A flight surgeon, two astronauts and a Cincinnati doctor began a 12-day NASA mission in the ocean depths off the Florida coast Monday to test space medicine concepts and moon-walking techniques. It is the first undersea mission to include a NASA flight surgeon..

Veteran space flyer Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper is leading the undersea mission aboard the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Aquarius Underwater Laboratory. NASA Flight Surgeon Josef Schmid, NASA Astronaut Jose Hernandez and Dr. Tim Broderick of the University of Cincinnati complete the crew.

During the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations 12 (NEEMO 12), the crew will conduct a variety of advanced medical technology experiments, including robotic telesurgery on simulated patients.