Four crew members emerge after 378 days in simulated Mars mission
The CHAPEA mission at the Johnson Space Center aimed to prepare astronauts for future interplanetary travel through isolation and simulated Martian tasks.
Four crew members emerged from a 378-day simulated Mars mission at the US space agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on Saturday. The crew participated in the Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog, or CHAPEA, mission to prepare for potential future NASA missions to Mars.
The team, which included mission commander Ross Elder, science officer Matthew Montgomery, flight engineer James Spicer, and medical officer Ellen Ellis, entered a 1,700-square-foot 3D-printed habitat on October 19, 2025. During the isolation, they performed tasks such as growing crops in simulated Martian soil.
The crew also managed communication with NASA officials through delayed exchanges designed to recreate interplanetary communication lags. Johnson Space Center director Vanessa Wyche said the crew lived with limited resources, maintained their habitat, and carried out simulated operations.
Wyche noted that the communication delays required patience, careful planning, and independence. She stated that lessons from the CHAPEA crew would help pave the way for missions to the Moon and Mars.
This was NASA's second CHAPEA mission, following a previous four-person mission that spent 378 days in isolation between 2023 and 2024. The current crew is scheduled to undergo two weeks of post-mission evaluations and debriefings with NASA scientists.