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This is one artist's idea of what a future base on Mars may look like.
NASA
Mars on Earth
A team of volunteers is taking us one step closer to landing on the Red Planet—without leaving Earth.
As You Read, Think About: Would you want to spend a year on Mars? Why or why not?
Last summer, Nathan Jones packed his bags for a year-long mission on Mars. Well, not exactly. He didn’t actually leave Earth. Jones is one of four volunteers who are living in a specially built base at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
The goal of the mission, known as CHAPEA, is to
“It makes me really proud to think that I am helping humans get to the real Mars,” Jones says.
Josh Valcarcel/NASA – Johnson Space Center
Nathan Jones (second from left) with the CHAPEA crew
Building a Base
A real mission to Mars would start with a journey that could take about nine months. Astronauts would have to bring nearly everything they’d need, since they wouldn’t be able to rely on deliveries from Earth. One of their first tasks would be using a 3-D printer and other tools to build their home base.
Though the CHAPEA crew isn’t traveling to the Red Planet, NASA is trying to simulate the experience as closely as possible. Their base resembles what one on Mars might look like. It was even built using a 3-D printer. It has four small bedrooms, two bathrooms, workstations, and more. The base is smaller than half the size of a basketball court.
NASA/CHAPEA crew
Nathan Jones wears a spacesuit as he explores the “sandbox.”
A Year on Mars
NASA/CHAPEA crew
The crew uses special gloves to study rocks collected from the Martian sandbox.
The CHAPEA team is dealing with many of the same problems a crew would on Mars. Astronauts who travel to the Red Planet would be stocked with packaged goods that could last for years. But fresh fruits and vegetables wouldn’t survive the trip, so the astronauts would have to grow their own. In November, the CHAPEA crew managed to harvest its first crop of tomatoes and lettuce.
Communicating with the outside world is a challenge too. If Jones or another team member has a question for NASA, they have to wait more than 40 minutes for a response. That’s how long it would take to send messages back and forth between Mars and Earth.
NASA didn’t re-create the brutal outside conditions on Mars, where the average temperature is a frosty -81 degrees Fahrenheit. But the CHAPEA base does have a large enclosed “sandbox” for the team to explore. They also walk for miles on treadmills while wearing virtual reality headsets that display images of the Martian landscape. Before these “Mars walks,” they put on spacesuits—just as real astronauts would on Mars.
NASA/CHAPEA crew
After a long day, the crew unwinds with a game of Ping-Pong.
Far From Home
NASA is closely monitoring the CHAPEA crew every step of the way. A big focus is on how the team deals with living in
“I really miss them,” he explains.
Still, Jones is grateful to be a part of the mission, which wraps up in July. He hopes to inspire kids to want to travel to Mars in the future.
“Maybe someone reading this could even go there someday,” Jones says.
NASA/CHAPEA crew
Jones gives a crewmate a haircut. There won’t be any barbershops on Mars!
1. Why does the author point out that the CHAPEA base was built using a 3-D printer?
2. The article says that the CHAPEA team is facing some of the same problems astronauts on Mars would face. Describe two examples.
3. What is the section “Far From Home” mostly about?
