"4 Volunteers to Simulate Life on Mars in NASA's Artificial Habitat on Earth"

NASA is preparing for a Mars mission by conducting a simulation at the Johnson Space Center with four volunteers from outside of NASA. The volunteers will live in a Mars habitat for one year, where they will perform realistic Mars tasks, exercise, grow food, and collect geology samples. The simulation will help NASA understand crew health and performance with limited resources. The habitat will be used for NASA's longest analog mission to date: 365 days. NASA could not simulate the gravity on Mars, so virtual reality will be used to simulate space walks and other tasks.