2023-06-26 14:53:00
The four members of the NASA mission for which they will spend a year locked up in a terrestrial habitat that simulates Mars woke up this Monday for the first time in the 158-square-meter 3D-printed enclosure, located in the Johnson Space Center.
The four voluntary participants, -a team made up of two scientists, an engineer and a doctor- entered on Sunday in the enclosure built in the center that NASA has in Houston and in which they will spend 378 days locked up.
The mission is the first of three planned simulations of the surface of Mars, called CHAPEA (Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog).
Although without the lack of gravity, the researchers will simulate the challenges of a human mission to Mars, including resource constraints, equipment failures, communications delays, and other stressful environmental factors.
The habitat has a living area with four small bedrooms, a living room, an area to grow food, and an infirmary. In addition, there is an outdoor area that simulates the surface of Mars.
“The simulation will allow us to collect physical and cognitive performance data to give us more information regarding the potential impacts of long-duration missions to Mars on crew health and performance.”said Grace Douglas, principal investigator of CHAPEA, in a statement distributed by NASA.
This information will help NASA make decisions to design and plan a future human mission to Mars.
Participants were selected through a call. They include Kelly Haston, a research scientist with experience building models of human disease, and Ross Brockwell, a structural engineer and public works administrator.
Completing the mission are Nathan Jones, a certified emergency medicine physician, and Anca Selariu, a US Navy microbiologist.
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