The crew of NASA’s simulated Mars mission emerged from their craft after a yearlong voyage that never left Earth. The four volunteer crew members, Kelly Haston, Anca Selariu, Ross Brockwell, and Nathan Jones, spent over 12 months inside NASA’s first simulated Mars environment at Johnson Space Center in Houston.
The crew entered the 3D-printed habitat on June 25, 2023, as the maiden crew of the space agency’s Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog project. Their 378 days in confinement went by quickly, according to Jones, a physician and the mission medical officer.
The quartet lived and worked inside a space of 17,000 square feet to simulate a mission to Mars. They focused on establishing possible conditions for future Mars operations through simulated spacewalks, growing and harvesting vegetables to supplement their provisions, and maintaining the habitat and equipment.
They also worked through challenges a real Mars crew would be expected to experience, including limited resources, isolation, and communication delays of up to 22 minutes with their home planet. Two additional CHAPEA missions are planned, and crews will continue conducting simulated spacewalks and gathering data on factors related to physical and behavioral health and performance.
Steve Koerner, deputy director of Johnson Space Center, said most of the first crew’s experimentation focused on nutrition and how that affected their performance. The work was crucial science as we prepare to send people on to the red planet, he said. Mars is our goal, he added, calling the project an important step in America’s intent to be a leader in the global space exploration effort.
Read more: finance.yahoo.com