For four days, four astronauts lived and worked together in a pitch-black cave, cut off from the outside world. Their mission: to explore the unknown, document their findings, and return safely.

ESA’s CAVES training programme offers space explorers the unique opportunity to experience the psychological extremes of real exploration as a multinational crew to better prepare them for the challenges of spaceflight.

The cave environment imposes isolation, confinement, technical challenges and limited supplies – just like in space.

Participants in the seventh CAVES edition are ESA astronaut Marco Sieber, NASA’s Jasmin “Jaws” Moghbeli, Makoto Suwa from Japan’s space agency JAXA and Mohammad Al Mulla from MBRSC, the Emirati space agency.

Before entering the cave, the crew received a mix of technical lectures, outdoor training and lessons on how to perform effectively as a team to prepare them for the challenges ahead. The astronauts learnt about cave mapping, how to perform scientific experiments and the best ways to communicate with each other. They also developed rope climbing skills to move through the cave.

Above ground, mission control tracked their progress with a 3D map generated with inputs from the crew as they explored the cave. Scientists could locate the astronauts’ observations paired with pictures, and send their comments back to the cave. 

The crew monitored the ever-changing cave environment. The astronauts carried out science experiments, including taking swabs in the search of microbes, monitoring radon and carbon dioxide levels and observe the flow of water.

More on CAVES.