NASA Opens Applications for Year-Long Moon and Mars Analog Mission
NASA is recruiting U.S. citizens and green-card holders aged 30-55 to live in isolation for up to 14 months in a simulated Moon-Mars mission at Johnson Space Center, aiming to gather data for future Artemis and lunar base projects.
NASA announced that it will begin accepting applications for a year-long analog mission designed to mimic both interplanetary transit and planetary surface operations. The program, slated to start no earlier than August 2027 at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, will place participants in two separate habitats that replicate a deep-space spacecraft and a planetary base.
"This mission is the first in a ground-based environment that will simulate multiple parts of a Moon or Mars mission, combining elements of NASA’s HERA and CHAPEA missions into a single, integrated campaign," NASA said.
The first habitat, previously used for the Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA), will serve as a two-story, four-port transit module with living, sleeping and work areas. The second, a one-story 3D-printed structure currently employed by the Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA), will simulate a planetary surface environment with crew quarters, a workspace, a recreation room, a crop-cultivation area, medical facilities, an airlock and a sandbox for simulated walks.
Participants will help evaluate hardware, technologies, protocols and other systems intended to support crew health and performance on long-duration deep-space missions. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or green-card holders, 30-55 years old, under 74 inches tall, proficient in English, and able to pass NASA’s physical and psychological assessments. Additional requirements include a bachelor’s degree in engineering, biological, physical science or mathematics, with advanced STEM degrees or relevant military experience considered equivalent to additional experience. Candidates must have strong technical skills, no dietary restrictions, and no history of sleepwalking or use of sleeping aids.
Selected volunteers will undergo approximately two months of pre- and post-mission training and data collection, followed by 12 months living in the two habitats. NASA indicated that research volunteers will be reimbursed for their participation.