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About NASA Education The Scoop on SCUBAnauts 09.30.08
Education Leadership When space shuttle Endeavour launched in March of this year, a group of 35
NASA Centers and Facilities middle and high school students in the Tampa Bay, Fla., area followed the
NASA Mission Directorates mission closely. A few days after launch, shuttle Commander Dominic Gorie
Performance Assessment unfurled a blue banner carrying an emblem with the words, "Operation Deep
Education Programs Climb."
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For Educators This was the moment the students had been waiting for ever since their exciting
trip to Hawaii, where they probed the depths of the ocean, hiked to the summit of
For Educators
the mountain Mauna Kea and were joined by Gorie on an up-close tour of the
Grades K-4 Keck Observatory. The activities were part of Operation Deep Climb, one of
Grades 5-8 various missions organized by SCUBAnauts International. The organization was Mission Commander Dominic Gorie
Grades 5-8 unfurls the SCUBAnauts International
launched by U.S. Navy Captain David Olson in 2001.
flag aboard the space shuttle
Featured Materials
Endeavour. Image Credit: NASA
Featured Sites SCUBAnauts are young marine science explorers, ages 12 to 18, who take part in
Have You Seen ... underwater exploration activities throughout the year. They help scientists
Education Programs conduct meaningful research while discovering and learning about the marine environment.
Grades 9-12
Higher Education
Oceans cover 70 percent of Earth's surface. They constitute the largest habitat for
Informal Education
living things. Coral reefs, in particular, offer a pulse on the ocean's health. They
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support an extraordinary diversity of marine plants and animals. But human
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activities now threaten the survival of these vital natural resources. Pollution,
Current Opportunities
climate change and over-fishing are damaging reefs worldwide.
For Students
For Students SCUBAnauts attain firsthand knowledge of underwater environments by visiting
Grades K-4 and monitoring them, and by training with marine research scientists. "They are
Grades 5-8 here to be good stewards of their environment and learn more about the
Grades 9-12 environment," said marine geologist Christopher Moses, who is the chief scientist
Higher Education for SCUBAnauts. Two SCUBAnauts perform a fish count
Current Opportunities in Key Largo in June 2007. Image
Credit: SCUBAnauts International
NASA Kids' Club The program currently exists only in the Tampa Bay area. NASA awarded a three-
year grant to the program in May 2007. The grant will help continue the program's
research activities and help establish new chapters in places such as the Florida Keys and Annapolis, Md.
Being a SCUBAnaut requires dedication and a sense of adventure. The first item on the agenda for new members is to get
certified as open-water scuba divers. They learn diving skills such as moving forward, going backwards and turning by using
just their feet. These skills are important because on research dives these young explorers carry cameras, clipboards and
other equipment.
"As a scientific diver (you are) constantly working with something so your hands
are always full," Moses says. "Plus you don't want (animals) to run and hide when
you wave your hands."
During the school year, students attend one meeting a month, sometimes meeting
notable marine researchers. Participants also receive regular dive training, as well
as CPR, first-aid and emergency training with the U.S. Coast Guard.
One or two weekends a month are reserved for the exciting science dives. On
these dives, SCUBAnauts monitor artificial reefs in the Tampa Bay and Gulf of
Mexico. They check the health of coral reefs by watching for disease, algal A group of SCUBAnauts stand under
the space shuttle Endeavour in
overgrowth or bleaching. Routine parts of the dives also include fish counts;
February 2008 while it is being
species surveys; and collecting and recording data that include temperature, prepared for a March launch. Image
turbidity and salinity of the waters. Credit: SCUBAnauts International
The data collected is shared with NASA's GLOBE Program. GLOBE involves K-
12 students from around the world in measuring environmental factors, sharing Earth science data with each other and using
the data to conduct science projects and research. GLOBE supports NASA's goal of attracting and retaining students in
science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines.
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/5‐8/features/the‐scoop‐on‐scubanauts.html 2/19/2010

2. NASA ‐ The Scoop on SCUBAnauts Page 2 of 2
Summertime brings more thrilling adventures at exotic sites. In the past,
SCUBAnauts have monitored coral reefs in the Bahamas and Jamaica. They have
performed fish counts in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, which
boasts over 200 species of coral and fish. And they have visited the Aquarius
underwater ocean laboratory, located off the shore of Key Largo at a depth of 60
feet.
Operation Deep Climb was one of the more memorable research expeditions for
the SCUBAnauts. In October 2007, the students, accompanied by researchers
and adult volunteers, went to Hawaii for two weeks. They descended as far as
2,000 feet below the ocean's surface in deep-sea submersibles to look at a A group of SCUBAnauts work outside
Aquarius, the world's only underwater
Japanese midget submarine sunk at Pearl Harbor.
research habitat, to perform fish counts
and coral surveys. Image Credit:
After the Pearl Harbor dive, the SCUBAnauts climbed 13,700 feet to the peak of SCUBAnauts International
Mauna Kea. The hike allowed them to explore rare plant and animal species, their
ecosystems, and endangered communities. Captain Gorie then escorted them on
a tour of the Keck Observatory, which features twin telescopes -- each standing eight stories tall -- that sit atop the mountain.
Future missions will take the SCUBAnauts to observe undersea volcanic eruptions and hydrothermal vents, and to explore the
undersea geological features along Mauna Kea, which extends 20,000 feet beneath the ocean.
Related Resources
SCUBAnauts Web site →
Ocean World →
Ocean Motion →
Rising Tides →
Scuba Divers and Satellites
Prachi Patel, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies
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http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/5‐8/features/the‐scoop‐on‐scubanauts.html 2/19/2010