Calling All Wannabe Martians: NASA Is Recruiting Civilians to Live in Simulated Red Planet Habitat

Would you be willing to be a Martian for a year? If so, NASA wants to hear from you.

The United States space agency is looking for volunteers for its next simulated one-year Mars surface mission that’s intended to gather information for future human exploration of the red planet, Knewz.com has learned.

NASA is recruiting civilians to simulate what life is like on Mars. By: MEGA

The experiment will be the second of three planned ground-based missions called CHAPEA (Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog).

The mission is scheduled to begin in spring 2025.

For the study, a four-person volunteer crew will live and work inside a 1,700-square-foot, 3D-printed habitat based at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

The habitat, which is called the Mars Dune Alpha, will simulate the challenges of living on Mars with obstacles such as resource limitations, equipment failures, communication delays and other environmental stressors.

The crew will be tasked with imitating spacewalks, robotic operation, habitat maintenance, exercise and crop growth.

The CHAPEA mission 1 crew (from left: Nathan Jones, Ross Brockwell, Kelly Haston, Anca Selariu) exit a prototype of a pressurized rover and make their way to the CHAPEA facility ahead of their entry into the habitat on June 25, 2023. By: NASA/Josh Valcarcel

“NASA is looking for healthy, motivated U.S. citizens or permanent residents who are non-smokers, 30-55 years old, and proficient in English for effective communication between crewmates and mission control. Applicants should have a strong desire for unique, rewarding adventures and interest in contributing to NASA’s work to prepare for the first human journey to Mars,” NASA wrote in a news release.

Candidates will have to meet certain stipulations.

NASA is looking for people 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. Also, candidates with at least 1,000 hours of piloting an aircraft will be considered.

There is seven tons of space exploration debris on Mars. By: MEGA

Further, people who have completed two years of work toward a doctoral program in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, completed a medical degree or a test pilot program will be considered.

Finally, candidates with four years of professional experience, applicants who have completed military officer training or a bachelor of science degree in a STEM field will be eligible.

NASA notes that compensation for competing in the program will be available.

“As NASA works to establish a long-term presence for scientific discovery and exploration on the Moon through the Artemis campaign, CHAPEA missions provide important scientific data to validate systems and develop solutions for future missions to the Red Planet. With the first CHAPEA crew more than halfway through their yearlong mission, NASA is using research gained through the simulated missions to help inform crew health and performance support during Mars expeditions,” NASA states in the news release.

NASA states that through its Artemis program, the agency will “establish the foundation for long-term scientific exploration at the Moon, land the first woman, first person of color, and its first international partner astronaut on the lunar surface, and prepare for human expeditions to Mars for the benefit of all.”

NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter made 72 flights on Mars. By: MEGA

Interested people have until Tuesday, April 2 to apply atonline.

The CHAPEA program is not the first in which NASA recruited the public’s help.

As Knewz.com reported on January 16, NASA is recruiting “burst chasers” — someone who tracks gamma-ray bursts.

Gamma-ray bursts, massive explosions visible from everywhere in the observable universe, are providing NASA with information about how stars end their lives and how massive black holes form.

NASA is recruiting citizens to help scientists track gamma-ray bursts. By: NASA/DOE/Fermi Large Area Telescope Collaboration

“Now astronomers are asking you join the Burst Chaser project to read the signals from these bursts and decode what the universe is saying,” NASA wrote in a news release.

NASA regularly observes the gamma rays, which are described as a very energetic form of light coming from billions of light years away.

According to NASA, gamma-ray bursts are known to be connected to supernova or the merger of neutron stars and black holes.

By gaining help on the project, NASA hopes to solve the mystery of how exactly these events produce pulses with a variety of traits.

“We need your help to classify these pulses for more clues of what they really are!” said Professor Amy Lien from the University of Tampa, the project’s Principal Investigator.