After 378 Days, A Volunteer Crew Completed NASA’s Fist Mock Mission To Mars
After 378 days, a volunteer crew exited NASA’s first year-long mock mission to Mars on July 6, returning to regular life on Earth.
The mission began on June 25, 2023, and it was the first in the Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA) series.
Four volunteers were working and living inside a simulated Mars habitat at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
They were named Kelly Haston, Nathan Jones, Ross Brockwell, and Anca Selariu. The three-dimensionally printed habitat they lived in for over a year was called Mars Dune Alpha.
It was 1,700 square feet and was designed to feel like a remote settlement on the Red Planet. The experiences that the crew went through will help NASA plan for real-life missions to Mars, which are aimed to start in the late 2030s or early 2040s.
During their time on the mock mission, the crew had to grow some of their own crops and deal with challenges that people can expect to face on an actual mission to Mars.
Most of the science they conducted was based on nutrition, which is crucial for survival on the desolate Red Planet.
“For more than a year, the crew simulated Mars mission operations, including ‘Marswalks,’ grew and harvested several vegetables to supplement their shelf-stable food, maintained their equipment and habitat, and operated under additional stressors a Mars crew will experience, including communication delays with Earth, resource limitations, and isolation,” NASA officials wrote.
On July 6, NASA celebrated the quartet’s return with a welcome ceremony. When they stepped out, they were greeted with a round of applause and were instructed to wear face masks, given their stay in a sterile environment for an extended period of time.
revers_jr – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only
The event was live-streamed on various platforms. The agency was unable to allow guests to attend the event in person because of quarantine requirements for the crew and facility limitations.
“CHAPEA-1 has been a unique experience, with great challenges, joys, and sorrows and a lot of hard work, with a fair bit of fun thrown in as well,” said Haston during the event. She was the commander during the mission.
“I am humbled that being away on a one-year Mars analog brought me closer to those I was with and those I left back at home,” she continued.
Haston also praised her crew, noting that they were “really innovative” and quickly adapted when presented with problems they needed to solve on their own since Mission control wasn’t always able to provide answers right away.
Currently, NASA is leading a return to the moon for further exploration. The knowledge they will gain from this trip will help the agency prepare for their next big project—sending astronauts to Mars for the first time ever.
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