>
A scientist who lives 10 meters under the Atlantic Ocean gave DailyMail.com a tour of his home away from home, where he will spend 100 days.
Joseph Dituri, 55, a retired naval officer, currently lives in a 30-square-foot pod where he tests pre-NASA technology for Mars and anti-aging treatments.
Dituri studies how the human body responds to prolonged exposure to extreme pressure in a small space for 100 days – a similar environment that spacefaring heroes will endure on their journey to the Red Planet.
Although the underwater lodge is small, the pod has a work area, kitchen, bathroom, two bedrooms and a small “pool” that acts as an exit and entrance and a window with a view of the ocean.
Dituri, who embarked on the mission on March 1, told DailyMail.com from the bunker on Day 24, “I love it, I have a coffee maker because God knows science is not possible without coffee.”
Joseph Dituri spends 100 days 30 feet below the surface to break the record of 73 days, test pre-NASA technology for Mars and hopefully find a way to reverse aging
One of the devices being tested is a pre-NASA tool, meaning it must be tested before the agency adopts it.
It’s similar to Star Trek’s tricorder, which scans the body to monitor a person’s health and determine if they need medical attention.
Dituri is also researching how to prevent the loss of muscle mass in space, which astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) suffer from.
“We are going to Mars, but it will take 200 days to get there in the best home and transfer window,” Dituri told DailyMail.com.
‘[When you get there] you’re going to have less muscle mass, and you’re not going to be able to see far, and you’re not going to be really in great shape, and you’re going to have decreased bone density, and we’re going to land you hard on a sustainable market as it lands and falls to the ground.
“I think that might be a bad idea and we need to sort things out first, but that’s just me.”
Dituri’s home away from home is located at Jules’ Undersea Lodge in Key Largo.
‘There’s a TV, although I really don’t know how to turn it on. I have a small freezer like in a hotel room,” he said, also noting that he keeps a stash of chocolate in the pod.
There is a small microwave on a shelf, the only thing that can be used for cooking.
“Every good hotel should have a pool, and my hotel has a very small outdoor pool,” Dituri said.
‘That’s how we go in and out of the habitat. So when I go diving with all my diving gear, I put it on. I’ll get out of the hole, and then I’ll dive around. So that’s how people come in and they leave.’
Dituri sleeps on a twin-size bed with a small bunk on top, which is the same setup in an adjoining room for scientists who visit him.
He’s currently 28 days into his 100-day mission on March 28, and when he’s done, he’ll break the record – the previous record for most days spent underwater by a non-military man was 73.
Dituri’s home away from home is located at Jules’ Undersea Lodge in Key Largo
And Dituri will spend 10 days more under the surface than military personnel spend in submarines. Military submarines can only support 90-day excursions before returning to shore.
While testing futuristic technology, Dituri told DailyMail.com that another part of the mission is teaching kids about the sea space.
“I want to reach out to these kids and talk to them about the science and engineering of actually being a scientist, and being underwater and doing cool stuff as opposed to beakers and microscopes and classrooms,” he said, explaining how kids come to the pod dive and give him a high five at the window.
However, he also wants to help astronauts make it through the long and lonely journey to Mars.
The body-scanning device under test is much larger than the version that would travel to Mars with astronauts.
It works by scanning the body and then the user enters symptoms that are analyzed by a computer to determine the condition or injury.
“Even someone who is barely medically trained can operate this and figure out what’s going on and what’s wrong in the human body,” Dituri said.
The cuff is worn while he exercises with resistance bands, which is part of the routine on the ISS, and goes around the biceps to block the flow intermittently.
“What that does is it increases nitric oxide synthesis,” Dituri said.
“It leads to mitochondrial health, swelling in the mitochondria and greater muscle growth.
“So we hope to grow muscle while the astronauts are in space for extended periods, rather than lose muscle mass through lack of use.”
Dituri told DailyMail.com that his bicep muscle has increased since the mission began.
While testing futuristic technology, Dituri told DailyMail.com that another part of the mission is teaching kids about the sea space. The photo shows a group of children swimming towards the window of the pod
There is a toilet and small shower in the pod. Dituri sleeps on a twin-size bed with a small bunk on top, which is the same setup in an adjoining room for scientists who visit him
Dituri found his passion for science while serving 28 years in the United States Navy as a saturation diving officer
Along with bigger biceps, he also sleeps longer and deeper than when he’s on the surface.
Dituri and many other scientists believe that the fountain of youth could be hiding in the depths.
Previous research has shown that telomeres, which protect chromosomes from fraying, lengthen when the body is under extreme stress.
“We suspect, or we know in hyperbaric medicine that after about 60 treatments for an hour a day at a higher pressure than I’m at now, for an hour a day you’re going to let them grow between 25 and 33 percent, the jury is out.” not yet out on that, it’s not full of science,” Dituri said.
“I suspect that after being under this pressure for 100 days, my telomeres will be much longer. So, add, so add to my life, so that with the combined muscle growth.’
After retiring in 2012 as a commanding officer, Dituri enrolled at the University of South Florida to earn his doctorate to learn more about traumatic brain injury. And he is also a published author
Dituri is a father of three girls: Sophie, 19, Josephine, 27, and Gabrielle, 21
Dituri found his passion for science while serving 28 years in the United States Navy as a saturation diving officer.
After retiring in 2012 as a commanding officer, Dituri enrolled at the University of South Florida to earn his doctorate to learn more about traumatic brain injury.
And he is also a published author.
“I was bored during COVID because they wouldn’t let me treat patients for the first few months, so I wrote a book,” Dituri said, noting that it’s available on Amazon.
It’s called Secrets in Depth. It’s about a nice Italian kid from New York who joins the Navy and gets into a lot of trouble with the CIA.’
While the scientist works to find a cure for astronauts’ ailments, he also misses his three daughters whom he is so excited about whenever he gets the chance.
His 21-year-old daughter, Gabrielle, will graduate from the California Institute of Technology in May, an event he will not be able to attend.
Sophie, 19, enjoys working at a restaurant in South Tampa, Florida and Josephine, 27, has a master’s degree in psychology and works in New York City.
NASA is looking at the late 2030s or early 2040s for when it will send the first humans to Mars, where they are estimated to live and explore for 30 days.
Dituri’s research will be an essential part of this epic adventure, as the daring individuals will spend at least 200 days in a small pod.
Currently, astronauts are losing muscle mass, have impaired vision and even shrink in space — but the retired naval officer could help reverse these effects while 30 feet below Earth’s ocean.