Chilean Miners To Receive Help From NASA Experts
NASA is sending a team of doctors and scientists to Chile this week to help the 33 trapped miners stay fit and healthy, the space agency said Monday.
The Chilean government had asked NASA to provide advice that might be able to assist the miners trapped at the San Jose gold and copper mine near the town of Copiapo.
NASA has expert knowledge of how astronauts deal both mentally and physically with taxing space missions and their advice could help the trapped miners cope with their long wait for rescue in the dark, cramped underground mine.
“The environment may be different, but the human response in physiology, behavior, responses to emergencies is quite similar,” said NASA deputy chief medical officer Michael Duncan, who is one of the four deployed to Chile.
“We think that some of the things we learned in research and operation can be adaptable to the miners who are trapped under the ground,” he told the AFP news agency.
The mission is “an opportunity for us to bring our space flight experience back down to the ground,” said Duncan.
Duncan will be accompanied by a NASA engineer, a psychologist and a second medical doctor.
Engineers in Chile expect it will take up to four months to drill an escape tunnel to free the miners, who have been trapped inside the mine since August 5.
Officials have reported that the miners have developed fungal infections and body sores from the hot, humid and close-quarter conditions and some are starting to show signs of depression.
Duncan commended the operations at the mine, where equipment and supplies are being sent down via narrow tunnels. Engineers have also rigged up a radio system so loved ones can keep in touch with workers, keeping their spirits up.
“The Chileans are very well organized down there. They have a lot of resources at their disposal,” he said. “They have done a lot for the miners, and in fact the miners have done a lot for themselves underground.”
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