CHAPEA (Crew Health & Performance Exploration Analog) of NASA has posted jobs for 4 people for one year of simulated Mars experience.
Passing candidates will live in a 1,700 sq ft small space called Mars Dune Alpha and will face difficulties like limited supplies, harsh conditions, and faulty equipment.
Image by: Melodie Yashar/NASA
During the mission, the team will pretend to walk in space and provide necessary data to NASA about their body and performance. The eligibility criteria given by NASA are: -
The applicant should be an American citizen aged between 30 to 55 years. He must be in really good health and should be a non-smoker with no criminal record.
To be eligible, candidates should also have a master's degree in STEM with a minimum duty of 1000 hrs as an aircraft pilot, or have finished military officer training.
The application asks you about your diet and gut health, as well as your comfort level in being alone and feeling confined. You must also fill in your expectations from the simulated Mars experience.
It will take about 14 months for the whole selection process. Make sure to submit your online application on chapea.nasa.gov by Tuesday, April 2, 2024.
The CHAPEA has decided to conduct three stimulated Mars missions out of which the first mission has already been conducted on 25 June 2023.
Image by: CHAPEA crew/NASA
The previous 4 crew members did well in various tests, like growing crops, while living in a special 3D-printed building in a big sandbox at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.
A medical officer named Nate Jones describes the mission as good and bad both because it went by really quickly and also, he can't wait to see his family again after isolation.
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