Mars Simulation Project Begins: 6 People to Live in Isolation in a Dome For a Year

A Mars simulation project recently started, involving six people who will be living inside a dome for a whole year.

CBC reported that six people will spend a full year inside a dome in Hawaii for a special Mars experiment. The program is part of the fourth space exploration analog and simulation (HI-SEAS) mission of the University of Hawaii. HI-SEAS mission simulates Mars missions. The six-member group entered the dome on August 28, 2015 and will be staying there for a total of 365 days, as if they were actually on the red planet.

The simulation will hopefully help researchers develop methods to create and support a viable team that can successfully make a round-trip to Mars. The trip is expected to last about three years.

The six members of the group who entered the dome are soil scientist Carmel Johnston, physicist and engineer Christiane Heinicke, medical writer SheynaGifford, light aircraft pilot Andrzei Stewart, astrobiologist and doctorate student Cyprien Verseux and doctor of architecture candidate Tristan Bassingthwaighte.

The team will live inside a two-storey dome with various devices like body movement trackers and cameras will monitor them for an entire year. The dome has a kitchen, dining area, a full bathroom with shower, an office, a laboratory and an exercise area on the first floor. On the second floor are six bedrooms with a bed, desk and chair, a powder room and loft space. A workshop is connected to the dome. The research group will observe their cohesion over time and also acquier information on various emotional, cognitive and social factors that may affect team performance.

Reportedly, the team started the simulation project cheerfully and recently had their first dinner in simulated space. They had cheese, turkey quesadillas, peas and corn for their first meal, although these were prepared in dehydrated form. The group’s other activities involved having their first Martian sunset together, looking out at Mauna Kea, spending their first night in simulated Mars and communicating with each other, based on the same CBC report.

“The longer each mission becomes, the better we can understand the risks of space travel. We hope that this upcoming mission will build on our current understanding of the social and psychological factors involved in long duration space exploration and giveNASA solid data on how best to select and support a flight crew that will work cohesively as a team while in space,” said Kim Binsted, HI-SEAS principal investigator.

More news and updates about the simulated Mars team will surface in the coming weeks.