Next Saturday I will head back to Pavilion Lake in British Columbia to help out with the research activities there.

The Canadian Space Agency, NASA's ASTEP (Astrobiology Science and Technology for Exploring Planets) program within the Science Mission Directorate (SMD), and Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD) have partnered to sponsor a science driven field exploration campaign designed to help us understand life on early Earth, and how we will eventually use technology to support research on the Moon and Mars. Additional support and funding have been contributed by University British Columbia, McMaster University, Nuytco Research, and the National Geographic Society.  Field campaigns such as the  Pavilion Lake activity are driven by science using technology that has been developed to support scientific investigations relevant to Astrobiology and to test life support and operational scenarios important to keeping the future scientist-astronauts alive and healthy while they explore. By exploring the Earth’s extreme environments with both humans and robotics it is possible to develop a sound technical and scientific basis to search for life on other planets . In addition to science relevant to Astrobiology, the underwater environment  at Pavilion Lake  provides a useful analog for studies of 1) human performance in intrinsically lethal environments, 2) optimization of human and robotic interactions in an environment where human mobility is encumbered, 3) comparison of teleoperated and robotic assistant modes, 4) testing and operational use of scientific instrumentation and tools for extending human senses in an environment where the normal human senses are impaired.

I have a short video with some underwater footage I shot at Pavilion Lake last year during our research there.

For more information on the Deepworker Science and Exploration of Pavilion Lake go to:

http://www.pavilionlake.com/information/deepworker.htm