Bay Area Edition | February 2024

Government

BY JAMES T. NORMAN

NASA begins simulated Mars mission

Diving in deeper

In addition to studying the eects the mission could have on the astronauts, those chosen will also be completing various tasks throughout the mission, Whiting said. Those activities represent both the various tasks astronauts would be doing in a real mission, or nding solutions to problems NASA ocials expect to encounter.

on a compressed timeline. For the test, astronauts will live in the

To prepare for possible future trips to Mars, NASA and other space agencies are working out dierent logistical challenges and hurdles. As part of that eort, NASA launched its newest Human Exploration Research Analog, or HERA, mission on Jan. 26, said Sara Whiting, deputy element scientist for spaceight analogs at NASA. The mission will last for 45 days and see four astronauts go into a habitat at the Johnson Space Center and simulate a mission. The mission is the rst of four in HERA’s seventh campaign that will take place throughout 2024, Whiting said. It will simulate going to Mars—a trip that could take several months—but will be HERA Campaign 7 habitat First oor 1 Airlock The entry separating two areas of dierent pressures 2 Core Contains stations critical to mission tasks • 2A Medical science station • 2B Flight deck • 2C General maintenance workstation • 2D Robotic on-board trainer 3 Hygiene Module Contains bathroom, shower and sink 4 Second Floor Contains personal area for astronauts

650-square-foot habitat, where they will work through challenges and complete various tasks that go along with such a trip, Whiting said. They will “return” to earth, or leave the habitat, on March 11. Overall, the mission will include 18 separate studies, according to a January news release from NASA, some of which are in partnership with other space agencies. “Ground analogs like HERA allow us to test things that we can’t simulate in real operations,” Whiting said.

Experiencing Mars in VR

Conducting ship repairs

Team dynamics

Communications delay

SOURCE: NASACOMMUNITY IMPACT

What else?

With this mission going on, as well as another one at NASA that is a year long and simulates what a base on Mars might look like, it’s “anybody’s guess” when humankind could take steps toward getting to Mars, Whiting said. The Artemis program, which saw delays announced earlier this year, could be a pathway toward traveling to Mars, but nothing is concrete yet. “NASA has a vision for it,” Whiting said. “But the agency ... is trying to answer those questions.”

• 4A Wardroom table • 4B Galley or kitchen • 4C Communication station • 4D Aerobic exercise device

Astronauts will be in the habitat for 45 days.

COURTESY NASA

NOTE: THE THIRD FLOOR, WHICH IS WHERE THE CREW QUARTERS ARE LOCATED, IS NOT SHOWN IN THE DIAGRAM. SOURCE: NASACOMMUNITY IMPACT

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