4 NASA scientists complete a year of 'trial living on Mars'

After 378 days of living in Mars-like conditions, on July 6, 2024, four volunteer scientists stepped out of "Mars Dune Alpha," a structure specifically designed to test living conditions on the Red Planet. This is the first of three experiments in NASA's Analogue project to explore the health and endurance of the crew.

Image from NASA video: A NASA official speaks, as scientists Kelly Haston, Ross Brockwell, Nathan Jones and Anca Selariu (from left) leave the test site on July 6, 2024, at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, US. (Photo: AP).

The four scientists - Anca Selariu, Ross Brockwell, Nathan Jones and team leader Kelly Haston - walked out to applause from their NASA colleagues after 378 days living in the "Mars house" built with a 3D printer and located in Houston (USA). All four scientists could not hide their emotions and joy to be outside. Team leader and biologist Kelly Haston "felt so great just being able to say 'hi' to everyone".

"Mars Dune Alpha" is 160 square meters ^, has several bedrooms, a gym, a communal living area and a vertical farm for self-sufficiency. According to AFP, for more than a year, they grow their own vegetables, working with "additional stressors" such as isolation, separation and slowed communication with Earth and their families. In another area covered with red sand and separated from the living area, scientists have to try "walking on Mars".

The team is tasked with "conducting important scientific research, primarily based on nutrition and determining the effects of nutrition on their performance (.) as we prepare to send humans to the Red Planet," said Steve Koerner, assistant director of NASA's Johnson Space Center.

A similar experiment, lasting a year, was conducted in 2015-2016 in a 'habitat' built in Hawaii. Although NASA participated, it did not direct the project. Under the Artemis program, the United States plans to return humans to the Moon to learn more about the possibility of living off Earth for long periods of time, as well as prepare for a trip to Mars, possibly in the late 2030s.