HOUSTON — If living in utter isolation and pretending to inhabit the Red Planet seems like a fun way to spend 12 months, NASA has just the job for you.
The agency began accepting applications Friday for crew members to join the first of three one-year analog missions in a “habitat to simulate life on a distant world.”
According to NASA, crew tasks may include simulated spacewalks, scientific research, use of virtual reality and robotic controls, and exchanging communications. The first simulation is slated to begin in the fall of 2022 at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Specifically, NASA’s Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog will study how “highly motivated individuals respond under the rigor of a long-duration, ground-based simulation”.
“The analog is critical for testing solutions to meet the complex needs of living on the Martian surface,” Grace Douglas, lead scientist for NASA’s Advanced Food Technology research effort at Johnson Space Center, said in a prepared statement.
“Simulations on Earth will help us understand and counter the physical and mental challenges astronauts will face before they go,” she added.
According to the agency, each mission will consist of four crew members living and working in Mars Dune Alpha, a 1,700-square-foot, 3D-printed habitat, designed to simulate potential Mars mission obstacles, such as resource limitations, equipment failure, communication delays and other environmental stressors.
Crew selection will follow standard NASA criteria for astronaut candidate applicants, and minimum requirements include “healthy, motivated U.S. citizens or permanent residents” who are nonsmokers, proficient in English and between the ages of 30 and 55 with:
- 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 1,000 hours piloting an aircraft is required.
- Candidates who have completed two years of work toward a doctoral program in STEM, or completed a medical degree or a test pilot program may be considered.
- Additionally, with four years of professional experience, applicants who have completed military officer training or a Bachelor of Science in a STEM field may be considered.
Click here for more information on the Mars analog mission, and click here to apply.