Living Under the Sea With NASA Aquanaut David Coan

Episode Summary

Executive Summary: This Planetary Radio episode spans science literacy, space advocacy, and analog mission training. Emily Lakdawalla discusses updating a school library’s planetary books to reflect new discoveries; Casey Dreyer explains why New Horizons was a hard-won advocacy victory and why Europa needs similar support; and NASA engineer David Cohen describes NEMO-20’s two-week underwater Mars/asteroid simulation in Aquarius, including EVAs, telementoring, comms delay, and educational outreach. Bruce Betts closes with sky notes, space history, and a contest update.

Main Topics: Updating children's planetary science books: Emily Lakdawalla describes volunteering at a school library to identify outdated or factually stale astronomy books, noting that kids' science books can age quickly as missions and discoveries update planetary knowledge. Book design and longevity in science education: She argues that art-based illustrations often age better than photo-based books because they depict durable concepts like orbits and phases, while photos and mission counts become outdated quickly. New Horizons as an advocacy success story: Casey Dreyer frames New Horizons as a 'purple pigeon' mission: scientifically exceptional and publicly inspiring, but only possible after years of advocacy, cancellations, and congressional intervention. Europa and the need for continued advocacy: Dreyer warns that the Europa mission remains vulnerable early in the process and uses Pluto/New Horizons as an example of why sustained public and political support matters now, before cancellation becomes easy. NEMO-20 underwater analog mission: NASA engineer David Cohen explains how the Aquarius undersea habitat simulates aspects of Mars/asteroid exploration, including cramped living quarters, EVAs, telemedicine-style telementoring, and mission operations under delayed communications. Operational testing, improvisation, and outreach: The mission is used to test tools, habitat operations, remote coordination, and improvisation under pressure while also conducting regular STEM outreach to students and demonstrating science communication in real time. Weekly space roundup and contest segment: Bruce Betts provides skywatching notes, a space history recap, a random space fact about the solar system’s oscillation through the galaxy, and answers the Apollo module contest question.

Key Arguments: Children’s science books must be regularly reviewed because factual details like moon counts, mission imagery, and planetary discoveries change over time. Illustrated art can outlast photographs in educational books because it depicts general scientific concepts rather than mission-specific imagery. New Horizons proves NASA can deliver on-time, on-budget exploration that captures public imagination and scientific value simultaneously. Space exploration missions often require long-term advocacy because their benefits are delayed, making them easy political targets before launch. Europa should be defended now using the New Horizons experience as a model: early support is crucial before cancellation becomes likely. NEMO/Aquarius offers a strong Mars analog because its cramped habitat, rough terrain, EVAs, and communication delays approximate conditions future explorers will face. Undersea missions help test not only hardware but the human and organizational systems needed for deep-space exploration. Education and public outreach are built into the mission, with near-daily interactions with students and STEM groups. The episode links current space science, advocacy, analog testing, and public engagement as mutually reinforcing parts of exploration culture.

Data Points: School library planetary science books: 6+ feet - Emily says the library had more than six feet of planetary science books. Her donated books: 1-2 feet - She estimates one to two feet of that shelf space came from her own review copies. Year of one Moon book’s last update: 1984 - A children’s Moon book remained accurate in concept, despite being last updated decades ago. NEMO-20 habitat depth: 19 meters / 62 feet - Dave Cohen describes Aquarius as being about 62 feet below the Atlantic surface. Offshore distance from Key Largo: 5.6 kilometers / 3.5 miles - The Aquarius habitat location in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Mission duration: 2 weeks - NEMO-20’s planned stay under the sea. Crew size: 6 adults - Cohen explains the habitat is occupied by six people total. EVA schedule: 2-hour EVAs for first 5 days; 4-hour EVAs afterward - The mission shifted from shorter to longer daily extravehicular activities. Comms latency for Phobos simulation: 5 minutes one way - Used to model Mars-Phobos communication conditions. Comms latency for Mars surface simulation: 10 minutes one way - Used during later mission phases to approximate Mars-Earth delay. Response time to ground control: 25-30 minutes - Estimated round-trip delay for receiving a response during Mars-surface simulation. Solar system oscillation through galactic plane: ~64 million years - Bruce Betts’ random space fact about the solar system’s vertical motion. Solar system orbit around galaxy center: ~240 million years - Compared with the galactic-plane oscillation period. Apollo lunar module survival answer: Apollo 10 Snoopy ascent stage - Bruce answers the contest question about the only LM ascent stage that likely survives in space.

Pivotal Quotes: "New Horizons is exactly what NASA does best." — Casey Dreyer: He opens by praising the mission as a model of high-return exploration that also excites the public. "This is the essence of the problem we face in advocacy for space. The payoff is so far away, there's no immediate political payoff." — Casey Dreyer: He explains why promising missions are vulnerable to cancellation long before benefits are visible. "It looks like a spacecraft that we're living in." — David Cohen: He describes Aquarius after reading The Martian while looking out at the undersea landscape and habitat.

Implications: The episode shows that space exploration depends on education, advocacy, and mission testing as much as hardware. For listeners, it underscores why supporting missions early matters and how Earth-based analogs prepare crews for Mars-like work.