Given the recent change of pace in the manned space program, it’s going to be quite some time before we humans leave our planet with any permanence. The grandiose plan for a lunar colony might very well be in the hands of the private sector for the foreseeable future.

However, manned exploration efforts are far from only memories. Just recently, a team of NASA engineers and astronauts partook in an undersea mission at NOAA’s Aquarius Habitat in Key Largo, Florida. Click here for more.

These sea to space analogous missions allow humans to not only evaluate space technologies and processes here on Earth (low cost and limited risk), but also provide insight into humans’ ability to operate effectively under the sea for lengthy periods of time. Better understanding human performance in this environment is a critical step for our species.

Millions upon millions of square miles of available real estate space is up for grabs along the global continental shelf. Our existence here on Earth is unarguably intertwined with the oceans – it is the extent to which we embed our lives with this Blue Planet that will determine the sustainability of our species.ShareThis var shared_object = SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: document.title, url: document.location.href});shared_object.attachButton(document.getElementById(“ck_sharethis”));shared_object.attachChicklet(“email”, document.getElementById(“ck_email”));shared_object.attachChicklet(“facebook”, document.getElementById(“ck_facebook”));shared_object.attachChicklet(“twitter”, document.getElementById(“ck_twitter”));Related articles by Zemanta

• Aquarius Habitat 2003 (oceanexplorer.noaa.gov)
• The Link Project: A Partnership between NOAA and NASA (oceanexplorer.noaa.gov)
• NASA | BEST: Living on the Moon (anewlifeinthesea.blogspot.com)
• NASA to Go Boldly to the Bottom of the Sea (space.com)
• Obama Promises Renewed Space Program (nytimes.com)