// NASA BREAKING NEWS — SPAZIO & SCIENZA
CHAPEA Mission 2 Crew Reflects After 378 Days on Simulated Mars
After 378 days without windows, the sounds of the outside world, or real-time calls with family and friends, four research volunteers stepped out of NASA’s Mars Dune Alpha habitat on Oct. 31, completing the agency’s second yearlong Mars surface simulation.
Ross Elder, Ellen Ellis, James Spicer, and Matthew Montgomery entered the roughly 1,700-square-foot, 3D-printed habitat at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on Oct. 19, 2025, for CHAPEA (Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog) Mission 2.
The crew participated in simulated Marswalks, robotic operations, habitat maintenance, exercise, and crop cultivation.
“Their work means more than completing a mission,” said Johnson Director Vanessa Wyche. “It is about preparing for the challenges of human exploration beyond Earth, gathering the knowledge we need to protect crew health and performance, and paving the way for future missions to the Moon and, one day, Mars.”
NASA astronaut Jack Hathaway put the crew’s time in isolation into perspective: While they were inside the habitat, he completed a 237-day mission aboard the space station and returned to Earth.
During that same period, the Artemis II astronauts traveled around the Moon and set the record for the farthest humans have traveled from Earth. NASA also celebrated 25 years of continuous human presence aboard the International Space Station on Nov. 2, 2025.
“The reality of what you guys did here required immense physiological and psychological strength, teamwork, and human grit,” Hathaway said.
Supported by researchers and ground teams across the agency, the CHAPEA crew collected health and performance data while navigating limited resources and communication delays of up to 22 minutes each way.
Elder brought a U.S. Air Force experimental test pilot’s approach to leading the crew. He found simulated Marswalks and robotic exploration “uncannily similar” to operating as part of a flight. From inside the habitat, crew members remotely operated a drone and a rover to survey terrain and identify or collect rock samples.
The demanding Marswalk schedule also sharpened his understanding of the physical preparation future explorers will need. Preparing suits, completing airlock procedures, and making long traverses took time and stamina. He emphasized nutrition, exercise, and rest as essential to sustaining that pace.