mission
conditions.
SUBSEA Technology: Code T contributors from NASA Ames were
focused on understanding requirements associated with mission
support during E/V Nautilus expeditions with the goal of
integrating NASA Ames developed Exploration Ground Data Systems
(xGDS) software with Nautilus telepresence mission support systems.
xGDS will provide human/robotic software functionality to support
integration and visualization of diverse data products relevant to
future human exploration of deep space.
The SUBSEA team was highlighted by the media and NASA HQ as
follows:
· NASA 360Live discussion with Darlene Lim from the E/V Nautilus
(hosted by NASA Ames, with 2 million viewers)
· NASA.gov Image of the Day selection (see attached image)
· NBC News:
https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/how-underwater-volcano-could-help-scientists-find-extraterrestrial-life-ncna904736
· NPR’s Science Friday:
https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/a-deep-ocean-dive-is-training-nasa-for-space/
· Boston Globe:
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/09/12/find-life-other-planets-scientists-are-exploring-submerged-volcanoes-earth/jRpFRwyNqw6eka2k6pZCgJ/story.html
· Popular Science: https://www.popsci.com/nasa-subsea-hawaii
