Mars mission simulation concludes as volunteers return to Earth

Four volunteers spent over a year in a Martian habitat. The mission will conclude on Saturday, 6 July, at 10:00 PM Greenwich Time. The crew will leave the simulated habitat and return to regular Earth life.

Four volunteers, namely Kelly Haston, Anca Selarius, Ross Brockwell, and Nathan Jones have stayed in a 3D-printed Martian habitat since 25 June 2023. Their task was to live in a simulated Martian mission, which included growing vegetables to produce long-lasting food, maintaining equipment for the entire habitat, and functioning in stressful conditions involving limited resources, isolation from other people, and communication problems with Earth.

As part of the first Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog mission, the volunteers were placed in a hangar at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. The mission's conclusion will be broadcast on NASA media, including Facebook and X (Twitter).

NASA announced that due to the constraints of the facility housing the habitat and the crew's quarantine procedures, the entire event will proceed without journalists or the general public. The crew will be available for meetings in the upcoming days.

Living in Mars-like conditions is one way to prepare for a Martian mission. Another element that prepared NASA for the Mars voyage was the Artemis programme. Its goal is to return humans to the Moon and establish a base on Earth's natural satellite. The programme will primarily involve scientists, distinguishing it from the Apollo programme, where the crew was mainly composed of military personnel.