Category Archives: Timothy Peake

Incredible special effects

Tim seen from NEEMO baseEditor's note: this is Timothy Peake’s blog during NEEMO 16

The past 24 hours has simply been an incredible experience. And considering that this entire NEEMO 16 mission has so far been an incredible experience that is saying something. About this time last night I was heading out the wet porch with fellow crewmember Steve Squyres for a night dive, with only one objective...to have fun :)

Night time underwater is something very special. Having lived with the marine life for several days now we have begun to recognize their routine. As the sun goes down, the fish start to get excited. Small larvae gather in the external lights of Aquarius and climb all over our port hole windows. The food chain kicks in and before we know it the huge, beautiful silver Tarpons are darting around at the top of the chain, with Barracuda taking their fill too and 'Gordon' the Goliath Grouper lazily keeping score like some oversized referee.

Steve and I were sitting on the ocean floor being awed by this amazing scene when in the corner of my eye I noticed an unmistakable tail swishing movement of a fish larger than even the Tarpon...Nurse Shark! It glided elegantly past us, looking a bit put out since we were sitting right where it had been sleeping the previous night...time to move over a little bit and free up some bed space. We were so thankful just to Tim in NEEMOhave the time, peace and quiet to enjoy this wonderful scene, being able to lie back look up at the surface, watching our bubbles causing a bioluminescent firework display.

Only one person can enter and exit the habitat at a time, and it takes several minutes to hat and unhat a diver. So when it was finally time to come back inside I remained outside whilst Steve 'staged in', and during those few minutes I was able to enjoy the feeling of complete isolation, with all my lights turned out and just enjoying the environment and the eerie glow coming from the Aquarius wet porch. Steve's comment earlier had been spot on...just like a scene from the movie 'Aliens'!

With the previous night's dive fresh our minds, the morning brought the prospect of something completely different but equally exciting...submersibles. Today was the day that the crew began to work with our 'Space Exploration Vehicles' in order to assess how they contribute to the efficiency of the tasks that we have been performing throughout the mission. NEEMO SubmersibleBy the time we were back in the water the light was fading slightly and the visibility dropping, so by the time the subs arrived we were once again treated to a completely surreal image of these two awesome floodlit machines slowly appearing out of the gloom. It really wasn't that hard to remind ourselves that we were simulating an asteroid mission... the special effects have so far been worthy of an award!

NEEMO 16…Teamwork!

Editor's note: this is Timothy Peake’s blog during NEEMO 16

'Good Teamwork' - it's something that makes the difference between winning or losing, success or failure and in extreme cases living or dying. As jargon, 'teamwork' is easy enough to say - much harder to define and it can be a tricky little recipe to create.

When everyone is working selflessly towards a common goal...that's a good start...and as a crew member of NEEMO 16 I am witnessing daily so many fantastic examples of great teamwork. Often it's the little things that make all the difference, like the thankless task our support divers had removing the trash bags from Aquarius this morning, or coming in from nearly 5 hours in the water and being met by Steve offering hot chocolate and Wasabi peas. I had told Steve that I didn't need anything, but he knew I did...and he was right!

Then there is the bigger picture, the huge support infrastructure from Mission Control and the immense logistical effort to ensure that we have the right tools, equipment, communications, medical support and IT to do the job, without which we could not accomplish the mission. There are people enduring many hours a day in a 5 foot Atlantic swell above us, or monitoring computer screens 24/7 in windowless rooms, not to mention those topside divers and supervisors who are looking after us in the water and ensuring that we have a seamless transition from one task to the next.

And then there are our two habitat technicians James and Justin, who quietly go about their business (OK, maybe James is not that quiet!) of knowing exactly what we need and when we need it...keeping us on track and safe in our temporary underwater home. And I have have only mentioned a fraction of the team so far.

The fact that so many people have come together from such diverse backgrounds and cultures, and in a short space of time gelled together into a tight knit and highly efficient team speaks volumes about the common goal that has united this team...pushing the boundaries of mankind's exploration into the solar system. And that is something most definitely worthy of all of our effort.

So NEEMO 16 has successfully achieved that tricky little recipe of great teamwork and as with all good recipes this also has a lot to do with the chef...but that is a subject for another blog...LEADERSHIP!"