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Remember the story that Mark Damon lived alone on Mars for more than 300 days and nights in the movie Mars Rescue, and became the strongest "potato scientist" on the surface of Mars by self-study?

Now you have a chance to experience life on Mars for yourself. Last Friday, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) released a volunteer recruitment plan to simulate life on Mars in official website, which was the first time to openly recruit talents interested in life on Mars for the whole society. The selected personnel will live in a 3D printed simulated Mars habitat for one year to provide observation data for future Mars exploration missions.

NASA's Mars Life Simulation Program will be conducted three times, with four permanent members and two alternate members participating each time. The first experiment will be conducted next autumn, and the next two experiments are planned for 2024 and 2025 respectively. At present, the recruitment channel for next autumn project has been officially opened in official website, NASA.

Spending a year in the futuristic Mars base, with food and drink, computer and VR, can not only experience astronauts' spacewalk, but also simulate Mark Damon growing potatoes on Mars, and NASA will pay you a salary. Is it just a question of thinking? Silicon Star people showed you the "recruitment demand", and engineers in Silicon Valley were fine.

So, what is this Martian habitat like? Will the life of the people inside really be as good as expected? What are the requirements for applying to be a volunteer?

The project is named "Mars Dune Alpha" and belongs to NASA's "Chapia" program. The experimental base was built at Johnson Space Center in Houston, USA, and was built by BIG design, a well-known American architectural company, and ICON, an architectural 3D printing company, with a total area of 1700 square feet (about 158 square meters).

Although the whole base is less than 160 square meters, sparrows are small and complete. In addition to the necessary facilities such as bedroom, kitchen, bathroom and workshop, the base also has a gym, recreation room, medical room and space for planting crops. Successful experiencers don't live alone to challenge absolute loneliness, but live in this space with three other members for one year.

Judging from the video released by ICON, the design inside this base is full of science and technology, which is definitely the dream place for many space fans and technology fans.

Furniture is movable and self-assembled, and "astronauts" can transform themselves according to their needs in life. The lighting, temperature and sound of the whole base can also be controlled, which can help adjust the life and physiological rhythm of "astronauts". Living in it feels like a science fiction movie.

The video was taken from ICON official website.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said that it was made with 3D printed materials and technologies in order to fully simulate the real Mars architecture in the future. In the real Mars exploration, because interstellar flight can't carry a lot of building materials, it is most likely to build a base on the surface of Mars through additive manufacturing. This time, they used a material called Lavacrete, which was stacked layer by layer with a 3D printer.

In addition to the living environment, the lifestyle of the four "astronauts" will also be completely simulated in the state of Mars. They need to perform daily tasks such as simulating spacewalks, using virtual reality and robot control equipment, and exchanging communication with the earth. At the same time, they can also create unexpected situations that may occur in practice, such as equipment failure, shortage of resources, loss of contact with the outside world, etc., so as to test the resilience of "astronauts" and record their psychological and physiological conditions.

Obviously, "life on Mars" is not as carefree as many people think. In addition to completing various daily tasks, the experiencer eats space food and faces the problem of sudden food shortage. In order to cope with this situation, they need to learn to grow food and achieve self-sufficiency during this year. I wonder if there will be four more "potato masters" like Mark Damon when we leave the cabin one year later?

NASA believes that this kind of experiment, which is infinitely close to the real life of Mars, will bring valuable real life and reaction data of human beings on Mars, thus helping NASA to understand and respond to the physical and psychological challenges that astronauts will face before the real implementation of the Mars base plan.

This time, NASA's simulated Mars program is open to the whole country, and applicants need to meet the following conditions:

1. American citizens or permanent residents aged between 30 and 55. 2. Master's degree in STEM field (including engineering, biological science, physical science, computer science and mathematics) issued by a certification body. If you only have a bachelor's degree, but have more than 4 years experience in STEM industry, you can also consider it. 3. At least two years relevant professional experience in STEM field, or at least 1000 hours as the captain of a jet plane. 4. Be able to pass the astronaut physical fitness test of NASA.

Only from these big conditions, in fact, many science and technology practitioners in the United States can be satisfied. You just need to register on the NASA official website application page. After passing the NASA primary election, the finalists will undergo medical evaluation, psychological test and psychiatric screening to determine whether you are suitable for long-term isolation. The plan is also a paid voluntary project. In addition to all relevant test fees paid by NASA, if you are selected successfully, NASA will also pay you an annual salary.

In the autumn of 2022, the experimental application channel will be open from August 6 to September 17. So, if you are interested in space exploration, you can also apply for a try, in case you are selected!

Of course, it should be reminded that although it looks novel and beautiful, it is not easy to successfully become a NASA Mars life experiencer.

In the recruitment instructions, NASA stressed that applicants should be prepared for "hardship", including being willing to provide the required biological samples on the specified date, eating the "weak" diet similar to space flight provided during the mission, and accepting anti-vertigo tests to meet the needs of using VR equipment for space mission practice. And the screening criteria are very strict.

The reason why candidates are required to have a STEM background is that during the one-year experiment, the experiencer needs to complete various tasks given by NASA, including data analysis, installation and debugging of communication equipment, and agricultural planting.

In fact, this simulated Mars exploration program is only a brand-new part of the space simulation experiment conducted by NASA in recent years. In the past few years, NASA has been recruiting volunteers to participate in the simulation experience of space flight and landing on the moon.

As early as 20 15, NASA participated in the life simulation experiment on Mars and the moon funded by the Hawaii Space Exploration Simulation and Simulation Program (HI-SEAS). They built a closed circular habitat of about 100 square meter at 8000 feet (about 2438 meters) on the northern slope of Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii. The project started from 20 15 and has been simulated for four months, eight months and 12 months. At present, nearly 20 scientists have participated in the project.

Participants in the simulation project must wear EVA simulation spacesuits when they go out, just like on the moon and Mars. They need to explore lava tunnels, conduct scientific experiments and submit research logs every day. At the same time, according to their own specialties, they will be given the roles of commander, engineer, science communicator and expert in specific experimental projects, and they will be responsible for different tasks respectively. In addition to Hawaii, experimental sites include Iceland, Atacama Desert in Chile and Utah Desert.

This year, the third phase simulation task of HI-SEAS has been completed. The research team said that by truly simulating some environments similar to the moon and Mars on the earth, they will test technologies that they can send to space, such as improving the production process of extravehicular spacesuits and enhancing the handling of communication equipment. At the same time, improve the outdoor environment exploration training and capacity building of researchers. Compared with HI-SEAS, NASA's "Alpha Mars Mountain" program focuses on the construction and maintenance inside the base.

In addition to the Mars simulation program, what NASA is doing, which is most likely to become a reality immediately, is their exploration plan of "returning to the moon". NASA plans to send the first female astronaut to the moon again in 2024 through this moon landing program called Artemis.

After accumulating practical experience in lunar exploration, combined with the life simulation experiment on Mars on Earth, NASA said that the current plan is to send humans to Mars in 2037 and try to establish a Mars base.

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