Less than a month after Dent descended into Sun Valley, the Dent community is already diving into a number of events and explorations across the U.S.
In less than two weeks, Dent Aquarius brings us to Key Largo, Florida, to learn more about the Aquarius Reef Base—the world’s only underwater laboratory dedicated to science and education.
As an active research facility, the US NAVY, NASA, and academic researchers use the Aquarius Reef Base to study sensitive coral reefs as well as train astronauts for life aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Known as “aquanauts,” scientists and other researchers who use the Aquarius Reef Base live in this underwater lab at depth pressure for at least 24 continuous hours without returning to the surface.
Guiding our Dent Aquarius experience is retired NASA astronaut and Dent board member Cady Coleman. Cady flew twice on the space shuttle Columbia and spent almost 6 months on the ISS making for a total of 180 days in space. Her first journey to space came as a mission specialist in 1995, when space shuttle Columbia carried the US Microgravity Laboratory into space for its second mission on STS-73, a precursor mission to the space station. She returned for STS-93 in 1999, also on Columbia, as the lead mission specialist for the deployment of the Chandra X-ray Observatory. In December 2010, Coleman launched into space for a third time onboard a Russian Soyuz rocket, for a six-month stay onboard the space station, serving as the lead science officer, lead robotics officer and flight engineer for Expedition 26/27.
Dent community member Zachary Cohn captured Dent Aquarius on video during its first year. Watch below to learn more, and join the Dent community to be considered for invite-only opportunities like Dent Aquarius.
