July 28, 2003
A: FROM MENTOR ELIZABETH HINCHEY IN RI

Thanks for the question! Below I have copied some information for you
from the Aquarius user's manual on the Aquarius website
( http://www.uncwil.edu/aquarius/about/usermanual.htm). Aquanauts need
to have substantial diving experience and undergo special, intense
training by Aquarius instructors for a week prior to the mission. The
web site also has come pictures of the Aquanauts from the last mission,
taken during the training
( http://www.uncwil.edu/aquarius/2003/07_2003/images/index.htm)
Besides diving education, Aquanauts have a variety of educational
backgrounds--of course there are your typical marine biologists (with
degrees ranging from undergraduate degrees to masters and doctoral
degrees), but as you might know astronauts have also been Aquanauts, as
well as physicists, geologists, journalists, and most importantly
engineers! The Aquanauts that are employed by Aquarius as habitat
technicians (these are the people who actually operate Aquarius during
the missions and keep it running throughout the year) and are expert
engineers (many with military backgrounds) and have immense diving
experience and also training in dive medicine.

Hope you had fun following Lauren Batte on her mission! Hopefully
someday you too will get to work in Aquarius!

QUALIFICATIONS

Prerequisites to training for an Aquarius mission are what you would expect for any extended
diving program, and include:
1. SCUBA certification by a nationally recognized sport diving agency, NOAA, or military
equivalent;
2. A minimum of 50 logged scuba dives to similar depths at which your planned research will
be conducted are recommended (permission to waive this requirement under exceptional
circumstances must be approved by the Center Director); and
3. Successfully passing a AAUS Medical Examination.
4. Successful completion of premission Aquarius Training and sign-off by the Aquarius
Manager.

TRAINING

Aquanaut training consists of briefings, pool training, open water training, and orientation
dives to the reef area and Aquarius. Topside science staff, who dive, participate in certain
briefings. You must show evidence of good watermanship during pool and open water training and
demonstrate a safe attitude to qualify for participation in the program.


Several aquanaut briefings are presented that include information about equipment, dive
protocols, and Aquarius. During training, safety is emphasized and aquanauts are familiarized
with the special requirements of saturation diving. Open water orientation dives take place
that allow aquanauts to become familiar with equipment and work sites located around Aquarius.
A big difference between saturation diving and surface-based diving is that in saturation
diving the surface is not an option - if you have a problem you will need to solve it on the
bottom. Questions are encouraged during all aspects of training.