The 33 trapped miners in Chile may be entombed in a subterranean space no bigger than a studio apartment, but they are getting the support of some of NASA's top experts in the fields of medicine and psychiatry.
The NASA scientists are providing tips and trips to the rescuers in an attempt to maintain the morale and psychiatric well-being of the miners, who have been trapped underground since Aug. 5, and who are expected to remain in their tiny cavern through the end of the year.
The NASA team comprises psychiatrists, physicians and engineers pulled together to help ensure the miners emerge from their ordeal safe and sound.
The team is urging the rescuers to impose a rigid daily schedule to keep the miners focused on daily intakes of water and vital nutrients, as well as tasks to keep their minds focused on anything other than the mind-numbing depths of the cave.
The drilling operation intended to save them is approaching from three different angles, government officials said, in the hopes that one operation will succeed if there are setbacks in the other two.
