The Mars Dune Alpha, was presented this Tuesday and is located at the facilities of the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston.
At first glance it is a common house, with four bedrooms and a gym. But it is a house created with a 3D printer and designed so that, starting in June, four people live confined there for a year, simulating life on the planet. Marte.
The habitat, called Mars Dune Alphawas presented this Tuesday and is located in the research facilities of the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Those who reside there will help prepare a future mission to the red planet.
By measuring their performance and cognitive abilities, NASA will better understand the “resources” that must be provided during this ambitious journey, he explains. Grace Douglasprincipal investigator of the program called CHAPEA, which is supervising this experiment.
It is a crucial point, given “the very restrictive weight limits that can be sent on these missions,” he adds. The 160-square-meter house includes a vertical farm for growing vegetables, a room dedicated to medical procedures, a relaxation area, and work stations.
There is also a door that leads to a simulation area of the Martian environment. On the red sand floor there is a weather station, a small greenhouse and a treadmill, where volunteers will walk suspended by leashes.
“We can’t make them walk in circles for six hours,” he jokes. Suzanne Bell, in charge of the NASA Behavioral Health and Performance Laboratory program. Explain that this area will replicate the effort and time required for physical activity on Mars.
The names of the volunteers are not yet known, but they will not be astronauts. They will be subjected to stress on a regular basis, with water restrictions or equipment failure, for example.
This house was 3D printed. “This is one of the technologies that NASA is studying to potentially build habitats on the surface of other planets or on the Earth.” Luna“, dice Douglas.
The US space agency is preparing a round trip to Mars, but several details are still missing. This trip, which would last several years, could take place “in the late 2030s,” according to the NASA administrator, Bill Nelson.
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