A real-life Martian? Four humans to start 'living on Mars'

Four human beings will fulfil their dream as they will start living under a Mars-simulated environmentthis summer, taking ahead the efforts made by engineers and scientists to make it possible to send humans to the red planet and make it a habitable place to survive.

The four volunteers have been part of the year-long mission under which humans are being prepared for the red planet's exploration.

The humans will survive in a habitat that will simulate the climatic conditions similar to what they will face on Mars when they actually set foot on the planet in the near future.

The 3D-printed habitat will include a kitchen, private crew quarters, areas dedicated to fitness, recreation, medical, crop growth activities and work, along with a technical work area as well as two bathrooms.

The crew will begin living in their Martian home in June this year as the most accurate data is collected by the teams during the analogue mission

"During the simulation, crew members will carry out different types of mission activities, including simulated spacewalks, robotic operations, habitat maintenance, personal hygiene, exercise, and crop growth," said NASA in a statement.

The volunteers will face environmental stressors like isolation, resource limitations, and equipment failure along with a significant workload so as to experience all possible situations the humans may have to face when they actually arrive on Mars.

"The major crew activities during the analogue may consist of simulated spacewalks including virtual reality, communications, crop growth, meal preparation and consumption, exercise, hygiene activities, maintenance work, personal time, science work, and sleep," said NASA in its mission brief.

The volunteers will spend their time remotely operating robotic elements which will be important for real crews during their Mars expedition to extend their exploration capabilities. They will also be given the responsibility of controlling a roving robot and a helicopter-like drone.

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Three such analogue missions are being planned by the American space agency to get a better understanding of what is required to inhabit our next-door cosmic neighbour. While they are commencing the analogue mission this year, they will conduct the second mission in 2025 which will be followed up by a third mission in 2026.

“We’re really looking at how the crew performance and health changes based on realistic Mars restrictions and the lifestyle of the crew members. So, the lifestyle is what we're trying to simulate by setting up a realistic environment and workload for the CHAPEA crew,” said Raina MacLeod, CHAPEA deputy project manager.

(With inputs from agencies)

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