The NASA astronaut knocked loudly on an ordinary door three times, and cheerfully called out: “Are you ready to come out?”
The answer is inaudible, but behind his mask he seems to be smiling as he thrusts the door open – and the four scientists, who have spent a year avoiding all human contact to plan a mission to Mars, emerge to cheers and applause.
Anca Celariu, Ross Brockwell, Nathan Jones and team leader Kelly Heston have spent the past 378 days inside the “Mars” habitat in Houston, Texas, as part of NASA’s research to determine what it would take to send humans to the Red Planet.
They are growing vegetables, conducting “marswalks”, and working under “additional stresses” according to NASA – such as delays in communication with “Earth”, including their families; isolation and confinement.
Live news: The first CHAPEA crew will leave the Mars ground-based artificial habitat after 378 days.
— NASA’s Johnson Space Center (@NASA_Johnson) July 6, 2024
It’s an experience that would send shivers down the spine of anyone who has been in lockdown during the pandemic – but when the four of them stepped out again on Saturday, they had smiles on their faces, their hair was a little more tousled and their emotions were clear.
“Hello. Actually, it’s really wonderful to be able to say hello to you,” biologist Haston said, laughing.
“I really hope I’m not going to stand here in front of you all and cry,” Jones, an emergency room doctor, said into a microphone — and he almost did so moments later when he spotted his wife in the crowd.
The habitat, named Mars Dune Alpha, is a 3D printed 1,700-square-foot (160-square-meter) facility that includes bedrooms, a gym, common areas and a vertical farm for growing food.
An outdoor area, separated by an airlock, is filled with red sand and is where the team donned suits for their “marswalk”, though it is still covered rather than open air.
“They’ve spent over a year in this habitat, studying important science, much of it around nutrition and how it impacts their performance … as we prepare to send people to the Red Planet,” Steve Koerner, deputy director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center, told the crowd.
“I am very grateful.”
The mission is the first in a series of three missions planned by NASA, grouped under the title CHAPEA – Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog.
The one-year mission to simulate life on Mars was conducted in 2015-2016 in a habitat in Hawaii, and although NASA participated, it was not leading it.
Under its Artemis programme, the US plans to send humans back to the Moon to learn how to live there long-term, and help prepare for a journey to Mars in the late 2030s.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
