Four participants in a NASA experimental mission spent 378 days in complete isolation, simulating the lives of astronauts on Mars. On October 31, they left a special residential module at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. The experiment is intended to prepare for future crewed missions to the Red Planet, Reuters reports, writes UNN.
Details
Participants in the CHAPEA (Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog) mission began the experiment on October 19, 2025. For more than a year, they lived in an isolated 158-square-meter module created using 3D printing.
The volunteers performed tasks that closely simulated the conditions of a future expedition to Mars. In particular, they grew plants in simulated Martian soil and communicated with mission control with the communication delays characteristic of interplanetary flights.
NASA is studying the possibilities of prolonged human stays on Mars
It was a hellish year — the analog astronauts voluntarily lived in isolation
The CHAPEA program helps NASA study the physical and psychological effects of prolonged isolation, as well as test the technologies and procedures needed for future expeditions.
The U.S. space agency is considering sending people to Mars as early as the 2030s. Before that, NASA plans to return astronauts to the Moon as part of the Artemis program.
The last crewed landing on the lunar surface took place in 1972 during the Apollo 17 mission.
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