As NASA prepares for its second year-long Mars simulated mission, media are invited to visit the ground-based habitat where the mission will take place, on Friday, Aug. 22, at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Scheduled to begin in October, four volunteer crew members will enter the agency’s Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA) 3D-printed habitat to live and work for a year to inform NASA’s preparations for human Mars missions.

The in-person media event includes an opportunity to speak with subject matter experts, and capture b-roll and photos inside the habitat. Crew members will not be available for interviews as they will arrive at NASA Johnson at a later date.

International media wishing to attend must request accreditation no later than 6 p.m. EDT (5 p.m. CDT), on Monday, Aug. 11. United States-based media have a deadline of 6 p.m. EDT (5 p.m. CDT), on Wednesday, Aug. 20, to register.  

To request accreditation, media must contact the NASA Johnson newsroom at: 281-483-5111 or jsccommu@mail.nasa.gov. Space is limited. A copy of NASA’s media accreditation policy is available online.

Once the crew members kick off their mission, they will carry out various activities, including simulated Mars walks, robotic operations, habitat maintenance, medical technology tests, exercise, and crop growth. The crew also will face environmental stresses such as resource limitations, isolation, communication delays, and equipment failure, and work through these scenarios with the resources available inside the habitat.

To learn more about CHAPEA, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/chapea

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Lauren Low
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
lauren.e.low@nasa.gov

Kelsey Spivey / Mohi Kumar
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
kelsey.m.spivey@nasa.gov / mohi.kumar@nasa.gov