NASA is preparing four volunteers for an extraordinary challenge of spending 378 days in a simulated Martian habitat to prepare for future missions to Mars. The volunteers Ross Elder, Ellen Ellis, Matthew Montgomery, and James Spicer will step into a 1,700-square-foot, 3D-printed facility called Mars Dune Alpha at NASA's Johnson Space Center as part of NASA's Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA). It will run until October 31, 2026, testing the limits of human endurance in conditions mimicking life on Mars.

The Mars Dune Alpha is no ordinary living space. Designed to replicate the harsh realities of a Martian outpost, the habitat will immerse the crew in a world of resource scarcity, isolation, and equipment challenges. The volunteers will face scenarios like communication delays of up to 20 minutes each way, similar to what astronauts would experience on Mars, along with simulated spacewalks and occasional equipment failures.

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The CHAPEA program is a critical piece of NASA's plan to send humans to Mars in the coming decades. "As Nasa gears up for crewed Artemis missions, CHAPEA and other ground analogs are helping us determine the best capabilities future astronauts will need," stated Sara Whiting, project scientist with NASA's Human Research Program. These Earth-based experiments provide a safe way to study how humans handle the physical and psychological stresses of deep-space exploration.

Inside the habitat, the crew will tackle a packed schedule of research and operational tasks. They'll conduct simulated Mars walks, operate robotic systems, and even grow vegetables in a small garden to test food sustainability. The team will also trial new technologies, such as water dispensers and medical diagnostic tools, designed for long-term Martian living. The goal is to gather data on how isolation and confined living affect both body and mind. This mission is the second of three planned year-long CHAPEA simulations. The first, which wrapped up in July 2024, gave NASA valuable baseline data that's already shaping mission planning.

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