page_title: Steve Chappell
section_title: NASA career
hierarchical_section_title: Steve Chappell / NASA career
caption_attribution_description: English: American aerospace engineer and NEEMO 14 aquanaut Steve Chappell performs EVA from Aquarius underwater habitat.
context_page_description: Steven Patrick Chappell is an American aerospace engineer. He is a Technical Lead & Research Specialist for Wyle Integrated Science & Engineering at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. He is helping to define and execute the research needed to optimize human performance in next-generation spacesuits and extra-vehicular activity systems. Chappell served as an aquanaut on the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations 14 crew.
context_section_description: Chappell’s diverse background and experience led him to work for Wyle Integrated Science & Engineering at NASA JSC, where he has been employed since 2008.  He is helping to define and execute the research needed to optimize human performance in the next-generation spacesuits and EVA systems.  As part of his job, he has led and taken part in studies in different exploration analog environments including the high Arctic, parabolic flight aircraft, and partial gravity simulators at JSC.  He was a major contributor to the design of the mockups and procedures to be used during NEEMO 14.
  Chappell was a NASA astronaut candidate interviewee in 2009.  In May 2010, Chappell became an aquanaut through his participation in the joint NASA-NOAA, NEEMO 14 (NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations) project, an exploration research mission held in Aquarius, the world's only undersea research laboratory.  Prior to the mission, Chappell was quoted as saying that he "is looking forward to working as a team with the other crewmembers during NEEMO 14 to help NASA take the next steps to push forward the frontier of space exploration."
  Although Chappell works at JSC, much of his time is spent working remotely from near Boulder.  He remains active with Rocky Mountain Rescue Group, having served as its operations director from 2006 to 2008 and as the president of its executive board from 2010 to 2012, and again as operations director from 2013 to the present.  Chappell also enjoys running, canyoneering, reading, and painting.  Chappell served as deputy mission manager for the NEEMO 15 mission in October 2011.  During the NEEMO 16 mission in June 2012, Chappell served as the technical director for the near-Earth asteroid exploration EVA objectives, as an In-Water Test Director, and piloted a DeepWorker submersible.
caption: Chappell performing EVA during NEEMO 14 mission
exif: {}