HI-SEAS Mission (Photo : NASA)
NASA has already selected six people who would prepare to live in Mars-like conditions for a year.
The six, made up of four Americans, a French and a German, are part of NASA's HI-SEAS, or Hawaii Super Exploration Analog and Simulation, mission. They will live in the next 12 months inside a large dome on a barren Hawaii land on Mauna Loa volcano to simulate life in Mars, reports The Independent.
The four Americans are a pilot, an architect, a doctor/journalist and a soil scientist. The French is an astrobiologist, while the German is a physicist, reports Engadget. Jerusalem Post named the doctor as Sheyna Gifford, a 36-year-old graduate of the University of California Berkeley who is also a Jew. The other five's names have not been publicized.
The dome does not have fresh food and fresh air. The six would live on powdered cheese and canned tuna. Their rooms would only have a small bed and desk.
Among the aims of isolating the six and providing them little privacy in a dome with a diameter of only 36 feet is to better understand social and psychological impact of space travel for an extended period of time. The trip to Mars is expected to last one to three years.
Previous teams spent four and eight months inside the dome. Astronauts deployed to the International Space Station spend only six months for every expedition.
During that time, interpersonal conflicts are expected to arise. "It's going to happen over these long-duration missions, even with the very best people," AFP quotes Kim Binstead, a University of Hawaii professor and chief investigator of the mission.
