Chilean mine rescue capsule digs a home in Ottawa
Posted Apr 3, 2011 04:51:03 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
For the past few months, the Fenix capsules have spent their time touring Chile with the kind of gravitas usually reserved for rock stars.
The three capsules (including the Fenix 2 and Fenix 3) are remembered for their starring roles in the epic rescue operations in October 2010 that involved 33 Chilean miners who were trapped underground for 69 days.
And now, the Fenix 1 capsule has made its way to Ottawa where it will be on display at the Canada Science and Technology Museum.
This specific capsule, the Fenix 1, was used in testing runs and the transport of materials to the stranded miners.
The capsules, which were engineered and built as a collaboration by NASA and the Chilean Navy, each stand over 10-feet tall, weigh almost a half-ton and have the kind of technology NASA has become famous for.
They have an interior height of 6-feet-4-inches, a 21.5-inch diameter and were painted in the colors of the Chilean flag.
The capsules were deployed using a winch system. Once inside, the miners were outfitted with the capsule’s technology including a biometric belt and monitor designed to measure vital signs, special dark sunglasses, oxygen mask, communications helmet and even copper fiber underwear to minimize fungus.
The capsule will be in Ottawa until May 1 before it heads to Germany and the United States.
For more information about the display and the hours of operation, you can visit the Canada Science and Technology Museum’s website at http://www.sciencetech.technomuses.ca/english/index.cfm.
