When we think about sending astronauts to Mars, many of us first think about hardware—for example, a rocket or a habitat.
But NASA must also consider human factors Mars mission, which led the agency to operate a series of long-duration analogs here on Earth, known as the Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA).
The first mission is scheduled to begin in June, when four crew members will enter the 1,700-square-foot (158 square meter) habitat and stay there for a year to simulate a mission to the surface of Mars. And NASA has just announced who that crew member is.
Related: A month on ‘Mars’: Preparing to visit the red planet on Earth
The mission is led by Commander Kelly Heston, a research scientist studying human disease. He is accompanied by flight engineer Ross Brockwell, a structural engineer; Medical Officer Nathan Jones, emergency medicine physician; and science officer Alyssa Shannon, an advanced practice nurse. Serving as backup crew members are aerospace and defense engineer Trevor Clark and US Navy microbiologist Enka Selariu.
NASA put out the first Call for CHAPEA participants (opens in new tab) in 2021, with requirements including a degree in a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) field, as well as professional experience in that field, piloting experience, or military training. Finally, CHAPEA candidates had to pass the same physical and psychological testing as astronaut candidates to ensure their suitability for the program.
During the upcoming CHAPEA mission, four crew members will live in a 3D-printed habitat called Mars Dune Alpha, located at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Designed by 3D-printing architecture studio ICON, the residence includes private crew quarters, a kitchen, living spaces, work areas and two bathrooms. There is also a 1,200-square-foot (111 square meter) “outdoor” environment filled with Martian murals and red sand. There, the crew will perform simulated conduct Spacewalk With virtual reality.
While at Mars Dune Alpha, the CHAPEA crew will participate in the same activities that astronauts do on Mars, from cooking to exercise to cleaning, as well as maintenance work on the habitat, crop growth and scientific research. They will also deal with environmental stresses that astronauts may experience on Mars, such as equipment failure and communication delays in mission control due to the distance between Mars and Mars. the earth.
“The simulation will allow us to collect cognitive and physical performance data to provide further insight into the potential effects of a long-duration mission to Mars on crew health and performance,” said Grace Douglas, CHAPEA principal investigator. NASA said in a statement (opens in new tab). “Ultimately, this information will help NASA make informed decisions to design and plan for a successful human mission to Mars.”
While spending 12 months at Mars Dune Alpha is a long time, astronauts traveling to Mars will have to be away from home for a long time. A round-trip journey from Earth to Mars will take time Approximately 21 months, given the time it takes to travel between the two planets, plus waiting for their alignment is well worth the return. And, of course, the Mars surface portion of the mission could last weeks or months.
Realistically, we are still a decade or two away from a human Mars mission, but preparations are well underway. And two more CHAPEA missions are scheduled for 2025 and 2026 respectively.
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