Four people to go into 378-day Mars simulation on Earth in ground-breaking first
NASA has achieved a world first when it comes to the Mars mission, and while it might not be quite as exciting as stepping foot on the big red planet for the very first time, it's deliberately just about as close as you can get.
While the Trump administration appears to have re-pivoted towards exploration efforts on the Moon following an absence of over half a century, there remains still an incredible appetite from the world's leading space agencies for humans to finally reach Mars.
It's the next biggest goal when considering what we've yet to achieve, as while it's been a long time since Apollo 17 last set foot on the Moon, no human has ever been within Mars' orbit, let alone landed on the planet.
Some of NASA's youngest astronauts have been training all of their life to be able to be the first to explore Mars, and while the distance from Earth continues to be a logistical challenge, the space agency's latest experiments and simulations appear to show that we're closer than ever before.
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As reported by the Independent, NASA has now announced that four participants will now be entering a simulation of Mars that will last for 378 days straight, taking place in an enclosed center in Texas designed to mimic the conditions of the nearby planet.
The facility itself is around 1,700 square feet (158 square meters), and Ellen Ellis, Ross Elder, Matthew Montgomery, and James Spicer will be the individuals to test how humans will actually cope with the conditions and environment across the course of the test.
Critical to the importance of these missions and tests – known under their official name 'Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA) – is the identification of any issues and complications that might come up during a hypothetical Mars mission, as it's much easier to solve them now as opposed to when the flight and exploration is actually taking place.
This is somewhat similar to 'death simulations' that training NASA astronauts have to go though, as while challenging at the time, its purpose is to iron out all eventualities to ensure that you're as prepared as possible for the real thing when it happens.
"The simulation will allow us to collect cognitive and physical performance data to give us more insight into the potential impacts of the resource restrictions and long-duration missions to Mars on crew health and performance," explained Grace Douglas, CHAPEA's principal investigator.
"Ultimately, this information will help NASA make informed decisions to design and plan for a successful human mission to Mars," she continued.
Current spacecraft technology would mean that any journey to Mars would take roughly six months each way, and the detrimental health effects of spending upwards of a year in space are already well documented following the recent return of two 'stranded' astronauts from the International Space Station.
Not only will astronauts need to ensure that they aren't encountering any dangers when it comes to their health, the spacecraft itself will need to be stocked with enough fuel and food to sustain such a long journey, as obviously any resupplies would be impossible.