NASA seeks volunteers for a year-long simulated mission to Mars

Living on Mars is not yet possible but NASA is working on it. It has just launched its second Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analogue (CHAPEA 2) experiment, which is scheduled to begin in 2025. Four volunteers are being sought, NASA indicated in a press release published this Friday.

Simulates the challenges of a mission to Mars

The latter must be available for one year to live in the Mars Dune Alpha habitat located at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston (Texas). They will operate in a 157 m² premises created using 3D printing. A sandy area of ​​about a hundred square meters was also created to simulate a spacewalk.

In addition to these mock simulations, astronaut candidates will perform robotic operations, maintain habitats and try their hand at exercise and growing crops. The habitat will simulate the challenges of a mission to Mars, including resource limitations, equipment failure, communication delays and other environmental stresses.

Many conditions to respect

But be careful, not everyone can participate. NASA is seeking US citizens or permanent residents between the ages of 30 and 55, fluent in English, and who hold a university degree in a scientific field. You must have at least two years of professional experience, approximately one hundred hours of flight time in an airplane, or two years of work in a scientific doctoral program.

Applications can be submitted till April 2, 2024. Mission start: Spring 2025. This is paid for, although the amount has not been disclosed by NASA. The first CHAPEA experiment is ongoing and more than half completed. A third is planned in the coming years.