Anyone who wants to fly to Mars has to be able to withstand a lot: limited resources, about two and a half years in a cramped space station and hardly any contact with the outside world – the challenges that astronauts will be faced with could not be greater. How do you think they are coping with these adverse circumstances?
The four-person crew of the first CHAPEA mission has been testing this since the end of June (Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analogue): Kelly Haston, Ross Brockwell, Anca Selariu and Nathan Jones took part in a long-term study by the US space agency NASA “Mars Dune Alpha” let it be included.
The simulation site is modeled on Mars and is intended to help NASA prepare for manned missions to the Red Planet. About the duties of the crew members include simulated walks on the surface of Mars, overseeing scientific experiments and growing fruits and vegetables, and maintaining a rigorous sports training schedule.
The crew members simulate walks on Mars on treadmills.
(Photo: Mark Felix/AFP)
With the year-long test, NASA wants to find out what future astronauts need to survive a real Mars mission. To do this, the participants live under Mars-like conditions on the 160 square meter simulation area made from a 3D printer at the Johnson Space Center in Houston: They don’t get any fresh air, only have a small selection of astronaut food and have to be involved in communication Expect delays of at least 20 minutes – with the same challenges that would be expected with a manned Mars mission.
What is it like when four strangers live together in a small space for a year? At the beginning of 2024, the crew members are still raving about how well they get along, how they watched series together and celebrated Christmas – and how they defy the adverse circumstances by finding common solutions. When they finally hear from mission control, they’ve usually already sorted out the problem on their own.
The station’s television corner.
(Photo: Mark Felix/AFP)
On the other hand, the participants find it difficult to have only limited contact with family and friends: “Life goes on for everyone on earth, and for us it feels like we are caught in a time loop,” Nathan Jones described in the September for the NASA podcast “Houston, we have a podcast” the strange feeling that time seems to pass more slowly in space: “To me it still feels like it’s June 2023, the day we got here.”
And when will people actually end up there? The red planet, imaged by the Hubble space telescope.
(Photo: EPA/NASA /HUBBLE/dpa)
Anyone who doesn’t let this put them off will soon have the chance to live on Mars: NASA is once again looking for four volunteers to spend twelve months in “Mars Dune Alpha” from spring 2025. Applicants must meet the same requirements as for the normal astronaut program: those eligible are between 30 and 55 years old, do not smoke, and have U.S. citizenship or permanent residency. Candidates must also have a master’s degree and two years of professional experience in the natural sciences or at least 1,000 hours of flight time as a pilot.
It will probably be a while before the first people set foot on Mars – the real one, not just a copy in Houston, Texas -: Nasa administrator Bill Nelson says he doesn’t expect a manned mission to Mars until 2040 Planets.