JSC2008-E-039255 (12 May 2008) --- Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Koichi Wakata, Expedition 18 flight engineer, and NASA astronaut Edward M. (Mike) Fincke (partially obscured), commander, are about to be submerged in the waters of the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) near NASA's Johnson Space Center. Wakata and Fincke are attired in training versions of the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) spacesuit. SCUBA-equipped divers are in the water to assist the crewmembers in their rehearsal, intended to help prepare them for work on the exterior of the International Space Station.
Photographer Markowitz