'Martian astronauts' wanted: NASA looking for volunteers to live and work inside Mars simulator
Volunteers are needed for 'a series of analog missions that will simulate year-long stays on the surface of Mars'
Volunteers are needed for 'a series of analog missions that will simulate year-long stays on the surface of Mars'
Volunteers are needed for 'a series of analog missions that will simulate year-long stays on the surface of Mars'
Calling all potential Martians: NASA is looking for volunteers for its simulated Mars colony mission.
Related video above: NASA showcases new images of Mars taken by The James Webb Space Telescope
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration put out an open call for submissions on Feb. 16 for its Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog, or CHAPEA missions, which are "a series of analog missions that will simulate year-long stays on the surface of Mars."
The second of three CHAPEA missions is set to kick off in spring 2025. Each mission includes a four-person volunteer crew, which will simulate living and working on the surface of the red planet while inside a 1,700-square-foot, 3D-printed habitat located at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
The first and current CHAPEA mission began on June 25, 2023, and should be completed by June of this year. The crew regularly provides updates via a podcast and recently passed the mission's halfway mark in January.
For the next mission, NASA's ideal candidates are "healthy, motivated U.S. citizens or permanent residents who are non-smokers, 30-55 years old, and proficient in English for effective communication between crewmates and mission control." Before you get your hopes up, the rest of the requirements follow NASA's criteria for astronaut candidates, including "a master’s degree in a STEM field such as engineering, mathematics, or biological, physical or computer science from an accredited institution with at least two years of professional STEM experience or a minimum of one thousand hours piloting an aircraft."
You can find the application here.