Want to find your inner Matt Damon and spend a year pretending that you are isolated on Mars? NASA has prepared a job for you.
In preparation for the eventual sending of astronauts to Mars, NASA began accepting applications for four people to live on Mars Dune Alpha for a year on Friday. This is a 1,700-square-foot Martian habitat, created by a 3D printer, and located in a building at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Paid volunteers will complete simulated Mars exploration missions, including space walks, limited communication home, limited food and resources, and equipment failures.
NASA is planning three of these experiments, and the first experiment will begin next fall. The food will be ready-to-eat space food, and there is currently no plan to open the window. Some plants will be planted, but potatoes will not be planted as in the movie “Martian”. Damon played the stranded astronaut Mark Watney, who survived on potatoes.
“We want to understand how humans behave in it,” said chief scientist Grace Douglas. “We are studying the reality of Mars.”
The application process started on Friday and they are not just looking for anyone. The requirements are very strict and include a master’s degree in science, engineering or mathematics or pilot experience. Only U.S. citizens or permanent residents of the U.S. are eligible. Applicants must be between 30 and 55 years old, in good health, have no eating problems, and are not prone to motion sickness.
Former Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield said that this shows that NASA is looking for people close to the astronaut. And, he said. This is a good thing, because if the participants are more similar to those who actually go to Mars, then this is a better experiment. He said that in the past Russia’s efforts on a pretend Mars mission called Mars 500 did not end well, partly because people were too ordinary people.
For the right person, this may be great, Hadfield said he spent five months in orbit on the International Space Station in 2013, where he played guitar and sang David Bowie’s “Space A cover video of “Wonders”.
“Think about how far you can catch up with Netflix,” he said. “If they have musical instruments there, you can enter there without knowing anything, and if you want, you can become a concert musician.”
In “a year away from the needs of normal life”, there may be “incredible freedom”.
Attitude is the key, and Hadfield said that his novel “Apollo Murder” will come out in the fall. He said that participants need to be like the Watney character played by Damon: “Super capable, resourceful, and not dependent on others to feel comfortable.”
© 2021 Canadian Press
