NASA locks 4 volunteers into 3D-printed virtual ‘Mars’ for over a yearBy Richard Pollina
June 27, 2023
Four volunteers will spend the next 378 days in a simulation of Mars, facing harsh, realistic challenges in tight quarters under NASA’s watchful eye in preparation for a real-life mission to the red planet.
Research scientist Kelly Haston, structural engineer Ross Brockwell, emergency medicine physician Nathan Jones and US Navy microbiologist Anca Selariu were locked into the virtual planet at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, on Sunday as part of the first of a three-year-long simulation study by the space agency.
“The knowledge we gain here will help enable us to send humans to Mars and bring them home safely,” Grace Douglas, the mission’s principal investigator at NASA, said during a briefing.
Nasa 3D-printed the 1,700-square-foot facility, dubbed Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog — or CHAPEA.
It will be the longest analog mission in the agency’s history.
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Source:
https://nypost.com/2023/06/27/nasa-locks-4-volunteers-into-3d-printed-virtual-mars-for-over-a-year/