Astronauts To Be Trained In Deep Cave For Future Space Missions

Becoming an astronaut is something many people have dreamed of. However, potential candidates will have to undergo rigorous and extensive training for 2 years to be eligible to attend. They will learn survival skills, health skills, and take language courses ​​if they want to be qualified for upcoming space missions. In order to equip future astronauts with unprecedented terrain experiences, ESA has designed a special training tour in the underground cave. In which, six astronauts from different space agencies will experience the unexplored terrain on the Moon and Mars together.

Named as CAVES, this training course will enhance the skills required for an excellent astronaut such as communication, problem-solving, and team-work, through in-depth travel to Earth. Astronauts will have to recognize the manifestations of the flow of air and water as the signs of the way forward. One example is to follow and trace water. Also, as part of the exploration, they will not be provided their exact locations during the training.

Franci Gabrovšek, who is a professor of Karst Research Institute ZRC SAZU in Slovenia, confidently stated that the exploration into Earth by astronauts will help researchers and scientists answer questions related to the origin of caves, mysterious underground water, and underground life.

Before the training, the astronauts have spent a week in preparing above and underground missions. They would then experience life in a cave in Slovenia for 6 days. Loredana Bessone, the designer of the training course, said that although the training is for simulation purposes, its value in terms of experience is very meaningful. These are experiences with the environmental, psychological and logistical limitations of a space mission, and are closely related to "real science, real operations and real astronauts with the best speleologists in the field."

The last September 11 marked the beginning of CAVES training. In which, astronauts from agencies such as NASA, European Space Agency (ESA), Canadian Space Agency, Russian Space Agency (Roscosmos), and JAXA will gather for the training session. In addition, to assist the astronauts, there will be a team of instructors and safety personnel who help make decisions as well as work autonomously.