NASA recently completed a year-long simulated Mars mission at its Johnson Space Center, where 4 crew members lived in an isolated habitat to test what a real Mars mission might be like.
The volunteers simulated activities astronauts would do on Mars like spacewalks, robot operations, maintenance, exercise, and crop growth. It was designed to replicate the length of time a Mars surface mission would involve.
NASA hopes to send actual astronauts to Mars in the 2030s. A mission would take about 9 months to travel each way, and astronauts would spend over a year on the surface collecting data.
The transit works by using Mars’ orbit – the spacecraft would go into an oval orbit and intersect Mars to descend, rather than use only fuel. This would minimize fuel needs.
The simulated mission helped NASA test how humans can live and work in an isolated, resource-restricted environment for an extended period of time. It provided valuable data for planning future Mars missions.
Future CHAPEA simulated missions are planned for 2025 and 2026 to continue preparing for the technological and behavioral challenges of sending humans to Mars. NASA’s goal is to land astronauts on Mars in the 2030s.
Source: ABC News
