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NASA is recruiting four people to live in a Mars habitat simulation in Houston for 378 days.
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NASA is looking for crew members who can best mimic sending real astronauts to Mars.
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See if you have the experience, character, and health foundation to pretend you’re on Mars.
NASA hires four people to spend 378 days in a simulated Mars habitat in Houston.
The experiment is called the Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA).
We spoke with one of CHAPEA’s leaders, Suzanne Bell, to find out how difficult it would be to be selected.
NASA is looking for people who are “as astronaut-like as possible,” says Bell, who also directs NASA’s Behavioral Health and Performance Lab.
See if you have what it takes.
NASA’s Mars simulation needs candidates with STEM or military training
The point of CHAPEA is that it helps NASA study some of the biggest challenges astronauts will face on a mission to Mars: prolonged isolation and confinement, as well as a delay in communications with Earth of up to 22 minutes each way .
In almost every respect, a cohort of Mars astronauts will be on their own. That’s what CHAPEA is trying to replicate.
To qualify for the program, at its most basic level, you must be an able-bodied U.S. citizen or permanent resident, be between the ages of 30 and 55, and be proficient in the English language.
You also need relevant education and experience, such as an astronaut.
NASA wants applicants with a master’s degree in a STEM field from an accredited institution, plus two years of experience in STEM or at least 1,000 hours of jet flying.
However, there are two other types of experiences for you to consider:
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A medical degree, completion of a test pilot program, or two years of work toward a doctoral STEM degree
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A completed military officer training course or a STEM bachelor’s degree, plus four years of professional experience in STEM
The CHAPEA crew must accept strict restrictions
In the Mars simulation you cannot walk outside for 378 days. You can’t call your mother. You can’t order pizza. You can’t even ask NASA to pick up your favorite snack from the grocery store.
“The thing is, you’re going to be in a very small space for a long time,” Bell said. “With that comes limitations.”
You also have to tolerate your three teammates and work well together, just like any professional astronaut. NASA doesn’t want explosive discussions about who does the dishes.
“We wouldn’t want to pick someone who would have difficulty interacting with someone in isolation and confinement because that doesn’t give us very good data,” Bell said.
Then there is limited contact with the outside world. It’s not just that Mars astronaut simulators can’t surf the Internet all day. There is also a communication delay between them and everyone else on Earth.
Because of the distance, the fastest time a Mars astronaut can get a response from NASA’s mission control (or from a family member or friend) is sometimes 44 minutes: 22 minutes to send the message to Earth and another 22 minutes to receive the response. received.
The same applies to CHAPEA participants.
NASA’s application process will assess for 4 ‘expeditionary skills’
It’s not just experience and stress tolerance that make a Mars astronaut. NASA will also be looking for something less tangible – well, four things.
NASA wants CHAPEA participants to demonstrate what it calls “expeditionary skills”:
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Self-care and team carewhere you monitor yourself and your teammates for signs of mental and physical fatigue, and know when and how to intervene
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Cultural competenceas astronauts must work closely together and the stakes are very high, not to mention representing the US in international partnerships
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Leadership and followershipand knowing when (and how) to lead and when to follow
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Teamwork and communication – evidently
“Expedition skills are really an important addition to the technical experience that we seek and train in our astronaut populations,” Bell said.
In the CHAPEA application process, NASA assesses these core characteristics. However, Bell does not want to say how.
“I’m not going to reveal too many of our methods because we are aware that people want to present themselves in a certain way,” she said.
The CHAPEA course also has health requirements
CHAPEA crews must also be healthy and have limited medical needs, due to the isolation and limited resources. There are no doctors on Mars.
These are the health requirements:
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Non-smoker
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No food allergies or avoidances
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No gastrointestinal complaints
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Some medications are disqualifiers, such as blood thinners, daily allergy medications, antidepressants, anxiety medications, sleep aids, or daily insulin.
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Proof of full vaccination against COVID-19
Applicants must also pass a criminal background check, psychiatric screening and a medical evaluation. During the year-long CHAPEA experiment, they must exercise regularly according to NASA’s schedule.
Register online for the paid CHAPEA appearance
If you think you have what it takes, you can register for CHAPEA online before April 2.
The gig is paying off, but Bell and a NASA spokesperson both declined to share details of the compensation, saying it will be presented to candidates later in the interview process.
Ultimately, the reward shouldn’t be your motive, Bell said, as this is participating in a scientific research experiment.
“It could be a personal self-challenge: Can I even do this? Or could I be an astronaut? Or could I ever go to Mars? But then there’s also the greater good of being able to contribute to science, and the science that is.” It will really pave the way for amazing things in the future,” Bell said.
Read the original article on Business Insider