NASA is looking for four people to live for a year on Mars | Aharon

Want to emulate Matt Damon and spend a year pretending to be isolated on Mars? NASA has a job offer for you.

In order to prepare to send astronauts to the Red Planet in the future, the US space agency began accepting requests on Friday for four people to live for a year on Mars Alpha Dione.

A 158-square-meter (1,700-square-foot) habitat on Mars, created by a 3D printer, is located inside a building at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Hired volunteers will work on a simulation mission to explore Mars that includes spacewalks, limited communications with Earth, limited food and resources, and equipment failures.

NASA has planned three of these experiments, the first of which will begin in the fall of next year. Food will be what is commonly served in the space, and the site is not planned to have windows at this time. You will plant some plants, but not potatoes as in the movie “The Martian”. Damon played astronaut Mark Watney, who is stranded on Mars and lives on potatoes.

“We want to understand how humans performed in them,” said Grace Douglas, the scientist who led the experiments. “We are studying real-world situations on Mars.”

The registration process started on Friday, but they’re not just looking for anyone. Requirements are stringent, and include a master’s degree in a scientific, engineering or mathematical field, or experience as an airline pilot. Only US citizens or people with permanent residence in the country can participate. Applicants must be between 30 and 55 years old, be in good health, not have diet problems, and not be prone to motion sickness.

Former Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield points out that this shows that NASA is looking for people with features close to those of astronauts. According to him, this is a good thing, because it is a better experience if the participants are the same as the people who are already going to Mars.