Four volunteers are about to enter a simulated Mars habitat for a very long time

By Trevor Mogg Published September 8, 2025

Highlighting its intent to send humans to Mars, NASA has announced that it will soon be embarking on a year-long simulation of a Mars mission using four research volunteers.

Ross Elder, an experimental test pilot in the U.S. Air Force; Ellen Ellis, a colonel and acquisitions officer in the U.S. Space Force; Matthew Montgomery, a hardware engineering design consultant; and James Spicer, a technical director in the aerospace and defense industry, will enter the 1,700-square-foot Mars Dune Alpha habitat at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, on October 19. 

They’ll live and work like astronauts for 378 days before completing their mission on October 31, 2026. 

During their time in the specially designed habitat, NASA will evaluate various health and performance factors as part of preparations for future crewed missions to the red planet. 

Over the course of the year, the volunteers will carry out scientific research and operational tasks, including simulated Mars walks, growing a vegetable garden, robotic operations, and so on. They’ll test technologies specifically designed for Mars and deep space exploration, too, including a potable water dispenser and diagnostic medical equipment.

To make it as real as possible, they’ll also be forced to deal with challenges like resource limitations, equipment failures, communication delays, isolation and confinement, and other stressors, with their responses carefully monitored by NASA so that it can better plan for the first human mission to Mars.

The habitat has around nine rooms, including private bedrooms, a shared bathroom, and an area where everyone can get together for meals and other social activities. There’s also a small area next to the habitat that simulates the Martian surface for the Mars walks.

This is the second one-year Mars simulation mission conducted through CHAPEA (Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog) after the first one involving a different group of volunteers ended in July last year.

“As NASA gears up for crewed Artemis missions, CHAPEA and other ground analogs are helping to determine which capabilities could best support future crews in overcoming the human health and performance challenges of living and operating beyond Earth’s resources — all before we send humans to Mars,” said Sara Whiting, a project scientist with NASA’s Human Research Program at NASA Johnson.  

Grace Douglas, CHAPEA principal investigator, said the simulation “will allow us to collect cognitive and physical performance data to give us more insight into the potential impacts of the resource restrictions and long-duration missions to Mars on crew health and performance. Ultimately, this information will help NASA make informed decisions to design and plan for a successful human mission to Mars.”

There’s no solid timeline for when NASA might embark on its first crewed mission to Mars, though some believe it could take place as early as the 2030s using SpaceX’s Starship rocket.