NASA is training humans for a life on Mars
As of 2023, only robotic landers and rovers have been on Mars. Photo: Getty Images
We humans are fascinated by the life on Mars. And thanks to global warming, the need to find another planet to live is even more important now. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is sending four men (selected from the general public, BTW) to live in a habitat that will simulate conditions on Mars.
What's Happening?
In one of NASA's most recent projects, the US-based space agency will be preaparing four volunteers in a year-long mission for the exploration of the Red Planet. The four humans will live in a habitat that will stimulate conditions on Mars.
This habitat will help NASA understand the living conditions for humans on Mars.
What's the mission?
In the first of three one-year missions, which will be starting in June 2023, a team of four people will take part in various mission tasks in the Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA) situated in NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.
These four people will be asked to stay in a 'sandbox' and will be assigned tasks which will be different for each of them.
This 'sandbox' will be equipped with various tools, including a treadmill that enables crew members to simulate longer journeys and roughly one-third of the Earth's gravity, similar to Mars.
These tasks involve simulated spacewalks or "Marswalks" outside the habitat using virtual reality, robotics operations, and other activities such as maintaining the habitat, personal hygiene, exercising, and growing crops.
These 'Marswalks' have a goal
The goal of each one will differ at different times during the mission. For instance, during certain simulated spacewalks, one will be performing geology field tasks such as finding and identifying rocks of interest, communicating notable features to the team inside the habitat to record in a database, taking pictures as proof, and gathering a samples from the rock to study back in the habitat.
The crew members will also time remotely operating robotic elements, which will likely be necessary for real crews on Mars to extend their exploration capabilities.
FYI, As of 2023, only robotic landers and rovers have been on Mars. The farthest humans have been beyond Earth is the Moon.