NASA Seals Crew Members In Isolated Chamber For Yearlong Test Of Mars Mission—Here’s What To Know

mike591@kbin.social to Science@kbin.social – 64 points – NASA Seals Crew Members In Isolated Chamber For Yearlong Test Of Mars Mission—Here’s What To Know
forbes.com

Four volunteer crew members entered a Mars-realistic 3D printed habitat.

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I wonder what specifically they're interested in vs long deployments in Antarctica (people do 12 months rotations in some stations there).

I found this article discussing the psychology of placements in Australian antarctic stations: https://psychology.org.au/for-members/publications/inpsych/2021/february-march-issue-1/life-in-the-australian-antarctic-program.

The differences as I see them are:

  1. Smaller crew
  2. No unsuited outdoor time
  3. Smaller space
  4. Communication latency / outages
  5. Personal belongings weight/volume limits
  6. Dietary restrictions

those doing a antartic winter may as well have the no suited outdoor time, poor clothing choice will be death almost as quick

I'm thinking a lot of the equipment is different as well, and since they mention simulating equipment malfunctions, that plays an important part, especially with the additional limitations/simulated dangers.

Antarctica trips have all of those limits you mentioned, they'll just be worse for Mars. While they can operate sort of freely for a few months, once winter sets in, they are just as isolated as another planet. They just get the advantage of easier setup then Mars.