NASA analog astronauts begin year-long mission in simulated Mars habitat.

Four "analog astronauts" have entered a mock Mars base at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, where they will live for a year, remotely observed and studied by scientists. The mission is part of the Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA) program, which aims to inform the space agency how to better design and plan for future human missions on the real Martian surface. The crew will face Mars-realistic conditions in terms of resource restrictions, isolation, and time-delayed communications, and will be instructed to perform science investigations, maintenance work on the habitat, and maintain their fresh food crops.