NEEMO 4 NEEMO 4 aquanauts work together to build an underwater structure. RELATED LINKS NEEMO 4 Journals Aquanaut Profile: Rex Walheim

NEEMO Journals

NEEMO 4, Rex Walheim
Day 2, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2002

Today was our first full day in Aquarius. The task on our first dive was to build a structure called water lab. It was similar to a spacewalk task, but the local conditions add a few challenges that I didn't have to deal with in space. First of all, the current kept trying to separate us from the structure. Then we had a bit of sand get in our bag of bolts. It makes you appreciate the cleanliness of space. We managed to get the structure put together nicely, and then a large barracuda swam into it as if to inspect it. Apparently he approved of our construction job, because he moved on his way.

Our afternoon dive revolved around studying the coral beds here in the Florida Keys. We took data on the size and type of coral in a certain section of the reef. It was interesting to see the variety in the size, texture, and color of the coral. When we came in after the dive, we were informed that Tropical Storm Lili is a threat to us, and we will have to leave the habitat on Thursday instead of Friday. We are disappointed to leave a little early, but we will get to do a nice dawn dive tomorrow morning, which should be fun.