NASA seals volunteers into isolated Mars-like habitat for year-long experiment
NASA) last month sealed four volunteers into a simulated Martian habitat for a-year long analogue mission to simulate living on Mars. The objective of the mission is to learn more about the logistics – and the human psychology – of living long-term on another planet, without ever leaving the ground. CHAPEA or Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog, is the first of three planned simulation missions at Nasa’s Johnson Space Centre in Houston, Texas which will teach scientists more about what it takes for long-duration human spaceflight to succeed.
The 1,700 square-foot 3D-printed living space, in which the crew will live, work, exercise, sleep, and perform experiments for a year is called Mars Dune Alpha. The four-member crew includes Kelly Haston (a biologist), Ross Brockwell (a structural engineer), Nathan Jones (a physician), and Anca Selariu (a Navy microbiologist). All the volunteers had to pass the same testing as astronaut candidates do before being approved for a mission.
The mission will also involve Extra Vehicular Activities (EVAs), in which crew members will briefly leave their habitat to enter an adjacent enclosure complete with red sand. All the four volunteers will have to don space suits for these simulated spacewalks. "The simulation will allow us to collect cognitive and physical performance data to give us more insight into the potential impacts of long-duration missions to Mars on crew health and performance," Grace Douglas, CHAPEA principal investigator, in a statement.
"Ultimately, this information will help NASA make informed decisions to design and plan for a successful human mission to Mars," Douglas added. The crew will only be able to communicate with the outside world on a time delay. On
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