On July 6th, 2024, a team of four scientists emerged from a year-long Mars simulation project at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. This project, known as Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog, or CHAPEA, aimed to simulate life on Mars and prepare for future human missions to the Red Planet.

The four volunteers, Kelly Haston, Anca Selariu, Ross Brockwell, and Nathan Jones, spent 378 days in a 3D-printed habitat called Mars Dune Alpha. This habitat was designed to mimic conditions on Mars, with a 160-square-meter structure featuring bedrooms, a gym, common areas, and a vertical farm for growing food.

The team conducted 'Marswalks' in a red sand-filled outdoor area, separated by an airlock, and operated under 'additional stressors' such as communication delays with 'Earth,' isolation, and confinement.

The primary goal of the CHAPEA mission was to help NASA prepare for sending humans back to the Moon and eventually to Mars. The project aimed to collect cognitive and physical performance data to understand the potential impacts of long-duration missions on crew health and performance.

"We can do these things together. We can use our senses of wonder and purpose, to achieve peace and prosperity and to unlock knowledge and joy for the benefit of everyone in every part of planet Earth." - Ross Brockwell, 2024

The data and observations collected during the project will support future missions to the Moon and beyond. Additional CHAPEA missions are planned for 2025 and 2027.

The US plans to send humans back to the Moon as part of the Artemis program, which will help prepare for a trip to Mars in the late 2030s.

"This gives us an opportunity to learn all these critical things about these complex systems, and it's going to make going to Mars and back a lot safer." - Julie Kramer, 2024

NASA's Perseverance rover is currently exploring Mars and has been conducting 'Marswalks' in Jezero Crater. The rover's mission is to understand whether Mars was, is, or can be, a habitable world.