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Facing one of the most difficult rescue operations ever attempted, Chile is looking to space and the ocean depths for survival tips to help 33 miners endure months underground awaiting rescue.The miners have a general idea how long the rescue will take but they have not been given specific details, Interior Minister Rodrigo Hinzpeter revealed.

"I hope that nobody commits the imprudence of telling them something like this," he said.

"We have asked the families to be careful in the letters they write.

The government has also asked Nasa and Chile's submarine fleet for tips on survival in confined conditions to help ease the physical and mental pressure during the gruelling wait. Commodore Ronald von der Weth Fischer, head of Chile's Submarine Fleet, thinks the men should be told the timeline.

"It's always good to know, I'd recommend keeping communication flowing, so that they are connected to the outside world. They should hear the news, know what's going on with their

favourite soccer teams,to create a feeling of normalcy." he told Reuters from aboard a submarine in the port city of Valparaiso.Rescuers will drill a shaft wide enough to lower a cage and pull the miners out one at a time from the dusty, humid, poorly ventilated tunnels where they are trapped.

Chilean officials have been giving the advice to the miners who became trapped nearly half

a mile below the surface in a collapse on August 5 and they were found alive on Sunday, 17

days after a cave-in at a small gold and copper mine in Chile's remote north. Doctors have

recommended the miners do exercises to keep their fitness up and avoid muscle atrophy as

they wait to be extracted.

Officials are splitting the men into two shifts so one group sleeps while the other works or has leisure time. Doctors have given the men advice about how to keep their limited living space clean: Portions of a 1-meter-high (3.3 feet), 40-meter-long shaft (131 feet) are being used as a latrine. It is connected to the main 50-square-meter cabin, which is being used for sleeping, washing and praying. The men's sole lifeline to the outside world is a tube approximately 8 centimeters (3.2 inches) in diameter, through which food, water, clothing, video and radio equipment and whatever else is needed are stuffed.

Earlier, officials had said the men were adopting various roles to help them through their

ordeal. A shift leader at the San Jose copper and gold mine is fulfilling a leadership role

and another man with nursing experience is carrying out basic medical and psychological

tests.

The 33 men trapped deep in a mine in Chile since August 5 sent a video message to their

families Thursday in which they expressed thanks for the efforts under way to free them and

displayed occasional flashes of humor and patriotism."We know what you've all been doing for us," said one man. "You haven't left us alone. We want to send applause to you."

The video footage shows the men in good spirits, singing the national anthem and chanting,

"Long live Chile, and long live the miners."The men shot the video with a camera sent down

to them through a small shaft drilled to their emergency shelter in the San José mine.

Despite advances in technology and increased emphasis on safety, at least publicly, mining remains a dangerous profession. Earlier this year, 29 miners died in an explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine. Since 2000, an average of 34 people have died every year in mining accidents in Chile, with a high of 43 in 2008, according to a review of Sernageomin data.