The four volunteers who have been living and working inside NASA’s first simulated yearlong Mars habitat mission are set to exit their ground-based home on Saturday, July 6. NASA will provide live coverage of the crew’s exit from the habitat at 5 p.m. EDT at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
NASA will stream the activity, including a short welcome ceremony, on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, the agency’s website, and NASA Johnson’s X and Facebook accounts. Learn how to stream NASA TV through various platforms, including social media.
The first Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA) mission began in the 3D-printed habitat on June 25, 2023, with crew members Kelly Haston, Anca Selariu, Ross Brockwell, and Nathan Jones. For more than a year, the crew simulated Mars mission operations, including “Marswalks,” grew and harvested several vegetables to supplement their shelf-stable food, maintained their equipment and habitat, and operated under additional stressors a Mars crew will experience, including communication delays with Earth, resource limitations, and isolation.
In addition to the CHAPEA crew, participants include:
- Steve Koerner, Deputy Director, NASA Johnson
- Kjell Lindgren, NASA astronaut and deputy director, Flight Operations
- Grace Douglas, principal investigator, CHAPEA
- Judy Hayes, chief science officer, Human Health and Performance Directorate
- Julie Kramer White, director of engineering
Due to facility limitations and crew quarantine requirements, NASA cannot accommodate in-person requests to attend the event. Media interested in speaking with the mission’s crew members in the days following the conclusion of their mission must send a request by 4 p.m. July 6 to the Johnson newsroom at 281-483-5111 or jsccommu@nasa.gov.
NASA is leading a return to the Moon for long-term science and exploration through the Artemis campaign. Lessons learned on and around the Moon will prepare NASA for the next giant leap – sending the first astronauts to Mars.
