Nasa to simulate Mars environment on Earth

Nasa is going to simulate the environment of the planet Mars with its 3D-printed "Mars habitat" for a year to prepare for future missions and permanent habitation on the Red Planet.

Created for three planned experiments called the Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA), the facility is located at Nasa's research base in Houston, Texas, reports Aljazeera.

Nasa plans to start the one-year trial this summer with four volunteers and will monitor their physical and mental conditions to better understand humans' ability to cope with such long isolation.

NASA will better understand astronauts' "resource use" on Mars with the data, said Grace Douglas, lead researcher on the CHAPEA experiments.

The volunteers will live in the 1,700-square-foot (160-square-metre) habitat named Mars Dune Alpha, which includes two bathrooms, a vertical farm to grow salad, a room dedicated to medical care, an area for relaxing and several workstations.

The crew will be tested against water scarcity, isolation, equipment failure and other adversities.