Yesterday, we reported on Astrobotics and Carnegie Mellon University working to develop robots for proving lava caves on the Moon and Mars.

We look forward to the day when astronauts go cave exploring on other worlds. The European Space Agency already has a program that’s training astronauts in cave exploration in preparation for the isolation and close confines of the International Space Station. CAVES (Cooperative Adventure for Valuing and Exercising human behaviour and performance Skills) trains astronauts to work safely and effectively using crew procedures.

Six astronauts will spend a week learning cave safety and exploration procedures on the Italian island of Sardinia. Then, on September 7, they will venture underground for a six-day mission in a Sardinian cave. Just as on ISS, the astronauts will have a busy research schedule. In this case, looking for new life forms in the largely unexplored caves.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T44jdLESa5w&w=700]

Written by Astro1 on August 29th, 2012 , Space Medicine and Safety

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