Life as on Mars: NASA unveils Mars Dune Alpha

Starting in June, four volunteers will move into NASA's Mars Dune Alpha house to test life on the Red Planet. For this purpose, they will live for a year in a converted hangar on the research grounds of the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Here, several rooms, an outdoor simulation area and, above all, lots of red sand await the future participants.

In a first experiment, scientists want to test how humans cope with prolonged isolation and stressful situations. This should help NASA assess what "resources" are needed for future astronauts to survive a Mars mission, says Grace Douglas, who heads the Chapea program responsible for the experiment.

The volunteers cannot take much luggage with them. They will live in small bedrooms in the house on the research site during the year. The house is built entirely using 3D printing. This is one of the technologies NASA is considering as a possibility for constructing buildings on other planets or the lunar surface, says project manager Grace Douglas.

In addition to the bedrooms, "Mars Dune Alpha" has two bathrooms, a medical care room, an area for relaxing and several work areas. During their time, the researchers will regularly test how the volunteers react to stress — for example, when water runs low or equipment breaks down.

Participants exit the 3D house via an airlock to a replica of the Martian environment. With lots of red sand, life on Mars is to be recreated as realistically as possible.

Suspended from harnesses to mimic the lower gravity on Mars, the fictional astronauts will simulate trips outside on treadmills. They will collect samples, gather data and continue to build infrastructure. "We really can't have them just walking around in circles for six hours," joked Suzanne Bell, director of the Behavioural Health and Performance Laboratory.

In addition to a weather station, the research center also offers a vertical farm for growing lettuce and other plants. Here, participants can grow vegetables to be self-sufficient during the time.

A total of three long-term experiments are planned at the site. The hope is to obtain "important information" for a longer stay in isolation. However, Nasa is still at the very beginning of its preparations for a trip to Mars. First, the space agency is concerned with the Artemis mission: For the first time in half a century, humans are to travel to the moon again.