Astronauts on Simulated NASA Mars Base Share How They Spent Time 

The Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA) program, a NASA Mars habitat simulation, has been completed. 

Microbiologist Anca Selariu explained that the group relaxed by watching a lot of TV and reading. Among four individuals, Selariu spent three hundred and seventy-eight days cut off from Earth in a 3D-printed replica of a Mars colony. 

There was a PlayStation 4 and several board games in the habitat, including Starfarers of Catan. 

Among the various duties that Selariu and her three coworkers were responsible for while “on Mars” were administering crops, sampling and analyzing geological samples, operating robotic vehicles such as rovers and drones, and performing the numerous maintenance chores necessary for simulating Martian life. Modified spacesuits were also used in a made-up Mars set room for practice missions. As expected, Selariu’s group accumulated vast amounts of data after over a year of testing, fixing, and adjusting. 

These tales of alien life may be entertaining, but they include vital information that NASA needs to safeguard the well-being of astronauts who may have to work together for long periods if they choose to settle on Mars or another planet. 

Cultivating food and managing limited resources were the duties of the individuals as quasi-colonists in the ecosystem. When communicating with Earth, they also had to contend with practical time delays of about 44 minutes roundtrip. 

In addition, the members were required to wear full suits whenever they ventured beyond their humble Dune Alpha facility. These excursions included simulated “Marswalks” and a myriad of science-related assignments. Even worse, mission management would create dire scenarios like equipment failures or supply shortages and see how the crew responded. 

“The study integrates all sorts of data from the behavioral and team dynamic perspective. 

According to NASA’s plans, the second CHAPEA mission will launch in 2025, and there will be two other one-year missions in the future. 

The next crew has been assembled, and the summer simulation will put participants through a variety of scientific and operational tasks, such as tending to a hydroponic garden, raising shrimp, sending a tiny cube-shaped satellite (CubeSat) into orbit to collect data for analysis, “walking” on Mars with VR goggles, and piloting virtual drones over the Martian surface.  

In addition, the crew members should expect ever-increasing contact delays with Mission Control, reaching a maximum of five minutes as they “near” Mars. There may be up to a 20-minute lag in communications for astronauts going to Mars.