[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/Williams_Todd_Anvari_big.jpg” caption=”Pictured from left, Canadian astronaut Dave Williams, mission commander of the NEEMO 7; Bill Todd, NASA Undersea Research Team project lead; and Mehran Anvari, director of McMaster’s Centre for Minimal Access Surgery. Photo credit: Chantall Van Raay “]Canadian astronauts Chris Hadfield and Dave Williams will visit McMaster tomorrow (Thursday, Aug. 25,) with professor Mehran Anvari, to host an interactive educational event with children in the Venture Engineering Camp and engineering students.

The event will explore the educational aspects of the NEEMO 9 mission scheduled for this fall. Members of the crew will be on hand to present their research objectives and answer questions about their roles in the underwater mission which aims to test and evaluate new medical diagnostic and therapeutic technologies to enhance the delivery of state-of-the-art medical care in remote and harsh environments.

NEEMO (NASA's Extreme Environment Mission Operations) 9 is a joint project involving McMaster's Centre for Minimal Access Surgery at St. Joseph's Healthcare, the Canadian Space Agency and NASA.

The Centre for Minimal Access Surgery is headed by Mehran Anvari, professor of surgery and the director of the new McMaster Institute for Surgical Invention, Innovation and Education. He also holds an endowed Chair in Minimally Invasive Surgery and Surgical Innovation.

The mission takes place in Aquarius, the world's only underwater research laboratory, situated off the Florida Coast.

Hadfield and Williams, who have both served on space missions, are involved in the planning for NEEMO 9.

The Venture Engineering Camp, marking its 15th anniversary, exposes children aged 8 to 14 to science, engineering, computers and technology in a fun and interactive environment. The event is in MDCL-1110 at 2 p.m.

This is the second mission involving partnership between NASA, the Canadian Space Agency and McMaster's Centre for Minimal Access Surgery. Last October, Anvari directed NEEMO 7 — a mission that focused on the demonstration and evaluation of innovative remote technologies.