If you want to live on Mars, this might be the mission for you. Beginning Fall 2022, NASA will give 4 applicants the chance to work and live in Mars Dune Alpha. Read to know how you can be the lucky one!
What is this mission all about?
NASA is looking for participants who want to be crew members for its year-long analog mission where people will live in a stimulation-habitat to see how living on Mars would be. This is the first of three such missions and is called the Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA).
This ‘Mars’ mission begins in Fall 2022 and participants will live and work in a 1,700 sq feer module. The space is created by a 3D printer (ICON) and called ‘Mars Dune Alpha.’ Overall, the mission area contains spaces for recreation, work, kitchen, fitness, crops, two bathrooms, and a technical work area.
Are you eligible to ‘live on Mars’?
The prospect sounds amazing, right? So, if you are a healthy and motivated US citizen or a permanent citizen, this is your sign to apply. Additionally, you have to be a non-smoker, between the age of 30-55, and proficient in English. Applicants need to have a master’s degree in a STEM field such as mathematics, engineering, or the sciences from an accredited institute.
Alternatively, NASA also accepts a minimum of 1,000 flying hours. The program also accepts people who have completed military training, work experience with a bachelor’s degree in a STEM course, medical degree, test pilots, or doctoral students.
More on the focus of CHAPEA:
According to NASA, the habitat with four crew members will be as realistic to Mars as possible. Moreover, the results obtained will give scientific data that will be validating the systems used for Mars missions in the future. Additionally, it will bridge the gap in spaceflight research. An analog mission like CHAPEA is crucial to space research as money and resources are limited.
