A year later, four scientists in United State The life simulation experiment ended on Saturday. Mars.
Amidst loud applause, the four volunteers left the venue. NASA– They built the Mars Dune Alpha rover, where they spent the past 378 days completely isolated from the outside world.
The 160-square-meter building at the Johnson Space Center in Houston is designed to simulate conditions on the Red Planet. The habitat is a 3D-printed facility, complete with bedrooms, a gym, common areas and a vertical farm to grow food.
The building also includes an outdoor area, separated by an air chamber. This space is filled with red sand, and is where the team changed into the suits needed to conduct the “Mars walks.”
Life as it is on Mars: NASA unveils Mars Dune Alpha probe
Four volunteers in 160 square meters: For a year, they will experience what life might be like on Mars. NASA expects this to provide important information for potential Mars missions.
Photo: Joe Nakamura/Reuters
Starting in June, four volunteers will move into NASA’s Mars Dune Alpha home to test life on the Red Planet. For this purpose, they will live for a year in a converted hangar on the Johnson Space Center research grounds in Houston, Texas. Here, future participants will be waiting for several rooms, an outdoor simulation area and, above all, a lot of red sand.
Photo: Joe Nakamura/Reuters
Isolation is the main problem for potential missions.
In a first experiment, scientists want to test how humans cope with prolonged isolation and stressful situations. This will help NASA assess the “resources” future astronauts will need to survive a Mars mission, says Grace Douglas, who heads the Chapia program responsible for the experiment.
Photo: Joe Nakamura/Reuters
Volunteers won’t be able to bring much luggage with them. They will live in small bedrooms in a house at the research site year-round. The house was built entirely using 3D printing. Project manager Grace Douglas says it’s one of the technologies NASA is studying as a potential way to build structures on other planets or on the moon.
Photo: Joe Nakamura/Reuters
In addition to the bedrooms, Mars Dune Alpha has two bathrooms, a medical room, a relaxation area and several work areas. During their stay, researchers will regularly test how volunteers react to stress — for example, when the water level drops or equipment breaks down.
Photo: Joe Nakamura/Reuters
Matching shoes for Martian landscapes
Participants exit the 3D house through an air chamber into a replica of the Martian environment. With lots of red sand, life on Mars will be recreated as realistically as possible.
Photo: Joe Nakamura/Reuters
The fictional astronauts, strapped into harnesses to simulate the low gravity of Mars, will simulate trips beyond Earth on treadmills. They will collect samples and data and continue building infrastructure. “We can’t really have them walk around in circles for six hours,” jokes Susan Bell, director of the Behavioral Health and Performance Lab.
Photo: Joe Nakamura/Reuters
Growing vegetables on Mars
In addition to the weather station, the research center also offers a vertical farm for growing lettuce and other plants. Here, participants can grow vegetables to be self-sufficient for the time being.
Photo: Joe Nakamura/Reuters
Important insights for future tasks
Three long-term experiments are planned at the site. The hope is to obtain “critical information” for a longer stay in isolation. However, NASA is still in the early stages of preparations for a trip to Mars. First, the space agency is interested in the Artemis mission: for the first time in half a century, humans will travel to the moon again.
Photo: Joe Nakamura/Reuters
What did the scientists do?
Anca Celario, Ross Brockwell, Nathan Jones and team leader Kelly Haston have spent the past year growing vegetables, conducting “mars trips” and working under what NASA calls “extra stress.”
These difficulties included delayed communication with “the land,” including with their families; isolation; and confinement.
As they left the habitat on Saturday, the four volunteers were visibly emotional.
“We can do these things together,” Brockwell said. “We can use our senses of wonder and purpose to bring peace and prosperity and unleash knowledge and joy for the benefit of everyone in every part of the planet.”
What space exploration missions await us in 2024?
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What is the purpose of the mission?
This mission was the first in a series called the Crew Health and Performance Analog Exploration (CHAPEA). Its goal is to help NASA prepare to send humans to the Moon and, one day, to Mars.
“This project gives us an opportunity to learn all these important things about these complex systems, and it will make going to Mars and back safer,” said Julie Kramer, NASA’s director of engineering.
Additional CHAPEA missions are planned for 2025 and 2027, she said.
A year-long mission to simulate life on Mars in habitats in Hawaii was launched in 2015 and 2016. NASA participated in the mission but did not lead it.
As part of its Artemis program, the United States plans to to send humans to the moon To learn how to live there long-term. This would help prepare for a trip to Mars sometime in the late 2030s.
