After a year, four scientists in the United States on Saturday completed an experiment that simulated life on Mars.
The four volunteers left the NASA-built Mars Dune Alpha, where they had spent the past 378 days completely cut off from the outside world, to loud applause.
The 1,700-square-foot (160-square-meter) structure at the Johnson Space Center in Houston is designed to mimic conditions on the Red Planet. The habitat is a 3D-printed facility complete with bedrooms, a gym, common areas and a vertical farm for growing food.
The structure also has an outdoor area, separated by an airlock. The area is filled with red sand and is where the team donned suits to do their “Marswalks.”
Life Like on Mars: NASA Unveils Mars Dune Alpha
Four volunteers on 160 square meters: for a year they will test what life on Mars might look like. The American space agency NASA expects this to yield important information for possible Mars missions.
Image: Go Nakamura/REUTERS
Starting in June, four volunteers will move into NASA’s Mars Dune Alpha home to test life on the Red Planet. For this purpose, they will live for a year in a converted hangar on the research site of the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Here, several rooms, an outdoor simulation area and, above all, lots of red sand await the future participants.
Image: Go Nakamura/REUTERS
Isolation, the biggest problem of potential missions
In a first experiment, scientists want to test how people cope with long-term isolation and stressful situations. This should help NASA estimate what “resources” future astronauts will need to survive a Mars mission, says Grace Douglas, who leads the Chapea program responsible for the experiment.
Image: Go Nakamura/REUTERS
The volunteers can’t bring much luggage. They will live in small bedrooms in the house at the research site all year long. The house is built entirely using 3D printing. This is one of the technologies NASA is considering as a possibility for building buildings on other planets or the lunar surface, says project manager Grace Douglas.
Image: Go Nakamura/REUTERS
In addition to the bedrooms, Mars Dune Alpha has two bathrooms, a medical care room, a relaxation room and several work spaces. During their time, the researchers regularly test how the volunteers respond to stress — for example, when the water runs out or equipment breaks down.
Image: Go Nakamura/REUTERS
Matching Boots for Mars Landscape
Participants leave the 3D house through an airlock to a replica of the Martian environment. With lots of red sand, life on Mars must be imitated as realistically as possible.
Image: Go Nakamura/REUTERS
The fictional astronauts, suspended from harnesses to simulate the lower gravity on Mars, will run outside on simulated treadmills. They will collect samples, gather data and continue building infrastructure. “We can’t have them running laps for six hours,” joked Suzanne Bell, director of the Behavioral Health and Performance Laboratory.
Image: Go Nakamura/REUTERS
Growing vegetables on Mars
In addition to a weather station, the research center also offers a vertical farm for growing lettuce and other plants. Here, participants can grow vegetables to be self-sufficient over time.
Image: Go Nakamura/REUTERS
Key insights for future missions
In total, three long-term experiments are planned at the site. The hope is to gain “important information” for a longer stay in isolation. However, NASA is only just beginning to prepare for a trip to Mars. First, the space agency is busy with the Artemis mission: for the first time in half a century, humans will travel to the moon.
Image: Go Nakamura/REUTERS
What did the scientists do?
Anca Selariu, Ross Brockwell, Nathan Jones and team leader Kelly Haston have spent the past year growing vegetables, taking “Mars walks” and living under what NASA calls “additional stressors.”
These problems include delays in communication with ‘Earth’, including their families; isolation; and confinement.
When they left the habitat on Saturday, the four volunteers were visibly emotional.
“We can do these things together,” Brockwell said. “We can use our senses of wonder and purpose to achieve peace and prosperity and unlock knowledge and joy for the benefit of everyone in every part of planet Earth,” he added.
What space missions await us in 2024?
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What is the purpose of the mission?
The mission was the first in a series called Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA). The goal is to help NASA prepare to send humans back to the moon and, one day, Mars.
Julie Kramer, NASA’s director of engineering, said the project “gives us the opportunity to learn all these critical things about these complex systems, and it makes traveling to Mars and back a lot safer.”
More CHAPEA missions are planned for 2025 and 2027, she said.
In 2015-2016, a habitat in Hawaii hosted a year-long mission to simulate life on Mars. NASA participated in the mission but did not lead it.
As part of the Artemis program, the US plans to send humans back to the moon to learn how to live there long-term. This will help prepare for a trip to Mars sometime in the late 2030s.
