When Clint Cragg left Chile last month, there were few details about the capsule rescue officials would use to evacuate 33 miners trapped 2,300 feet underground.
Chilean naval officials discussed how tall and wide the capsule should be but not much else, said Cragg, one of four NASA employees sent to the South American country.
"They were talking about maximum height and maximum diameter," he said. "I thought that could be flushed out more."
So, after returning to Langley Research Center in Hampton, Cragg assembled a 20-member team of NASA scientists and engineers to figure out how to safely extract the miners.
The team brainstormed 75 recommendations and forwarded them to Chile's health minister, Jaime Manalich. Now, as Chile readies to pull miners to the surface starting Wednesday, Cragg and NASA officials will see their ideas in action.
One of the recommendations is for communication between rescue officials and miners during their ascent to the surface. The capsule includes a radio for miners to report any problems during the journey, which could take 30 to 60 minutes.
Also, part of the shaft will be encased in metal tubing, and the capsule will include a top to prevent any debris from injuring the miners.
"We were concerned about rocks," said Cragg, who added that the miners will wear hardhats.
NASA officials also made a handful of recommendations that while simplistic were nonetheless included if only to not be overlooked. Among them: making sure the capsule is designed so the last miner can enter it and secure himself without aid.
"Some of the stuff is kind of obvious, but you have to be explicit," he said.
The NASA team that traveled to Chile, which included three doctors, recommended storing medical supplies in the capsule. It will have an oxygen mask and other instruments to monitor the miners health, Cragg said.
The rescue attempt has been unfolding across the globe since an Aug. 5 cave-in buried the miners. Chilean officials requested help from NASA because the miners endured conditions — isolation, limited supplies and confined spaces — similar to those experienced by astronauts.
The miners went 17 days, surviving on tuna and milk, before rescue officials found them via a six-inch boring. Medical supplies, food, and entertainment, such as music and video cameras, were lowered down the boring.
Doctors are concerned about the miners' physical and mental health. The mine's temperature is about 90 degrees with 90 percent humidity; miners could have fungal diseases, collapsed lungs, and eye problems, doctors say.
Extracting all of the miners is expected to take 24 to 36 hours.
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