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By NASA
The latest crew chosen by NASA to venture on a simulated trip to Mars inside the agency’s Human Exploration Research Analog. From left are Sergii Iakymov, Erin Anderson, Brandon Kent, and Sarah Elizabeth McCandless.Credit: C7M3 Crew NASA selected a new team of four research volunteers to participate in a simulated mission to Mars within HERA (Human Exploration Research Analog) at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Erin Anderson, Sergii Iakymov, Brandon Kent, and Sarah Elizabeth McCandless will begin their simulated trek to Mars on Friday, Aug. 9. The volunteer crew members will stay inside the 650-square-foot habitat for 45 days, exiting Monday, Sept. 23 after a simulated “return” to Earth. Jason Staggs and Anderson Wilder will serve as alternate crew members.
The HERA missions offer scientific insights into how people react to the type of isolation, confinement, work and life demands, and remote conditions astronauts might experience during deep space missions.
The facility supports more frequent, shorter-duration simulations in the same building as CHAPEA (Crew Health and Performance Analog). This crew is the third group of volunteers to participate in a simulated Mars mission in HERA this year. The most recent crew completed its HERA mission on June 24. In total, there will be four analog missions in this series.
During this summer’s simulation, participants will perform a mix of science and operational tasks, including harvesting plants from a hydroponic garden, growing shrimp, deploying a small, cube-shaped satellite (CubeSat) to simulate gathering virtual data for analysis, “walking” on the surface of Mars using virtual reality goggles, and flying simulated drones on the simulated Mars surface. The team members also will encounter increasingly longer communication delays with Mission Control throughout their mission, culminating in five-minute lags as they “near” Mars. Astronauts traveling to Mars may experience communications delays of up to 20 minutes.
NASA’s Human Research Program will conduct 18 human health experiments during each of the 2024 HERA missions. Collectively, the studies explore how a Mars-like journey may affect the crew members’ mental and physical health. The work also will allow scientists to test certain procedures and equipment designed to keep astronauts safe and healthy on deep space missions.
Primary Crew
Erin Anderson
Erin Anderson is a structural engineer at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Virginia. Her work focuses on manufacturing and building composite structures — using materials engineered to optimize strength, stiffness, and density — that fly in air and space.
Anderson earned a bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2013. After graduating, she worked as a structural engineer for Boeing on NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) in Huntsville, Alabama. She moved to New Orleans to support the assembly of the first core stage of the SLS at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility. Anderson received a master’s degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, in 2020. She started her current job in 2021, continuing her research on carbon fiber composites.
In her free time, Anderson enjoys playing rugby, doting on her dog, Sesame, and learning how to ride paddleboard at local beaches.
Sergii Iakymov
Sergii Iakymov is an aerospace engineer with more than 15 years of experience in research and design, manufacturing, quality control, and project management. Iakymov currently serves as the director of the Mars Desert Research Station, a private, Utah-based research facility that serves as an operational and geological Mars analog.
Iakymov received a bachelor’s degree in Aviation and Cosmonautics and a master’s in Aircraft Control Systems from Kyiv Polytechnic Institute in Ukraine. His graduate research focused on the motion of satellites equipped with pitch flywheels and magnetic coils.
Iakymov was born in Germany, raised in Ukraine, and currently splits his time between southern Utah and Chino Hills, California. His hobbies include traveling, running, hiking, scuba diving, photography, and reading.
Brandon Kent
Brandon Kent is a medical director in the pharmaceutical industry, supporting ongoing global efforts to develop new therapies across cancer types.
Kent received a bachelor’s degrees in Biochemistry and Biology from North Carolina State University in Raleigh. He earned his doctorate in Biomedicine from Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, where his work primarily focused on how genetic factors regulate early embryonic development and cancer development.
Following graduate school, Kent moved into scientific and medical communications consulting in oncology, primarily focusing on clinical trial data disclosures, scientific exchange, and medical education initiatives.
Kent and his wife have two daughters. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his daughters, flying private aircraft, hiking, staying physically fit, and reading. He lives in Kinnelon, New Jersey.
Sarah Elizabeth McCandless
Sarah Elizabeth McCandless is a navigation engineer for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. McCandless’ job involves tracking the location and predicting the future trajectory of spacecraft, including the Mars Perseverance rover, Artemis I, Psyche, and Europa Clipper.
McCandless received a bachelor’s in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Kansas in Lawrence, and a master’s in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, focused on orbital mechanics.
McCandless is originally from Fairway, Kansas, and remains an avid fan of sports teams from her alma mater and hometown. She is active in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) outreach and education and enjoys camping, running, traveling with friends and family, and piloting Cessna 172s. She lives in Pasadena, California.
Alternate Crew
Jason Staggs
Jason Staggs is a cybersecurity researcher and adjunct professor of computer science at the University of Tulsa. His research focuses on systems security engineering, infrastructure protection, and resilient autonomous systems. Staggs is an editor for the International Journal of Critical Infrastructure Protection and the Critical Infrastructure Protection book series.
Staggs supported scientific research expeditions with the National Science Foundation at McMurdo Station in Antarctica. He also previously served as a space engineer and medical officer while working as an analog astronaut in the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) atop the Mauna Loa volcano.
Staggs received his bachelor’s degree in Information Assurance and Forensics at Oklahoma State University and master’s and doctorate degrees in Computer Science from the University of Tulsa. During his postdoctoral studies at Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, he investigated electric vehicle charging station vulnerabilities.
In his spare time, Staggs enjoys hiking, building radio systems, communicating with ham radio operators in remote locations, and volunteering as a solar system ambassador for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory — sharing his passion for astronomy, oceanography, and space exploration with his community.
Anderson Wilder
Anderson Wilder is a Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne graduate student working on his doctorate in psychology. His research focuses on team resiliency and human-machine interactions. Wilder also works in the campus neuroscience lab, investigating how spaceflight contributes to astronaut neurobehavioral changes.
Wilder previously served as an executive officer and engineer for an analog mission at the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah. There, he performed studies related to crew social dynamics, plant growth, and geology.
Wilder received bachelor’s degrees in Linguistics and Psychology from Ohio State University in Columbus. He also received a master’s degree in Space Studies from International Space University in Strasbourg, France, and is completing a second master’s in Cognitive Experimental Psychology from Cleveland State University in Ohio.
Outside of school, Wilder works as a parabolic flight coach, teaching people how to experience reduced-gravity environments. He also enjoys chess, reading, video games, skydiving, and scuba diving. On a recent dive, he explored a submerged section of the Great Wall of China.
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NASA’s Human Research Program
NASA’s Human Research Program (HRP) pursues the best methods and technologies to support safe, productive human space travel. Through science conducted in laboratories, ground-based analogs, and the International Space Station, HRP scrutinizes how spaceflight affects human bodies and behaviors. Such research drives HRP’s quest to innovate ways to keep astronauts healthy and mission-ready as space travel expands to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
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By NASA
The inaugural CHAPEA (Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog) crew is “back on Earth” after walking out of their simulated Martian habitat at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on July 6. The first of three simulated missions, CHAPEA Mission 1 was designed to help scientists, engineers, and mission planners better understand how living on another world could affect human health and performance.
Kelly Haston, commander, Ross Brockwell, flight engineer, Nathan Jones, medical officer, and Anca Selariu, science officer, lived and worked in an isolated 1,700-square-foot, 3D-printed habitat to support human health and performance research to prepare for future missions to Mars.
“Congratulations to the crew of CHAPEA Mission 1 on their completion of a year in a Mars-simulated environment,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “Through the Artemis missions, we will use what we learn on and around the Moon to take the next giant leap: sending the first astronauts to Mars. The CHAPEA missions are critical to developing the knowledge and tools needed for humans to one day live and work on the Red Planet.”
The crew stepped out of the habitat and back into the arms of family and friends after a 378-day simulated Mars surface mission that began June 25, 2023.
This high-fidelity simulation involved the crew carrying out different types of mission objectives, including simulated “marswalks,” robotic operations, habitat maintenance, exercise, and crop growth. The crew also faced intentional environmental stressors in their habitat such as resource limitations, isolation, and confinement. For the next two weeks, the volunteers will complete post-mission data collection activities before returning home.
“We planned the last 378 days with many of the challenges crews could face on Mars and this crew dedicated their lives over that time to achieve these unprecedented operational objectives,” said CHAPEA Principal Investigator Grace Douglas. “I am looking forward to diving into the data we have gathered, preparing for CHAPEA Mission 2 and eventually, a human presence on Mars.”
As NASA works to establish a long-term presence for scientific discovery and exploration on the Moon through the Artemis campaign, analog missions like CHAPEA provide scientific data to validate systems and develop technological solutions for future missions to Mars.
Two additional one-year CHAPEA missions are planned, with the next targeted to begin in 2025. The subsequent missions will be nearly identical, allowing researchers to collect data from more participants to expand the dataset and provide a broader perspective on the impacts of Mars-realistic resource limitations, isolation and confinement on human health and performance.
NASA has several other avenues for gathering isolation research, including the Human Exploration Research Analog, Antarctica, and other analogs, as well as human spaceflight missions to the International Space Station to ensure key research goals can be completed to inform future human missions to the Moon and Mars.
The CHAPEA simulated missions are unique because they test the impacts of extended isolation and confinement with the addition of Mars-realistic time delays of communicating to Earth – up to 44-minutes roundtrip – along with resource limitations relevant to Mars, including a more limited food system that can be supported on the space station and in other analogs.
To view the ceremony of crew exiting their habitat, visit here.
Under NASA’s Artemis campaign, the agency will establish the foundation for long-term scientific exploration at the Moon, land the first woman, first person of color, and its first international partner astronaut on the lunar surface, and prepare for human expeditions to Mars for the benefit of all.
Learn more about CHAPEA at:
www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/chapea/
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By NASA
The first CHAPEA mission crew members who have been living and working inside NASA’s first simulated yearlong Mars habitat mission are set to exit their ground-based home on Saturday, July 6. The four volunteers who have been living and working inside NASA’s first simulated yearlong Mars habitat mission are set to exit their ground-based home on Saturday, July 6. NASA will provide live coverage of the crew’s exit from the habitat at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston at 5 p.m. EDT.
NASA will stream the activity, which will include a short welcome ceremony, on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, the agency’s website, and NASA Johnson’s X and Facebook accounts. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms, including social media.
The first Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA) mission began in the 3D printed habitat on June 25, 2023, with crew members Kelly Haston, Anca Selariu, Ross Brockwell, and Nathan Jones. For more than a year, the crew simulated Mars mission operations, including “Marswalks,” grew and harvested several vegetables to supplement their shelf-stable food, maintained their equipment and habitat, and operated under additional stressors a Mars crew will experience, including communication delays with Earth, resource limitations, and isolation.
In addition to the CHAPEA crew, participants include:
Steve Koerner, deputy director, NASA Johnson Kjell Lindgren, NASA astronaut and deputy director, Flight Operations Grace Douglas, principal investigator, CHAPEA Judy Hayes, chief science officer, Human Health and Performance Directorate Julie Kramer White, director of engineering Due to facility limitations and crew quarantine requirements, NASA is unable to accommodate requests to attend the event in person. Media interested in speaking with the mission’s crew members in the days following the conclusion of their mission must send a request by 4 p.m. July 6, to the Johnson newsroom at 281-483-5111 or jsccommu@nasa.gov.
NASA is leading a return to the Moon for long-term science and exploration through the Artemis campaign. Lessons learned on and around the Moon will prepare NASA for the next giant leap – sending the first astronauts to Mars.
Learn more about CHAPEA:
https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/chapea/
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Rachel Kraft
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
rachel.h.kraft@nasa.gov
Laura Sorto
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
laura.g.sorto@nasa.gov
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By NASA
Four dedicated explorers—Jason Lee, Stephanie Navarro, Shareef Al Romaithi, and Piyumi Wijesekara—just returned from a 45-day simulated journey to Mars, testing the boundaries of human endurance and teamwork within NASA’s HERA (Human Exploration Research Analog) habitat at Johnson Space Center in Houston. Their groundbreaking work on HERA’s Campaign 7 Mission 2 contributes to NASA’s efforts to study how future astronauts may react to isolation and confinement during deep-space journeys.
NASA’s HERA (Human Exploration Research Analog) Campaign 7 Mission 2 crew members outside the analog environment on June 24, 2024. From left: Piyumi Wijesekara, Shareef Al Romaithi, Jason Lee, and Stephanie Navarro. Credit: NASA/James Blair Credit: NASA/James Blair Throughout their mission, the crew conducted operational tasks and participated in 18 human health studies. These studies focused on behavioral health, team dynamics, and human-system interfaces, with seven being collaborative efforts with the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the European Space Agency. These experiments assessed the crew’s physiological, behavioral, and psychological responses in conditions designed to be similar to a mission to Mars.
The HERA Campaign 7 Mission 2 crew experience a simulated landing on their return home. Credit: NASA/James Blair As their mission concluded, the HERA crew watched real footage from the Artemis I mission to simulate their landing. HERA operations lead Ted Babic rang the bell outside the habitat nine times to celebrate the crew’s egress—seven for the campaign and two for the mission—saying, “All in a safe passage to Mars and a safe return to Earth. May this vessel be a safe home to future HERA crews.” Babic then presented the crew with their mission patch, which they placed on the door of the HERA habitat.
The HERA Campaign 7 Mission 2 crew members place their mission patch on the habitat’s airlock door after egress. Credit: NASA/James Blair The crew expressed their gratitude to everyone involved in the mission, including NASA and MBRSC, the HERA mission control center, NASA’s Human Research Program (HRP) team, Analog Mission Control, medical teams, and their family and friends. Wijesekara shared, “This was one of the best experiences I’ve had in my life. I’d like to thank my crewmates for making this experience memorable and enjoyable.”
The HERA Campaign 7 Mission 2 crew members at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston after their 45-day simulated mission to Mars. From left: Piyumi Wijesekara, Shareef Al Romaithi, Jason Lee, and Stephanie Navarro.Credit: NASA/James Blair Connecting With Students
On June 21, three days before crew egress, about 200 people gathered at Space Center Houston’s theater for a live Q&A session where students had the opportunity to share their questions with crew members Al Romaithi and Wijesekara. They discussed team dynamics, adapting to unexpected circumstances, and coping with isolation.
When asked about what prompted her to apply for the mission, Wijesekara emphasized the importance of helping NASA collect data that could help future long-duration space flights, saying, “This will be very useful when we get to the Moon with Artemis missions and even beyond that when we go to Mars.”
The HERA Campaign 7 Mission 2 crew members Piyumi Wijesekara and Shareef Al Romaithi join a groundlink Q&A with students at Space Center Houston on June 21, 2024. Credit: Space Center Houston/Jennifer Foulds Inside HERA, mealtimes were bonding moments where the crew shared stories, laughed, and supported each other. When a student asked about building stronger teams, Wijesekara advised, “Spend time with your crewmates, get to know them deeply, and be a good listener.”
Al Romaithi, who hails from the UAE, shared that his academic background in aerospace engineering and aviation helped him stand out in the application process. In addition, this HERA campaign is focused on cultural diversity, which opened the opportunity for him to apply through a partnership between HERA and MBRSC.
Discussing the mental effects of isolation, Al Romaithi highlighted the comfort provided by personal items, books, and board games. Wijesekara noted that the white noise of instruments running became their constant companion that her senses adjusted to over time.
Wijesekara told the audience her favorite experience was performing spacewalks and “flying drones on Mars,” via virtual reality, which allowed them to observe Martian landscapes and even lava caves. Through the habitat’s window screens, they could see simulated views of space and Martian landscapes.
The crew addressed the challenges they faced inside the analog environment, such as communication delays, which taught them teamwork, patience, and precise planning. They utilized a 3D printer aboard HERA to address equipment issues. A curious student asked what happens to the crew and the mission in case of an outside emergency, like a hurricane. Both crew members explained that HERA provided them with step-by-step emergency instructions.
Medical evaluations and nutrition-specific meal plans were crucial for the mission, Al Romaithi and Wijesekara noted, with daily monitoring of the crew’s physical and mental health. The crew also grew lettuce hydroponically and had four pet triops shrimp named Buzz, Alvin, Simon, and Theodore.
When a student asked what food he missed most, Al Romaithi replied, “Home-cooked meals.”
Wijesekara shared the first thing she plans to do post-mission is see her family and visit a list of restaurants with her crewmates. She also looks forward to running on the beach.
Reflecting on their experience, Al Romaithi noted, “We’ve become more disciplined and efficient in our daily activities.”
What was the most valuable lesson learned? “The importance of teamwork and communication,” he said.
Both crewmembers also gave students in the audience some advice. “Never hesitate or be shy to ask for help,” Al Romaithi said. “Always push for your biggest dreams, don’t let self-doubt slow you down, and believe in yourself.”
“And keep studying!” added Wijesekara.
Students ask HERA crew members questions at the Space Center Houston theater. Credit: Space Center Houston/Jennifer Foulds Credit: Space Center Houston/Jennifer Foulds Students ask HERA crew members questions at the Space Center Houston theater. Credit: Space Center Houston/Jennifer Foulds View the full article
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By European Space Agency
ESA’s XMM-Newton and NASA’s Chandra spacecraft have detected three young neutron stars that are unusually cold for their age. By comparing their properties to different neutron star models, scientists conclude that the oddballs’ low temperatures disqualify around 75% of known models. This is a big step towards uncovering the one neutron star ‘equation of state’ that rules them all, with important implications for the fundamental laws of the Universe.
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