Aquarius (laboratory)

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Aquarius on Conch Reef, off the Florida Keys

Aquarius is an underwater habitat located in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. It is the only underwater research facility in the world dedicated to science. Aquarius is owned by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and operated by the National Undersea Research Center (NURC) at the University of North Carolina–Wilmington.

Aquarius was built in Victoria, Texas, in 1986. Underwater operations first began in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Following Hurricane Hugo in 1988 Aquarius was taken to NURC for repairs and refurbishment and was redeployed in the Florida Keys in 1992. Aquarius is located under 20 m (62 ft) of water at the base of a coral reef within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, an ideal site for studying the health of sensitive coral reefs.

The laboratory is most often used by marine biologists, for whom Aquarius acts as home base as they study the coral reef, the fish and aquatic plants that live nearby and composition of the surrounding seawater. Aquarius houses sophisticated lab equipment and computers, enabling scientists to perform research and process samples without leaving their underwater facilities.

The habitat accommodates four scientists and two technicians for missions averaging ten days. Scientists on the Aquarius are often called "aquanauts". Dives from Aquarius can last for up to nine hours at a time, by comparison surface dives usually last between one to two hours. Long dive times allow for observation that would not otherwise be possible.

Inside the Aquarius

Returning to the water surface takes 17 hours so that workers do not suffer decompression sickness. Several missions on the Aquarius have been cancelled due to hurricane activity.

Since 2001, NASA has utilized Aquarius for its NEEMO (NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations) program, to study various aspects of human spaceflight in a similar environment. Like the environment of space, the undersea world is a hostile, alien place for humans to live. Aquarius provides a safe harbor for scientists to live and work for weeks at a time.