Gernhardt also was the principal investigator on the development and implementation of the “campout,” or sleeping overnight in the airlock at lower pressure, the in-suit light exercise pre-breathing protocol, and the exploration atmosphere that uses a lower cabin pressure with higher oxygen concentration and an associated pre-breathing protocol that will facilitate spacewalks on the Moon and Mars. On July 20, 2001, during the STS-104 mission, Gernhardt and his crewmate NASA astronaut James Reilly, were the first crew members to use the exercise pre-breathing protocol, ushering in a new era of spacewalks from the station. In my position as chief astronaut, I assigned him to lead the early assembly of the International Space Station, a role that continues to enable space station operations still decades later, and that led to an array of benefits for Earth and exploration,” said NASA Associate Administrator Bob Cabana. “I had the great opportunity of working with Mike Gernhardt throughout his career. This effort included the human research subject testing and development of the flight procedures and hardware. He also led an international team in developing a new pre-breathing protocol that uses exercise on a bicycle ergometer while breathing oxygen to speed the elimination of nitrogen to reduce the risk of decompression sickness during spacewalks. Gernhardt was assigned as the lead spacewalker for STS-104, when he led the installation and outfitting of the International Space Station’s airlock, Quest. This included the body restraint tether, a mechanical arm attached to the spacesuit, and the micro-conical interface that allows astronauts or robots to remove and replace station components, both of which he invented. During that mission, he performed a spacewalk to evaluate the tools, hardware, and techniques that would be used to assemble and maintain the International Space Station before construction began in 1998. His first spaceflight was STS-69 on the Space Shuttle Endeavour in September 1995.
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Prior to becoming an astronaut, Gernhardt was a professional deep-sea diver and founder of Oceaneering Space Systems, where he led the development of a variety of spacewalking tools, life support systems, and decompression procedures. In addition, he was a crewmember on the first NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) mission in an undersea habitat and led numerous subsequent NEEMO missions simulating partial gravity environments including the Moon, Mars, and near-Earth asteroids. He was a mission specialist on four space shuttle missions: STS-69 in 1995, STS-83 and STS-94 in 1997, and STS-104 in 2001. He is a four-flight veteran, logging over 43 days in space, including four spacewalks totaling 23 hours and 16 minutes.
Gernhardt was selected as an astronaut in March 1992.
After nearly 30 years at NASA supporting human spaceflight, NASA Astronaut Michael Gernhardt is leaving NASA.
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