The First CHAPEA Crew's Yearlong Journey

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When the first humans travel to the Red Planet, they will need to know how to repair and maintain equipment, grow their own food, and stay healthy, all while contending with Earth-to-Mars communication delays. They must also find ways to build comradery and have fun.

The first all-volunteer CHAPEA (Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog) crew accomplished all of that and more during their 378-day analog mission on the surface of Mars.

As the crew concluded their journey on July 6, NASA astronaut and Deputy Director of Flight Operations Kjell Lindgren opened the habitat door and welcomed them home.

"The crew and their families have committed a year of their lives in service to NASA, the country, and humanity's exploration of space. Thank you for committing yourselves to research that will enable our future exploration of space," he said. "Your fingerprints are going to be an indelible part of those first footprints on Mars."

The CHAPEA crew brought their diverse backgrounds and experiences to the mission, collaborating with NASA's scientists and engineers to collect data that will provide insight into maintaining crew health and performance for future missions to Mars.

"We had to rely on each other and our training to navigate the challenges we faced," she said. "Every day brought new obstacles, but also new opportunities for growth and learning."

Jones, the crew medical officer, used his emergency and international medicine experience to tackle the unique challenges of the Mars mission. His expertise in problem-solving and effective communication in a time-sensitive and resource-limited environment was essential due to the approximately one-hour transmission delay. "Even something as simple as when to communicate is important," said Jones. The crew had to consider what observations were essential to report to each other or Mission Control to avoid overburdening the team or unnecessarily using the limited bandwidth to Earth.