NASA's simulated Mars crew passes one year in Houston habitat, due to exit Oct. 31
Four volunteers in NASA's second CHAPEA mission have lived in isolation since Oct. 19, 2025. No health or performance results have been released yet.
Four volunteers have spent a year living in isolation inside a simulated Mars habitat at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, the agency said. They are due to leave on Oct. 31, at the end of a 378-day mission.
The crew of the second Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA) mission entered their 1,700 square foot 3D-printed habitat on Oct. 19, 2025, according to NASA. The crew are mission commander Ross Elder, medical officer Ellen Ellis, science officer Matthew Montgomery and flight engineer James Spicer.
NASA said the crew has operated as though they were on the Red Planet. They have grown crops, managed limited resources, dealt with communication delays and carried out suited activities on a simulated Martian surface. Their only contact with family has been by email, sent with a Mars-like delay.
“"We are extremely proud of the crew for their commitment and achievements over the last year on such a fast-paced, highly demanding mission."”Grace Douglas, CHAPEA principal investigator
The research is meant to show how crews cope with long missions far from Earth. NASA said the data could show how limited food and exercise systems might affect goals such as spacewalks on Mars. It could also help the agency design decision-making support for crews facing communication delays of up to 45 minutes each way. EconoTimes, summarizing NASA's update, said the agency is also studying how equipment problems affect the crew, and plans to use the findings for habitat design as well as mission planning.
Michael Stenger, chief scientist for NASA's Human Research Program, said the mission had been "incredibly valuable in starting to teach us how to understand requirements for year-long missions, including medical and psychological care, via communication delays." He said the knowledge would carry over to "Moon Base and beyond."
EconoTimes noted that this is the second crew to complete the program. The first CHAPEA crew also spent 378 days in the same habitat and left on July 6, 2024. NASA's own update does not mention the earlier mission.
What the mission has found is not yet known. EconoTimes reported that NASA's one-year update did not include any quantitative health or performance findings. NASA said its science teams were getting ready to process the data collected on the crew.
After they leave the habitat, the crew will spend two weeks in evaluations and debriefs with NASA scientists, both sources said. Neither source says when results will be published.
