U.S., European, Japanese & UAE Astronaut Training in Norway and Italy | ESA

U.S., European, Japanese & UAE Astronaut Training in Norway and Italy | ESA

Marco Sieber (ESA), Jasmin Moghbeli (NASA), Mohammad AlMulla (MBRSC) and Makoto Suwa (JAXA) are the CAVES 2025 crew, here in their cave familiarization.

NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli placing the communication cable along the walls of the Abel cave.

NASA astronaut Jessica Wittner and European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet of France are discussing the presence of a possible magmatic dike within anorthositic rocks.

Prof. Matteo Massironi explain to the PANGAEA astronaut crew how to identify geological units from distance.

Friends of NASA member and European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet of France observes the mineral assemblage of anorthositic rocks analogue to the Lunar Highlands.

A space-like environment in the depths of the Earth . . .

The Cooperative Adventure for Valuing and Exercising Human Behavior and Performance Skills (CAVES) expedition is a simulation of a space mission and an extreme training session. It is held four kilometers underground in a cave.

This one-week underground adventure was designed by the European Space Agency (ESA) to train astronauts to live and work together as a team. CAVES meets two objectives by giving astronauts an opportunity to:

tackle challenges associated with long space missions in a hostile environment

participate in actual scientific studies with research teams, as they would on the International Space Station (ISS)

CAVES expeditions prepare astronauts from around the world to:

-work efficiently and safely in a group

-resolve problems as a multicultural team

-carry out complex scientific and technical tasks

-explore unmapped areas

-use procedures related to space exploration

Follow the European Space Agency's CAVES blog: https://blogs.esa.int/caves/

Planetary ANalogue Geological and Astrobiological Exercise for Astronauts (PANGAEA) is a field training course designed by the European Space Agency (ESA) that, since 2016, has imparted to ESA and NASA astronauts, and Roscosmos (Russian) cosmonauts the basic theoretical and practical knowledge of geology and astrobiology and trained them in the field. Hence, developing independent field skills, including working with a remotely located science team, is a key part of the training.  The PANGAEA training course prepares participants for future planetary exploration missions to the Moon and Mars.

Image Credits: ESA/V. Crobu
Image Dates: July 25-Sept. 19, 2025

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