NASA staged an underwater Artemis training run at the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory in Houston, where exploration geologists Trevor Graff and Angela Garcia tested moonsuit mobility, geology tools and a mock payload under low-angle lighting. The 40-foot (12-meter) pool was fitted with simulated regolith and tuned buoyancy to approximate lunar gravity. The exercise— the first time two geologists trained simultaneously in suits at the NBL—helps refine procedures for operations in permanently shadowed regions near the lunar south pole.
NASA Tests Artemis Moonsuits Underwater to Simulate Lunar Geology Missions
Exploration geologists and Artemis science officers Trevor Graff, left, and Angela Garcia carry out a lunar training development run at NASA's Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) in Houston. | Credit: NASA
Sometimes, to prepare for the Moon you first go underwater. NASA recently staged a geology-focused training exercise inside the agency's Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) in Houston, putting two exploration geologists into Artemis moonsuits to rehearse tasks they may perform on the lunar surface.
The participants, Artemis science officers Trevor Graff and Angela Garcia, practiced with the same geology tools astronauts will likely use on lunar missions and deployed a mock lunar payload under low-angle lighting to mimic conditions near the lunar south pole. According to NASA, many areas there remain in permanent or near-permanent shadow, so crews will need to work with very limited illumination.
Why Underwater Training?
The NBL is a 40-foot-deep (12-meter) pool at NASA's Johnson Space Center that allows engineers to tune buoyancy and movement to approximate reduced gravity. For this run, sections of the pool were dressed with loose soil and rock piles to replicate lunar regolith and terrain. Adjusting buoyancy and adding realistic terrain helps teams evaluate suit mobility, tool handling, sampling procedures and payload operations in a controlled, low-gravity analog.
Exploration geologists and Artemis science officers Trevor Graff, left, and Angela Garcia carry out a lunar training development run at NASA's Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) in Houston. | Credit: NASA
Notable Milestones
This event marked the first time two geologists were suited up simultaneously for lunar geology training in the NBL, a milestone for Artemis surface-science preparation. The underwater rehearsals let mission planners refine procedures and hardware before committing them to actual lunar flights.
Context and Next Steps
Human footprints have not returned to the Moon since 1972. NASA continues developing a crewed lunar lander while advancing astronaut training for Artemis missions, including plans that could place astronauts near the lunar south pole on Artemis IV and later missions. Underwater tests like these are one of multiple rehearsal steps—alongside analog fieldwork, virtual simulations and vacuum-chamber testing—designed to ensure crews can perform geology and other science on future sorties to the Moon.
"The NBL work helps mission teams assess tools, suit mobility and procedures before committing hardware and crews to real lunar operations," NASA said in its statement accompanying the photos.
Image credit: NASA
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