Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck
Six scientists who spent eight months living in a dome near the dormant Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii in order to simulate life on Mars “returned to Earth” over the weekend.
The crew members, who according to the Associated Press were taking part in a NASA-funded human performance study, had been monitored by surveillance cameras, movement trackers, and electronic surveys and had not been allowed to leave the dome without wearing a spacesuit.
Their home for the last eight months was located 8,000 feet up the slope of the volcano, and both the environment and the simulated airlock seal on their dome were meant to replicate the kind of conditions that real-life travelers to the Red Planet would experience.
Known as the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) project, the goal of the mission was to monitor the social interaction and emotional wellbeing of three men and three women as they deal with simulated life on Mars, the AP and PBS Newshour explained.
More about the comforts and challenges of the project
According to the Daily Mail, the six-person team of scientists was participating in the third of four planned missions that comprise the overall HI-SEAS project. A fourth mission is scheduled to begin in August and is slated to last a full year. Like its predecessors, it will challenge the participants to deal with issues such as blackouts and food and water shortages.
As mentioned earlier, the participants must spend the majority of their trip inside the dome – a two-floored facility with a large ceiling that is split into six different living quarters, each with a mattress, desk, and stool. The whole thing is run on solar power, with a hydrogen fuel cells serving as a back-up, and the crew is able to exercise regularly.
Despite the accommodations, completing the mission is no easy task. Upon leaving the dome, 27-year-old crew member and Purdue University doctoral student Jocelyn Dunn explained that she enjoyed feeling the sensation of wind on her skin after only being able to head outside while wearing a space suit for so long, but also admitted that doing so was a little scary.
“We’ve been pretending for so long,” she told the AP, noting that the hardest part was being away from friends and family, and missing important events such as her sister’s wedding. “When you’re having a good day it’s fine, it’s fun. You have friends around to share in the enjoyment of a good day. But if you have a bad day, it’s really tough to be in a confined environment.”
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