CAVES 2019: astronaut base camp in the cave interiorAstronauts looking for water and microbiological samples during CAVESMicrobiological samplingAstronaut in a squeeze during CAVESCAVES 2017: launching a drone
CAVES (CooperativeAdventure forValuing andExercising human behaviour and performanceSkills) is aEuropean Space Agency (ESA) astronaut training course in which internationalastronauts train in a space-analoguecave environment. Designed at theEuropean Astronaut Centre, the course aims to prepare astronauts for safe and efficient long duration spaceflight operations by means of a realistic scientific andexploration mission within a multicultural,ISS-representative team.[1][2][3][4]
The first five editions of CAVES (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2016) took place in several caves on the Italian island ofSardinia, part of aKarst System which lies within theSupramonte region. The rocks in this area are predominantlylimestone anddolomite.[4][5]
The 2019 edition of CAVES was carried out in the so-called “Classical Karst” area, a karst region betweenItaly andSlovenia, world famous for its limestone caves. Here, the course makes use of facilities provided byŠkocjanske Caves Regional Park, with field activities occurring in several caves along the underground course of the riverTimavo, both in Italy[6] and Slovenia.[4]
The cave environment is an exceptionalspace analogue. It recreates on Earth many of the stressful conditions and specific characteristics encountered in long duration spaceflight, such as:
Unknown / unfamiliar environment – The crew's knowledge about the cave is limited to what previous expeditions have found and documented.
Permanent darkness / need for artificial illumination.
Lack of time references – A direct consequence of the cave's permanent darkness.
Alteration of circadian rhythm and sleep disturbance – The lack of time references and limited facilities affect sleep quality and cycles length.
Sensory alteration / deprivation – Not only are caves lightless, they also provide almost no auditory or olfactory stimuli.
Limited privacy – Small, confined spaces do not offer much room for privacy or personal space for team members.
Social and cultural aspects / crew size – The teams include astronauts fromESA,NASA,Roscosmos,CSA,JAXA,CNSA, andMBRSC so the team dynamics that emerge during the mission are similar to those expected on an international cooperative space mission.
Limited resources / hygiene – The logistics inside the cave is extremely complex, only limited supplies can be carried inside.
Isolation / Limited communication with outside world – Communications with the outside world are limited to interactions with the mission support team over delay to enhance the sense of isolation.
High level of autonomy – The crew must operate with few inputs from outside whilst exploring.
Real physical danger – Even implementing all reasonable safety measures, caves still present risks to human explorers, including falling, slipping, rock falls, or becoming trapped by landslides or floodings. Participants must be constantly aware of these risks.
Limited mission abort / rescue capabilities – Given the complexity of the environment, both evacuation and rescue operations require several hours or even days to plan and execute.
Another parallel with space exploration concerns astronaut progression within the cave, i.e., how they move through the environment. Speleological techniques involve safety principles similar to that of anEVA, such as the need to be attached to a safe surface – the cave wall in CAVES, the ISS or a vehicle in space. The crew mission performed during the final expedition also has several elements in common with astronaut's experience duringISS operations, including a time-lined activities schedule, daily planning calls to the ground support team, and standardised procedures and data collection methods.[4]
Each training course lasts for approximately three weeks. The first two weeks focus on providing the astronauts with the necessary behavioural patterns, scientific knowledge, and technical skills to work effectively and safely in an underground environment. During this time, trainees visit simple caves to become acquainted with the conditions they will find themselves in during their final expedition, a six-day uninterrupted expedition exploring a complex cave system. The main purpose of the mission is to foster their communication, decision-making, problem-solving, leadership and team dynamics capabilities by means of team activities and a real crew mission performed in aspace-like environment.[4][10][11]
In the same way astronauts in space spend a considerable part of their time doing science, “cavenauts” must perform a real crew mission involving several different experiments and activities while exploring the cave. After team training, conducting scientific, and technological research is the secondary objectives of the CAVES course. The third objective is to further explore and document previously unknown areas of the cave.[4]
Different roles and responsibilities are assigned to the participants for the mission, according to their background, experience, and interests. Possible roles, in line with the mission programme, include: mission commander, camp site manager, scientist, data engineer, photo engineer and survey engineer. All participants areastronauts–either veteran or rookies–unless otherwise mentioned.
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