"Ultimately, this information will help NASA make informed decisions to design and plan for a successful human mission to Mars. "The simulation will allow us to collect cognitive and physical performance data to give us more insight into the potential impacts of long-duration missions to Mars on crew health and performance," Douglas said at that time. They crew will also face a series of obstacles that likely mirror those of a true Mars mission, as researchers simulate conditions like resource limitations, equipment failure, communication delays and environmental stressors, NASA said in a news release when it introduced the crew members in April. It includes a kitchen, private crew quarters and two bathrooms, along with medical, work and recreation areas. At 1,700 square feet, the habitat is smaller than the average U.S. Suzanne Bell, lead for NASA's Behavioral Health and Performance Laboratory, walks through a simulated Mars exterior portion of the CHAPEA's Mars Dune Alpha - a 3D printed habitat - at the Johnson Space center in Houston, Texas, on April 11, 2023.ĭuring their time inside of the 3D-printed, 1,700-square-foot habitat, the crew is set to carry out an array of "mission activities," including simulated spacewalks, robotic operations, growing of crops, habitat maintenance, personal hygiene and exercise, according to NASA. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.Haston, Brockwell, Jones and Selariu will spend more than a year living and working in a simulated Mars environment built at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at for further information. Joe Palca, NPR News.Ĭopyright © 2022 NPR. PALCA: NASA says CAPSTONE mission managers are still trying to reestablish contact with the tiny probe. PALCA: Davis says mathematical models have convinced Gateway mission managers that this new kind of orbit will work as expected.ĭAVIS: So even if CAPSTONE is not a complete success, we're still going to be very confident in our Gateway plans. PALCA: Davis says people who build and launch small CubeSats have a very different mindset from the engineers who design missions with astronauts on board.ĭAVIS: So they accept a higher risk than what you would accept with a crewed spacecraft. She says CAPSTONE was going to be helpful, but.ĭIANE DAVIS: It's not a required component of the Gateway program in that, you know, it is a CubeSat. Diane Davis is mission design lead for the Gateway program. NASA is planning to use the same orbit for a home for astronauts around the moon. It allows a spacecraft to save fuel while in orbit. ![]() The probe was going to orbit the moon in a way that's never been tried before. Each region is approximately 9.3 by 9.3 miles (15 by 15 kilometers). ![]() Everything appeared to be going smoothly, and then - nothing. Rendering of 13 candidate landing regions for NASAs Artemis 3 mission. After several adjustments while in Earth orbit, the rocket fired its engines for a final time on July 4, sending CAPSTONE toward the moon. PALCA: CAPSTONE left Earth on June 27 aboard a rocket made by a company called Rocket Lab. These are small spacecraft no larger than a microwave oven that are relatively inexpensive to build and send into space. JOE PALCA, BYLINE: CAPSTONE is what's known as a CubeSat. NASA is funding CAPSTONE as part of its own plans to put people back on the lunar surface. ![]() Mission controllers have lost contact with a small spacecraft called CAPSTONE that's on its way to the moon.
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