![](\"http:\/\/www.esa.int\/var\/esa\/storage\/images\/esa_multimedia\/images\/2017\/05\/launching_the_drone2\/16950930-1-eng-GB\/Launching_the_drone_small.jpg\")
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\nLast weekend ESA\u2019s CAVES underground astronaut training course<\/a> sent ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano into the deep unknown to explore the caverns of Sicily. Temperatures can rise to 37\u00b0C, making the exploration in darkness even more difficult.\n<\/p>\n \nThe team tested a new type of drone<\/a> that is built to withstand collisions, allowing it to fly in and chart confined spaces. Equipped with infrared and optical cameras, the drone was launched into a 100 m-high vertical tunnel, the entrance of which can be seen here.\n<\/p>\n \nTwo operators \u2013 one for the cameras and one for the drone itself \u2013 searched 60 m tunnel for hot spots and mapping never-seen-before areas. The thermal camera allowed the operators to pinpoint areas where temperatures are estimated to be higher than 40\u00b0C \u2013 circular conduits that are now earmarked for future exploration.\n<\/p>\n \nInside the abyss, hot and cold air currents mix and form condensation so high it resembles continuous rain in the shaft. Despite these difficult conditions, the drone performed flawlessly over its nine flights.\n<\/p>\n \nAn extension of ESA\u2019s Cooperative Adventure for Valuing and Exercising human behaviour and performance Skills course, this CAVES-X1 expedition had Luca join the scientific expedition organised by La Venta Association<\/a> and the Commissione Grotte Eugenio Boegan<\/a> in the La Cucchiara caves near Sciacca, Sicily.\n<\/p>\n \nESA\u2019s strategy sees humans and robots working together to explore and build settlements on planetary bodies, as well as improving our understanding of our origins, and the origins of life in our Solar System. CAVES offers ways to test equipment, techniques and working methods for these future missions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \nLast weekend ESA’s CAVES underground astronaut training course<\/a> sent ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano into the deep unknown to explore the caverns of Sicily. Temperatures can rise to 37°C, making the exploration in darkness even more difficult.\n<\/p>\n \nThe team tested a new type of drone<\/a> that is built to withstand collisions, allowing it to fly in and chart confined spaces. Equipped with infrared and optical cameras, the drone was launched into a 100 m-high vertical tunnel, the entrance of which can be seen here.\n<\/p>\n \nTwo operators – one for the cameras and one for the drone itself – searched 60 m tunnel for hot spots and mapping never-seen-before areas. The thermal camera allowed the operators to pinpoint areas where temperatures are estimated to be higher than 40°C – circular conduits that are now earmarked for future exploration.\n<\/p>\n \nInside the abyss, hot and cold air currents mix and form condensation so high it resembles continuous rain in the shaft. Despite these difficult conditions, the drone performed flawlessly over its nine flights.\n<\/p>\n \nAn extension of ESA’s Cooperative Adventure for Valuing and Exercising human behaviour and performance Skills course, this CAVES-X1 expedition had Luca join the scientific expedition organised by La Venta Association<\/a> and the Commissione Grotte Eugenio Boegan<\/a> in the La Cucchiara caves near Sciacca, Sicily.\n<\/p>\n \nESA’s strategy sees humans and robots working together to explore and build settlements on planetary bodies, as well as improving our understanding of our origins, and the origins of life in our Solar System. CAVES offers ways to test equipment, techniques and working methods for these future missions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":615444,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-320329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-multimedia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/320329","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=320329"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/320329\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":320330,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/320329\/revisions\/320330"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/615444"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=320329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=320329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=320329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/p>\n