The British Woman Spending a Year on Mars Without Leaving Earth

A British Woman's Journey to Simulate Life on Mars

A British woman is preparing to spend the entire year in a simulated environment that mimics the conditions of Mars, without ever leaving Earth. Laura Marie, from Devon, will spend 378 days in a replica of Martian conditions at NASA’s Johnson Space Centre in Houston, Texas. This unique experience is part of a research initiative aimed at gathering data for future human missions to the Red Planet.

Laura, an airline pilot who moved to the United States in 2016, was one of six selected out of 8,000 volunteers to participate in this mission. The experiment involves growing crops, testing technology destined for Mars, and walking around in the 3D-printed Mars Dune Alpha habitat, which spans 158 square metres (1,700 sq ft). The main crew of four—Ross Elder, Ellen Ellis, Matthew Montgomery, and James Spicer—are set to enter the experiment on October 19. Laura is one of two 'alternate' participants, ready to step in if needed.

Despite her serious approach to training, Laura admits that one home comfort she would miss is the Great Outdoors. She described herself as a "big nature girl" who spends a lot of time outside. In the airless conditions of space and the barren Martian landscape, she would miss feeling the wind in her hair and the smell of grass.

This mission is the second of three planned Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (Chapea) missions. The first group of volunteers began their stay in June 2023 and emerged after a successful mission in July of last year. NASA hopes the research will provide insights into how such an undertaking would affect an astronaut's physical health, mental state, and performance. Additionally, the agency aims to assess how best to adapt its space food provisions for the red planet.

Laura is the first Brit to take part in a Chapea mission. She has always dreamed of working with NASA and saw her opportunity after following the first mission in the news. Her academic background includes a BA in philosophy and an MSc in aeronautics. She emphasized that with science, you can't just do something once.

The selection process involved a robust 13-month period where the final team spent a lot of time together. Laura expressed confidence in the crew dynamics, saying she would happily lock herself in a box with all of them. Communication with mission control will be limited, simulating the delay astronauts on Mars would experience when contacting Earth. This means no live chat with mission control, unlike the International Space Station, which maintains constant contact with Earth.

During their downtime, the team will have plenty of time to themselves. Laura plans to use this time to learn how to solve a Rubik's Cube in record-breaking time. She also expressed a desire to move beyond simulations and take any chance to travel to the real Mars. With NASA developing technology to facilitate such missions, her dream may not just be a fantasy.

"I think the whole multi-planetary species, it's where we're heading," she said. "And anything I can do to be a part of it—if it's this [simulation], if it's something else—I'm just happy to be involved."

The opportunity is not for the faint of heart, as volunteers face extreme isolation and separation from loved ones. The futuristic building, which will be their home for a year, is designed to replicate the kind of structure humans will eventually build on Mars. Each participant is reportedly paid $10 for every waking hour they are inside the base, totaling around $60,000.

The analog mission will be as Mars-realistic as feasible, including environmental stressors such as resource limitations, isolation, equipment failure, and significant workloads. Major crew activities may include simulated spacewalks, communications, crop growth, meal preparation, exercise, hygiene activities, maintenance work, personal time, science work, and sleep.

Mars Dune Alpha has been constructed using a proprietary mix of concrete called 'lavacrete,' creating a ribbed effect on the walls. Although inhabitants are isolated and cannot leave except in case of a medical emergency, the temporary home has basic amenities like a kitchen, two bathrooms, a shower, toilets, and a recreational area with leather sofas and a TV. However, there are no windows, so occupants receive vitamin D supplements.

A diet of pre-packaged provisions is supplemented by fresh salad and vegetables grown on a vertical farm. There is also equipment for fitness, including a rowing machine and a treadmill that simulates Mars' lesser gravity. An airlock leads to an 'outdoor' reconstruction of the Martian environment complete with red sand, though this is still located inside the hangar.

Water flowed on Mars as recently as 2 billion to 2.5 billion years ago, according to a 2022 study. Scientists used NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to determine that liquid water left salt minerals as recently as 2 billion years ago. This discovery suggests that rivers and ponds existed on Mars for a billion years longer than previously thought.