NASA Tests Plans to Start a BioDome on Mars

By Adam Barnhardt

After years of preparation, NASA finally launched its CHAPEA 1 mission on Sunday. Based at Houston's Johnson Space Center, the Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA) is designed to be an analog of what astronauts could potentially see on Mars. Essentially building a real-life BioDome, four volunteers selected for the mission will now be locked in the 3D-printed environment for the next year as they undergo various testing.

Sunday afternoon, NASA officials hosted a livestream as the four volunteers—researcher Kelly Haston, structural engineer Ross Brockwell, physician Nathan Jones, and microbiologist Anca Selariu—officially made their way into the environment and were "locked in."

"The simulation will allow us to collect cognitive and physical performance data to give us more insight into the potential impacts of long-duration missions to Mars on crew health and performance," CHAPEA principal investigator Grace Douglas said of the mission earlier this year. "Ultimately, this information will help NASA make informed decisions to design and plan for a successful human mission to Mars."

In addition to simulating missions that astronauts could undergo on the Martian surface, the quartet will be subjected to various challenges including resource limitations, equipment failure, communication delays, and environmental stressors.

The habitat itself is 1,700-square-feet and is based in a hangar at the Johnson Space Center. It was built primarily using 3D printing and CHAPEA 1 is expected to be the first of three missions as NASA works its way to Mars. Last year, officials at the space agency revealed intentions to launch astronauts towards Mars by 2040.

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"These objectives will move us toward our first analog Mars mission with crew in space and prepare us for the first human mission to the surface of the Red Planet," said Jim Free, associate administrator for the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, in a release from NASA. "After reviewing feedback on the objectives, we will work with our partners to discuss input and finalize our framework this fall."

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