The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has invited applications from volunteers to live for a year in Mars Dune Alpha, beginning Fall of next year, for a series of missions called Alpha Missions. Mars Dune Alpha is a 1,700-square-foot Martian habitat, created by a 3D-printer, and is located inside a building at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, United States.

Who can volunteer?

NASA has opened up the application process and everyone cannot apply as the requirements mandated by the US space agency are quite strict and rigorous. To fulfil the requirements, one should have a master’s degree in science, engineering or mathematics or have experience as a pilot. Only American citizens or permanent US residents are eligible to apply. The applicants should be between 30-55 years of age, in good physical health with no dietary issues and not prone to motion sickness.

What will the 'Martians' do?

The volunteers will experience and undergo the potential challenges one may face while on a mission to Mars. This could include equipment failures, communication delays and environmental stressors. They may also be asked to simulate spacewalks, conduct scientific research, use virtual reality and robotic controls, and exchange communications. These results will provide important scientific data to validate systems and develop solutions.

How many experiments?

The series of missions known as Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog includes three one-year Mars surface simulations based at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. The analogs will support research to develop methods and technologies to prevent and resolve potential problems on future human spaceflight missions to the Moon and Mars.

Do the volunteers get paid?

Yes. These volunteers will be paid.

What are the other restrictions?

The volunteers will have limited communication with the outside world including their families, exercise dietary restrictions and live with limited resources. The food would be ready-to-eat space staples; and some plants may be grown inside the Martian habitat.

Why so many restrictions?

According to former Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, NASA is expecting people who are close to astronauts to volunteer as they would experience and understand situations similar to how it could be in Mars. The Mars 500 mission of Russia had participants from ordinary walks of life and it did not serve any purpose.

Most Martian place on Earth?

As per Independent, a video shows China’s Mars camp in the north-western Gobi Desert. The camp, spread over 1735 acres, was opened in 2019 and has been described as the "most Martian place on Earth" due to its arid and dusty red landscape.

Even as NASA and China compete against each other, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX also have plans to send people to Mars.

(Edited by : Shoma Bhattacharjee)