NASA has opened the opportunity to work “on Mars”
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Isolation and nature of the Red Planet are guaranteed for volunteers
NASA is beginning a search for candidates to fly on its next year-long mission to simulate the surface of Mars to help shape the agency’s plans for human exploration of the Red Planet. The second of three planned ground missions is scheduled to launch in the spring of 2025.
NASA is already halfway through the first planned mission of CHAPEA, or the Crew Health and Performance Study’s equivalent. As the agency continues to collect data, applications are being accepted for its next four-person team to live and work in a 157-square-meter 3D printed space at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Living spaces inside the CHAPEA habitat include a conference room, TV and kitchen appliances.
The habitat, called Mars Dune Alpha, simulates the proposed challenges of a Mars mission, including limited resources, equipment failures, communication delays and other environmental stressors. Crew tasks include simulated spacewalks, robotic operations, habitat maintenance, physical exercise and crop cultivation.
NASA is looking for healthy, motivated US citizens aged 30-55. Applicants must have a strong desire for unique, rewarding adventures and an interest in contributing to NASA’s efforts to prepare for the first human journey to Mars. In addition, the agency primarily seeks people with backgrounds in science, technology, engineering or mathematics. Candidates who have a medical background or have completed a pilot test program also have a chance.
Applicants must also pass a criminal background check, psychiatric examination and medical examination to be eligible. They end up signing up for a year of isolation in a cramped space with three other people and a strictly regimented schedule.
A NASA spokesperson told Business Insider that the pay for CHAPEA participants is “consistent with compensation for people on other similar missions,” but did not provide further details.
Beginning in spring 2025, participants will undergo some of the trials and tribulations of life on the Red Planet, NASA said.
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