NASA Crew Spent Year on Mars Simulation, Emerged October 31
Four engineers left a 3D-printed habitat at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston on October 31 after just over a year in a simulated Mars mission. They grew crops, ran experiments and endured a two-week communications blackout. NASA will use the findings to plan crewed missions.
Four engineers who spent a year on a simulated Mars mission walked out of a 3D-printed habitat at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, on October 31. They had lived inside the 158-square-metre structure for just over a year.
The exercise was the second in a series of extended NASA simulations. They test how long space missions affect astronauts' health and performance.
What the crew did inside
The crew grew their own crops and ran science experiments. They also performed "Marswalks" on a model of the planet's surface outside the habitat.
The simulation copied the delays astronauts would face when calling Earth. Messages between the crew and mission control took 13–22 minutes to arrive, depending on the distance between Earth and Mars.
The crew also handled a planned two-week communication blackout. They had no access to mission control or the outside world. Real Martian astronauts would face the same gap when the Sun blocks radio signals between the two planets.
Why NASA ran it
NASA says the lessons will show how isolation and limited resources affect astronauts' well-being and productivity. The agency will use the results to shape protocols for crewed Mars missions, which it has said could happen as soon as the early 2030s. They will also inform future trips to the Moon.
A science officer's account
Matthew Montgomery served as the mission's science officer. He is a hardware engineering design consultant and co-owner of a film production company.
He led the crop growing, drawing on earlier work in controlled-environment agriculture. The crew grew crops such as leafy greens, peppers and tomatoes. He said tending plants brings a "cognitive benefit as well as a nutrient benefit."
Geology was another large part of the job. Montgomery said rock collection will be "incredibly important" on a real Mars mission. The crew analysed rock samples, identified minerals and simulated core analysis to study the geologic history of Mars.
The team trained together before going in. They went on a winter camping expedition in Wyoming and met a blizzard. They then spent five weeks together before isolation began. Montgomery said the crew had "a really good dynamic" inside the habitat, and that conflict was "very minimal."
Preparing for the blackout took about a month, he said. The crew worked with ground teams on procedures, schedules and goals for the two weeks, and put safety plans in place in case something went wrong.
