By moving ahead with efforts made by engineers and scientists to make it possible to transfer humans to the red planet and make it a habitable place to thrive, four humans will realize their dream when they begin living on a 3D-printed Mars simulation this summer.
The 3D-printed habitat will also have a kitchen, private crew rooms, and facilities for work, fitness
The four volunteers have participated in the year-long project that has been geared toward getting people ready to explore the red planet.
The humans will survive in a habitat that will simulate the climatic conditions similar to what they will face on Mars when they actually set foot on the planet in the near future.
Aside from a technical work area, the 3D-printed habitat will also have a kitchen, private crew rooms, and facilities for work, fitness, recreation, and medical needs.
The crew will start residing in their Martian habitat in June of this year. During the mission, the teams will gather the most precise data.
“During the simulation, crew members will carry out different types of mission activities, including simulated spacewalks, robotic operations, habitat maintenance, personal hygiene, exercise, and crop growth,” said NASA in a statement.
The volunteers’ time will be spent controlling robotic equipment from a distance, which is crucial for real crews during their mission to Mars
In order to simulate every scenario that can arise when humans visit Mars, the volunteers would undergo environmental stressors like isolation, resource scarcity, and equipment breakdown in addition to a heavy workload.
“The major crew activities during the analogue may consist of simulated spacewalks including virtual reality, communications, crop growth, meal preparation and consumption, exercise, hygiene activities, maintenance work, personal time, science work, and sleep,” said NASA in its mission brief.
The volunteers’ time will be spent controlling robotic equipment from a distance, which is crucial for real crews during their mission to Mars because it will increase their capacity for exploration. A roving robot and a drone that resembles a helicopter will also fall under their purview.
