The research of NASA bioengineer Dennis Chamberland

Lloyd and his underwater house will hopefully deliver important data for later underwater habitats. A regular part of his daily routine will be a conversation via Skype with NASA bioengineer Dennis Chamberland.

About Dennis Chamberland

Dennis Chamberland works as a bioengineer at NASA, where he designs and develops biological and mechanical life support systems intended for base stations on the Moon and Mars. Since 1993 Chamberland has also been a certified aquanaut and has taken part in several under water assignments as mission commander. He has already designed six underwater habitats, including the NASA project Scott Carpenter Space Analog Station Habitat. The aim was to identify similar scientific concepts, technical aspects and requirements between underwater habitats and space stations. Dennis Chamberland is the mission commander of the Atlantica Expeditions, Atlantica 1. This project will take place during 2010 and 2011 off the coast of Florida and will be the longest mission in an underwater habitat to date. Further expeditions are also planned. The results from Lloyd Godson's stay under water should deliver valuable information which will contribute towards establishing permanent underwater colonies..

The scientific study

Dennis Chamberland also advised Lloyd Godson with his first underwater house. For the project in LEGOLAND^® the two of them worked together on the construction of the house in order to try and avoid the problems which arose with the first experiment in Australia, such as high humidity and the high level of CO2 in the air.

During the underwater phase, Dennis will be supervising the project from the scientific standpoint and will be checking and evaluating Lloyd's biological data on a daily basis as well as various house related parameters. The experiment will hopefully demonstrate how values that are vital for sustaining life change over time under water. Rapid changes could indicate current problems, while long-term changes would indicate adaptations to life in this closed system.

The habitat data will be used to check whether the life support systems are working or whether further improvements still need to be made by the two of them.

Lloyd will also be documenting his personal physiological data, including his temperature, blood pressure, pulse and oxygen saturation. Towards the end of Lloyd's last attempt, the carbon dioxide level in the air rose significantly, which had a drastic effect on his body's readings. His blood pressure was greatly increased and his pulse was racing.

Especially as far as biological parameters are concerned, Dennis Chamberland has already gathered his own substantial base of knowledge. From previous experiments he knows that Lloyd's body will have adapted to the water depth after just nine hours. Nitrogen will have accumulated in his blood and tissue as well as oxygen and some argon. During Lloyd's stay under water at approximately 1.4 bar and a depth of 5 meters, there is no danger of oxygen poisoning like there is at greater depths or from decompression bubbles in the blood and tissue. Nevertheless, any change from a normal environment leads to a physiological change in the body. In his underwater habitat Lloyd Godson will be in an environment that is just as artificial as the one faced by astronauts in a space station. This can also have an effect on his psyche. Furthermore, it has an influence on his well-being and his ability to concentrate, and may even lead to anxiety, aggressiveness or euphoria.

For Dennis Chamberland the operation and interaction of the life support systems is particularly interesting. "We're certain that what Lloyd is doing is safe as long as his equipment and the underwater habitat hold up and function properly," explains Dennis Chamberland. "What we can't foresee at all is how the systems will work in combination with each other. My experience tells me that synergies could result which we haven't calculated. This is exactly the point that's so exciting for me." Interactions between the inhabitant and the systems are also extremely probable. During his observations, Dennis will be paying special attention to effects which are not pressure induced, but rather habitat induced. "The latest habitats are based on what we have learned from previous constructions and then developed accordingly," elaborates Dennis Chamberland. "With every new design we gain important insights which lead to the next habitat. This gives us an evolutionary process that could eventually take man from the surface of the planet into the wide expanses of the ocean."

Lloyd Godson and Dennis Chamberland will certainly be keeping an eye on the aspects which caused problems during the last experiment, namely the humidity and the carbon dioxide levels in the house. However, they cannot predict if new problems will develop in some other area. Dennis Chamberland therefore won't be taking anything for granted and will be scrutinising all of the values from Lloyd and the house very carefully.