Scientists re-emerge after a year in Mars simulation project
Four scientists concluded a year-long Mars simulation in Houston's Mars Dune Alpha habitat. The project aimed to mimic Mars conditions, aiding NASA in preparing for Moon and Mars missions. Successful mission paves the way for future CHAPEA endeavors.
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Four scientists in the United States completed a year-long Mars simulation project in Houston's Mars Dune Alpha habitat. The team, consisting of two women and two men, conducted "Marswalks" and operated under "additional stressors" to mimic Red Planet conditions. The volunteers were visibly emotional as they left the 160-square-meter structure designed by NASA, which included living quarters, a gym, common areas, and a vertical farm for food production. The project, part of the Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA) series, aimed to help NASA prepare for future missions to the Moon and eventually Mars. NASA's director of engineering highlighted the importance of such simulations in enhancing safety for future space exploration endeavors. The successful completion of this mission sets the stage for upcoming CHAPEA missions in 2025 and 2027, contributing valuable insights for future space exploration missions.
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11 commentsI say this with experience. Living and working doing science in the Arctic and on ships is grueling. It's grueling, and not anywhere near as difficult or unpredictable as being in space. The things that happen in that pressure cooker are really hard to explain to people who haven't lived it.
It's not ethical or easy to do the kinds of simulations that would actually be useful. How do you simulate "your colleague is gravely wounded and on life support. now you have to work for 90 hours straight to fix whatever mamed them". Oh, also, you have 9 months of mission left with one less crew.
It was mediocre at best but "for all man kind" highlights just how weird things might get in these places. The only analogous efforts I can imagine are the adventures of sea-fairing people of centuries past. Maybe we should invent time travel and do some sociological studies.
If it turned out that mice can't properly reproduce in the zero-g environment of the ISS, it would be very likely that (much heavier) humans can't properly reproduce in the low-g environment of Mars. Which would be a very important thing to figure out. Perhaps more important than the mostly psychological Mars simulation project.
> "We can do these things together," Brockwell said. "We can use our senses of wonder and purpose, to achieve peace and prosperity and to unlock knowledge and joy for the benefit of everyone in every part of planet Earth," he added.
This should be the starting point, imho. Those cultures were honed in 10000 years just for Mars survival perfection.
I guess you would have to use an Earth-based remote desktop.
I'm surprised more effort wasn't put in to making the habitat homely. It's very austere and scientific. I'd have thought that this experiment would also provide means to test ways to provide comfort in trying situations.
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