Volunteers Needed for Mars Study

Image (Credit): A picture of the 1,700-square-foot CHAPEA habitat, which contains individual living quarters for four volunteer crew members. (NASA/Bill Stafford)

Are you a motivated U.S. citizen or permanent resident who is a non-smoker, 30-55 years old, and proficient in English for effective communication between crewmates and mission control? Are you interested in helping NASA with its Mars program? If so, you have until April 2nd to contact NASA and volunteer for its second Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA) mission, which is set to begin in spring 2025.

And what does this mission entail? You will live in a 3D-printed habitat (the Mars Dune Alpha) with three other crew members for about a year. The mission includes simulated spacewalks, physical and behavioral health and performance challenges, and more.

NASA goals for the CHAPEA mission is as follows:

To obtain the most accurate data during the analog, the analog mission will be as Mars-realistic as feasible, which may include environmental stressors such as resource limitations, isolation, equipment failure, and significant workloads. The major crew activities during the analog may consist of simulated spacewalks including virtual reality, communications, crop growth, meal preparation and consumption, exercise, hygiene activities, maintenance work, personal time, science work, and sleep.

It may sound like a return to the time of Covid, but this time the results will be recorded and used by scientists for future space programs.

If this sounds like something you might like to do, you should consider sending in an application.