Credits: Social Media
You can spend 12 months on a ‘simulated Mars’ in new volunteer job with NASA
NASA is offering people the chance to embark on a year-long simulated mission to Mars that is scheduled to ‘launch’ in 2025.
The mission is part of NASAs CHAPEA (Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog) program which is designed to test how astronauts may cope on potential future manned journeys to the Red Planet.
Martians wanted: NASAs simulated Mars mission
The CHAPEA program is made up of three missions – the first is currently ongoing – and NASA is currently seeking applicants for its second simulated Mars mission which is set to begin in spring 2025. The first CHAPEA mission began on June 25, 2023, and will conclude on July 6, 2024.
Each mission will see a crew of four volunteers living and working inside a 1,700-square-foot, 3D-printed habitat built at NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Titled Mars Dune Alpha, the habitat – which is smaller than the average US family home (2,273 square feet in 2021) – is made using a material called lavacrete and will be able to simulate the challenges of a potential mission on Mars, including resource limitations, equipment failures, communication delays, and other environmental stressors.
Tasks undertaken by the crew on the year-long mission will feature simulated spacewalks, robotic operations, habitat maintenance, exercise, and crop growth.
Facilities inside the Mars Dune Alpha habitat include four private crew quarters, dedicated work and medical stations, a common lounge area as well as a galley and food growing stations.
The ideal candidate
If the idea of embarking on a simulated mission to Mars sounds like its up your street, NASA has identified several criteria for applicants.
NASA is looking for healthy, non-smoking people between 30-55 years old who are permanent residents or citizens of the United States and must be proficient in English to aid in communication between crew mates and mission control.
Crew selection will follow NASAs standard criteria for selecting astronauts.
This means candidates must have a masters degree in a STEM field (Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) with at least two years of professional STEM experience, or a minimum of one thousand hours of piloting an aircraft.
Candidates will also be considered if they have completed two years of work towards a doctoral program in a STEM field, have completed a medical degree, or have completed a test pilot program.
Alternatively, candidates who have four years of professional experience, have completed military officer training or have a bachelor of science degree in a STEM field may also be considered.
While NASA is advertising the job as a volunteer position, the advert does confirm that compensation for participating in the mission is available. According to the Houston Chronicle, participants are paid $10 per every waking hour they spend on the mission. For 16-hour days over the course of the year-long mission, this amounts to roughly $60,000.
The deadline for applicants is Tuesday, April 2, and any budding (simulated) Mars explorers can apply on the NASA website.
- FACT OR FICTION: Study reveals whether an apple a day really keeps the doctor away
