Mars Simulation Crew Comes Out After 378 Days
Four NASA volunteers left a 3D-printed habitat in Houston after more than a year of living as if they were on Mars.
Four volunteers in NASA's Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog, or CHAPEA, stepped out of their simulated Mars habitat at Johnson Space Center in Houston after 378 days inside. Ross Elder, the mission's commander, Ellen Ellis, the medical officer, Matthew Montgomery, the science officer, and James Spicer, the flight engineer, had lived since October 19, 2025, in a 1,700-square-foot 3D-printed habitat inside a hangar, roughly the size of a three-bedroom house. They grew crops, managed limited resources, maintained the habitat, exercised and went on simulated spacewalks. Communication with the outside was delayed by up to about 45 minutes, as it would be between Earth and Mars, and the crew spoke with their families only by email. It was NASA's second yearlong Mars simulation. NASA says the data will help it plan habitats, food and crew support for future missions to the Moon and Mars.
The crew stepped outside the hangar that holds the habitat for the first time in more than a year and embraced family and friends. Inside, they had grown crops, handled limited resources and carried out simulated spacewalks, while every message to and from home arrived late, matching what a crew on Mars would face.
The mission began on October 19, 2025. The habitat has private crew quarters, a kitchen, medical and recreation areas, a fitness area, work spaces, crop-growing areas and two bathrooms.
"The information and lessons learned through CHAPEA will inform real-life mission planning, vehicle and surface habitat designs, and other resources NASA needs to support crew health and performance as we venture beyond low-Earth orbit," Sara Whiting, a NASA Human Research Program project scientist, said when the mission began. NASA says lessons from CHAPEA will apply to missions to the Moon as well as Mars.