NASA volunteers complete year-long mission in 3D-printed Mars bunker in Texas

After 378 days in a 3D-printed Mars-imitation bunker in Texas, four NASA volunteers, Kelly Haston, Anca Selariu, Ross Brockwell and Nathan Jones, have finally been set free. But they may have missed quite a lot.

NASA volunteers who spent over a year in a simulated Mars bunker have completed their mission.

After 378 days in a 3D-printed, Mars-imitation bunker in Texas, Kelly Haston, Anca Selariu, Ross Brockwell and Nathan Jones were set free Saturday around 10pm UK time.

Speaking at a news conference after they were allowed back into the world, Ms Selariu said bringing life to Mars was the “one thing dearest to my heart”.

She said her “beloved friends and family have always been there when I needed them” and she will “always have them in my heart and in my memory wherever I go”.

The volunteers were a part of NASA’s Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA) mission, which began on 25 June last year.

The volunteers going into the bunker last year. Pic: NASA

Over that time, they simulated Mars mission operations, including “Marswalks”, grew and ate their own vegetables including tomatoes, peppers, and leafy greens, maintained their equipment and lived under realistic Mars circumstances, NASA said.

This included a communication delay with Earth, limited resources and isolation.

The crew is the first of three to undertake such missions at the Johnson Space Center, in Houston, Texas.

The 3D-printed structure, known as the Mars Dune Alpha, has been described as “an isolated 1,700 square foot habitat”.

This marks the end of the first planned programme, attempting to help prepare the US space agency for the real thing.

NASA is still planning for a return to the Moon – which they hope will act as a springboard for Mars exploration.