4 NASA Volunteers To Be Locked In Virtual Mars For 378 Days

A group of four NASA volunteers have begun a 378-day mission in which they will be locked in a ground-based simulation of the planet Mars.

The mission began Sunday and is the first of three-year-long Mars surface simulations, according to NASA. During the mission, crew members will live and work in a 3D-printed, 1,700-square-foot habitat.

NASA says researchers will simulate the challenges of a human mission to Mars, including resource limitations, equipment failure and communication delays.

The crew will also carry out different types of mission activities, including simulated spacewalks, robotic operations and habitat maintenance.

The four-person team comprises research scientist Kelly Haston, structural engineer Ross Brockwell, emergency medicine physician Nathan Jones and U.S. Navy microbiologist Anca Selariu. Haston will serve as the crew’s commander. The quartet were selected from a pool of applicants to be part of NASA’s Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog, or CHAPEA