NASA is looking for four participants for its Moon and Mars Exploration Analog (MMEA), a yearlong simulation program designed to replicate traveling and living on the Moon and Mars.

Simulation Details

The 12-month program will begin no earlier than August 2027 and will be based at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Volunteers will live in spacelike conditions, carrying out tasks such as growing crops, looking after their health, and replicating spacewalks.

The program will be split into three segments, involving two different habitats. The first segment will take place inside a mock 650-square-foot spacecraft, where volunteers will live as though they were traveling from Earth to the Moon or Mars.

The second segment will shift the volunteers from traveling to living on the surface of another planet. Crew members will move into a one-story, 900-square-foot facility where they will grow their own crops, look after their health and well-being, and practice how to spacewalk on a sandbox designed to mimic planetary surfaces.

The third phase will be a return to Earth in the same spacecraft used in the outward journey.

Requirements and Benefits

Applicants must be US citizens or green card holders, aged between 30 and 55, and no taller than 6 feet 2 inches. They must also be fluent in English and willing to commit to the 14-month program.

Prospective participants must pass physical and psychological assessments, have no dietary restrictions, and cannot have a history of sleepwalking or taking sleeping aids.

NASA said applicants must have astronaut-like qualifications, such as bachelor’s degrees in engineering, biological science, physical science, or mathematics.

Original reporting: El Paso News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.