7 Unwritten Rules Every Aquanaut Must Follow to Survive 30 Days Locked on the Ocean Floor

Nineteen meters under the sea off Florida, there is a house with an open door in its floor. Aquarius is the last undersea research lab of its kind, where scientists and NASA astronauts live for days or weeks, and once they move in, they cannot swim to the surface without hours of decompression. These are the seven rules aquanauts live by, from "there is no up" to the night in 1994 when a fire broke out during a storm. Sources: Wikipedia, "Aquarius Reef Base" (location, history, wet porch and moon pool, ~2.6 atm, 6 occupants, dives up to ~9 h, way stations, 17-hour decompression, hurricanes Gordon 1994, Georges 1998, Rita 2005, Irma 2017, 2009 diver death, 2012 funding crisis, FIU ownership) NOAA Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and NASA, NEEMO mission pages (analog missions since 2001; NEEMO 15 ended early due to Hurricane Rina, 2011) Florida International University news, "Repairs under way after Irma batters Aquarius" (2017) Mission 31 (Fabien Cousteau, June 1 – July 2, 2014): NBC News, Wikipedia Joseph Dituri, 100 days at Jules' Undersea Lodge (2023): CBS News / AP; University of South Florida Wikipedia, "Aquanaut" (24-hour definition; Robert Sténuit 1962); Conshelf Two (1963); SEALAB