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NASA analog Mars crew exits Houston habitat after 378 days
Four volunteers in NASA’s second CHAPEA Mars simulation left a 3D-printed habitat at Johnson Space Center on Saturday after 378 days, Reuters reported via CNA.
Based on reporting by CNA
Wire reporting: (Reuters, via CNA)
Four volunteers in NASA’s second Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog, or CHAPEA, left a 1,700-square-foot (158-square-meter) 3D-printed habitat at Johnson Space Center in Houston on Saturday after 378 days in isolation, according to a Reuters account carried by CNA1.
The crew entered the habitat on Oct. 19, 2025, and included commander Ross Elder, medical officer Ellen Ellis, science officer Matthew Montgomery and flight engineer James Spicer1.
CNA’s Reuters report said they grew crops in simulated Martian soil and worked with delayed communications meant to mimic interplanetary lag1.
Johnson Space Center director Vanessa Wyche greeted them and said they lived with limited resources, maintained the habitat and ran simulated Mars operations, including delayed messaging that requires more independence1.
NASA has said the analog is meant to study how crews stay healthy and productive on long missions beyond Earth; the volunteers are to spend about two weeks in post-mission evaluations1.
The agency has previously flown a first CHAPEA crew for 378 days spanning 2023 and 2024, and has stated ambitions for a human Mars mission as early as the 2030s after returning astronauts to the moon1.
