Over the last several years, humanity’s dream of becoming a multi-planetary species has become more tangible. In 2010, NASA predicted that manned missions to Mars will begin in the mid-2030s. For now, this objective is being advanced upon in labs and production facilities, by scientists and engineers.
Although some form of artificial intelligence will probably be present during the mission, it will still be humans who bear the brunt of the work when the time comes. But, because of the fact that these astronauts cannot train on mars or in deep space, it is currently unclear to what extent their training will hold up during long-distance spaceflights and on Martian colonies.
In an attempt to replicate Martian conditions, NASA has commissioned the three-part CHAPEA (Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog) program. The first leg of the program is ongoing, and a crew is currently being selected for the second. These crew members, however, will not be astronauts. In fact, applications are open to members of the public who hold relevant credentials. Once selected, these prospective ‘Martians’ will enter a year-long stay inside a simulated Martian surface settlement.
The ‘mission’ is expected to begin in the spring of 2025, and will take place inside the Mars Dune Alpha compound outside Houston, Texas. Here, the crew will engage in all the activities that would characterize a real Mars mission. As they work and go about their days, NASA will collect data on the technology that they interact with, such things as the effectiveness of the food production and processing systems. Another mission objective is to better understand whether the designs of the mission vehicles are optimized for crew health. These objectives are specific to the CHAPEA-2 mission, with the overall goal of the CHAPEA program being more crew-oriented. That goal is to “assess human health and performance in relation to Mars relevant resource limitations in isolation and confinement.”
Once they enter the compound, the crew will not leave for the duration of the year, save for occasional ‘spacewalks’. The Mars Dune Alpha compound as a whole is 1,700 square feet wide, and features a red-sand floor and room to complete tasks ‘outdoors.’ There are also several buildings in the compound, including crew living quarters, agricultural facilities and laboratories. If this wasn't enough, the simulation will be complete with contrived communication delays and environmental stressors, such as wind.
During their stay, the crew will participate in a variety of long-term tasks such as crop growth, science experiments, and habitat maintenance procedures.
Because of the complexity of these tasks, NASA is requiring prospective applicants to hold certain credentials. First and foremost, applicants must be healthy US citizens, aged 30-55, who are proficient in english. They must also hold a masters degree in STEM from an accredited institution, and have at least 2 years of experience working in a STEM field.
NASA is looking for people who are "as astronaut-like as possible," NASA's Behavioral Health and Performance Lab employee Suzanne Bell said.
NASA is also looking for people who behave like astronauts. Specifically, they are looking for applicants who exhibit several key ‘expeditionary skills’. These include, self care skills, cultural competency, leadership and followership skills and exceptional communication. NASA considers these traits to be essential for applicants, but they won't say how they will measure them.
For the most part, these skills seem to be focused on maintaining positive relationships between the crew members, with a sixth that indicates a positive relationship with a prospective crew member’s self.
The usefulness of the former set of skills is clear- conflicts between crew members can have detrimental consequences to the success of the mission. Similarly, mentally unwell crew members can also jeopardize the success of a mission. Naturally, Both of these human flaws are harder to address than technological shortcomings.
“Engineering challenges come with a certain amount of predictability, but humans, with all their complexities and foibles, introduce a huge amount of uncertainty into any mission,”. British psychological society writer Emma Barret said.
Given their potential to undermine a mission, attempting to better understand these issues is one of the overall goals of the three CHAPEA simulations, as they are major effectors of human health and performance.
Of course, CHAPEA cannot give NASA all the information it needs. After all, spending a year in a simulation is not the same as actually going to mars. According to NHS community members, behavioral issues would be particularly acute in space.
“The isolation would probably be hardest. The stress being away from family, and just the unknown- it’s gotta weigh on people”, NHS security guard Joe Bunell said.
In light of these and other issues, Others in the NHS community believe that going to mars is simply not worth it, at least not in the near future. After all, it will be expensive, and there are many issues on earth that need attention.
“I would say no, it's not worth going (in the near future)”, NHS junior Ethan Cameron said.
If such a mission does happen (for now, it seems that it will), the CHAPEA-2 simulation is set to help NASA prepare for it by providing insights in the areas of technological efficacy, and human health and performance.
Although the CHAPEA-series missions are not actually happening in space, they are designed to replicate the experience as accurately as possible. In this way, they hope to address issues that could complicate a real Mars mission..