NASA continues to prepare for putting people on Mars by recruiting people to pretend they live on Mars for a year. It isn’t the first study of its kind, but the second of three. The mission is called CHAPEA (Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog).
Applicants will be expected to be part of 4-person teams in Houston, TX, where they will live within a 3D-printed habitat known as Mars Dune Alpha. Various stresses would be applied to challenge them and study how they deal with living in such conditions. Such as repairs, supply limitations, and other things they could experience on the red planet. They have to keep up with their fitness and abilities to grow food in harsh environments.
All of this is necessary since once they get to Mars, there won’t be any help to call out to. They would be utterly alone until additional camps begin to be built out on the planet, and even then, there is no telling how far apart various colonization efforts will be from each other (if at all). Or if they’d be willing to play well together.
The catch is that applicants are considered volunteers. NASA says compensation will be made available but candidates may not learn more about that until the screening process. They have to be U.S. citizens, in good health, within a specific age range, and be able to speak English, as well as a number of additional/professional requirements. Applications close on April 2nd, so if you think you might be willing to volunteer yourself to such a study, you can find out more here.
The yearlong mission/study will take place in the Spring of 2025. The habitat will be located at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. It will heavily affect future efforts to land on distant surfaces, including our own moon.
