The crew for a Nasa mission to Mars has emerged after a year – despite never leaving the planet.
The team of four volunteers spent more than 12 months inside Nasa’s first simulated Mars environment located at the Johnson Space Center in Houston and emerged on Saturday, July 6, at around 5pm local time.
Dr Kelly Haston, Dr Anca Selariu, Ross Brockewell and Dr Nathan Jones entered the habitat on June 25 last year, as the maiden crew of the space agency’s Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA) project.
The space, known as the Mars Dune Alpha, was 3D printed, and simulated a realistic Mars habitat to support long-duration, exploration-class space missions.
The quartet lived and worked in the space of 1,700 square feet (157 square metres), designed to provide separate areas within the habitat for living and working. The spaces included a kitchen, lounge, areas for medical assessments, recreation, fitness and work, and …