Members will be living in a small housing unit to simulate the Martian environment.
The world has been moving towards a future where if humans do not become responsible towards the environment, they may cease to exist. All factors that make the planet inhabitable are now deteriorating in quality due to issues such as global warming and increasing pollution. This has led to scientists not only researching sustainable solutions and environment-friendly choices but also finding an alternative home for humans. So far, the only option that seems plausible to become inhabitable in our solar system is Mars. To simulate life on Mars, NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas has made a 3D-printed house where four volunteer test subjects will spend a year locked inside pretending to live on the red planet.
The Guardian reported that NASA researchers have been doing “everything they can to make it as realistic as possible” to learn the impact of year-long isolation with limited resources on human health. Dr Grace Douglas, the principal investigator for the Crew Health Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA) expressed in a statement, “As we move from low Earth orbit, from the moon to Mars, we’re going to have a lot more resource restrictions than we have on the International Space Station and we’re going to be a lot further from Earth or any help from Earth.”
The four crew members will be living in a small housing unit to simulate the Martian environment and they even have Martian soil to understand how NASA will create structures on the red planet’s surface. The researchers will be conducting several experiments such as growing plants for food and exercise. Subjects will be tested regularly so that the effects of staying a year on Mars on the body and mind can be analysed.
Dr Suzanne Bell leads the Behavioral Health and Performance Lab at the space centre and said, “This is an extreme circumstance. You’re asking for individuals to live and work together for over one year. Not only will they have to get along well, but they’ll also have to perform well together.”
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