Four Volunteers Step Out of NASA's Mars Habitat After 378 Days

Four research volunteers left NASA's Mars Dune Alpha habitat at Johnson Space Center in Houston on Oct. 31 (time of day not given), ending a 378-day Mars simulation, NASA said.

Ross Elder, Ellen Ellis, James Spicer and Matthew Montgomery went in on Oct. 19, 2025, according to NASA's release. The habitat is roughly 1,700 square feet and 3D-printed. This was CHAPEA Mission 2. CHAPEA stands for Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog.

NASA says the crew did simulated Marswalks, robotic operations, habitat maintenance, exercise and crop growing. From inside, they flew a drone and drove a rover by remote control to survey terrain and identify or collect rock samples. They worked with limited resources and communication delays of up to 22 minutes each way, NASA says.

Johnson Director Vanessa Wyche said the crew's work "is about preparing for the challenges of human exploration beyond Earth." She said it will help "pave the way for future missions to the Moon and, one day, Mars."

NASA astronaut Jack Hathaway spoke at the exit. NASA notes that while the crew was inside, Hathaway flew a 237-day mission aboard the space station and came home. The Artemis II astronauts also flew around the Moon in that stretch, NASA says.

What the crew said

Elder, an Air Force experimental test pilot, led the crew. NASA says he found the Marswalks and robotic work "uncannily similar" to flying as part of a flight crew. Suits, airlock procedures and long walks took time and stamina, and he named nutrition, exercise and rest as the keys to keeping up the pace.

Ellis, a Space Force officer, was the medical officer and helped organize the biological samples collected for health research. She said most days she did not feel isolated. "I have three teammates that I rely on every day to get through the mission," she said. Her main lesson, in her words: "a future Mars crew requires a highly integrated ground team."

Spicer kept the habitat's systems running. He compared the year to living on a submarine or boat. NASA says the crew tracked supplies from dish soap to respirator filters, and managed food and water with care. The crew had access to news, NASA says, and Spicer was surprised how little he missed constant updates.

Montgomery helped identify rock samples and set up the habitat's 3D printing. NASA says he also ran a seed-germination experiment with a control and simulated Martian soil. He said, "It's really the people that make exploration possible."

At the exit ceremony, Hathaway greeted the crew with "Trick or treat," according to The Debrief, which noted the date fell on Halloween.

Why NASA runs this

The point is data. NASA says the crew collected health and performance data under tight limits on supplies and contact with home. Grace Douglas, CHAPEA's principal investigator, said the research will help NASA weigh human health and performance risks against resources such as crew time, communication capacity, and food and water system designs.

Sara Whiting, CHAPEA project scientist, said the data arrives as NASA plans how astronauts will live and work at the Moon Base, which NASA describes as humanity's first lunar outpost near the Moon's South Pole. "This is really the now moment for this kind of data," she said.

One detail is worth a look. Different accounts give different figures for the communication delay. NASA's own release says up to 22 minutes each way. Some other outlets say up to 45 minutes. This article uses the NASA release figure.

The study builds on the first CHAPEA mission, which ended July 6, 2024, NASA says.

What is next

NASA says two weeks of post-mission evaluations and debriefs are next. Researchers will use them to read the crew's data alongside their experiences. What the data shows is not yet public. NASA has not said when results will be released.

Stay curious.

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