Martian Voyagers: Meet the NASA Crew Who Lived on “Mars” for a Year

During the year-long CHAPEA mission, a team simulated living on Mars to gather insights into the psychological and operational challenges of space travel, providing valuable data for future Mars explorations.

When the first humans travel to the Red Planet, they will need to know how to repair and maintain equipment, grow their own food, and stay healthy, all while contending with Earth-to-Mars communication delays. They must also find ways to build comradery and have fun.

The first all-volunteer CHAPEA (Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog) crew accomplished all of that and more during their 378-day analog mission on the surface of Mars.