The NASA astronaut knocked loudly three times on the nondescript door and asked in a cheery voice, “Would you like to come out?”
Anca Serariu, Ross Brockwell, Nathan Jones and team leader Kelly Haston have spent the past 378 days holed up in the “Mars” habitat in Houston, Texas, as part of NASA’s study of what it would take to send humans to Mars. (File photo) {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}}
I couldn’t hear the reply, but underneath his mask he appeared to be laughing as he slammed the door open, and four scientists who had avoided all human contact for a year while simulating a mission to Mars came storming out the door to cheers and applause.
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Anka Serrariu, Ross Brockwell, Nathan Jones, and team leader Kelly Haston have spent the past 378 days holed up inside the “Mars” habitat in Houston, Texas, as part of NASA’s research into what it would take to send humans to Mars.
They have grown vegetables, gone on “Mars walks,” and operated under what NASA calls “additional stressors,” including delayed communications with “Earth,” including with their families, isolation, and confinement.
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It’s a chilling experience for anyone who’s been through a pandemic lockdown, but the four of them reemerged on Saturday, slightly disheveled, emotional and all smiles.
“Hello. It’s so wonderful just to say hello to you,” biologist Haston said with a laugh.
“I really hope I don’t cry as I stand here in front of all of you,” Jones, an emergency department physician, said as he took the microphone, but minutes later, he actually began to cry when he spotted his wife in the crowd.
The habitat, called Mars Dune Alpha, is a 1,700-square-foot (160-square-meter) 3D printed facility complete with sleeping quarters, a gym, common areas, and a vertical farm for growing food.
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The outdoor area separated by an airlock was filled with red sand, where the team donned their spacesuits and took a “Mars walk,” but under cover.
“They’ve spent more than a year in this habitat conducting important scientific research on nutrition and how it affects their performance as we prepare to send humans to the Red Planet,” Steve Corner, deputy director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center, told the audience.
“Thank you very much.”
The mission is the first in a series of three planned by NASA, grouped together under the title “CHAPEA (Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog).”
A year-long mission simulating life on Mars was conducted from 2015 to 2016 at a Hawaiian settlement, with NASA participating but not leading the effort.
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As part of its Artemis program, the US plans to send humans back to the moon in the late 2030s to learn about long-term life there and help prepare for travel to Mars.
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