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Better source: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-is-recruiting-for-yearlong-simulated-mars-mission https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-is-recruiting-for-yearlong.

Better source: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-is-recruiting-for-yearlong-simulated-mars-mission https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-is-recruiting-for-yearlong... To qualify, you must be: * A U.S. citizen or permanent resident. * A non-smoker, age 30 to 55 years old, and proficient in English. * A viable candidate as an actual astronaut. For this, you usually need a master's degree in a STEM field, or you need to be a pilot or doctor or military officer.

rbanffy 5y ago
> A U.S. citizen or permanent resident. I guess I’ll have to wait for the ESA version…
_moof 5y ago
You must also pass the medical screening, which prohibits a laundry list of common medications: - blood pressure medications - blood thinners - seizure medications - daily allergy medications - diabetic insulin daily - sleeping aids - ADHD/ADD medications - antidepressants - anxiety medications (Insert grumbling about "flight surgeon horseshit" here.)
- mbrumlow 5y ago
  Gattaca Here we come!
- closeparen 5y ago
  I don't think my seasonal allergies are going to be a problem in space.
  - throwaway803453 5y ago
    You'll be growing crops year round, indoors. So you could be miserable. Curious if they select for plant strains that give off less pollen.
    - hinkley 5y ago
      I have idiopathic allergies and mold and mildew drive me absolutely batty. There's really no way to avoid bringing those with you, and if the humidity control isn't just right, well then that stuff can grow anywhere that humidity accumulates. And it's not like you can open the windows and scrub the place down every six months to keep it at bay.
    - KMnO4 5y ago
      When all crops will be (presumably) manually pollinated, it might be easier with plants that produce a lot of pollen.
sandworm101 5y ago
Every time they run one of these similations they ignore the common realworld analogue: sailors. All around the world are tiny communities of mostly men living inside metal boxes for months or years at a time. Historic voyages regularly lasted even longer than the proposed mars missions, and where much more dangerous. Astronaughts could learn much from common sailors.
- sorenn111 5y ago
  You can even take it a step further to the subset of sailors that operate on submarines.
  - sandworm101 5y ago
    Military is different. Those are much larger crews and dont spend as much time at sea, generally only a few months at a time.
    - madaxe_again 5y ago
      Depends on your military, I guess. I know in the U.K. 9 months isn’t an unusual deployment for a submariner, and a few months underwater isn’t unusual either. Isolation is pretty much their number one challenge. Machines are easier to keep running than minds.
- awsthro00945 5y ago
  It doesn't seem like they ignore it. Sailors might be a decent analogue for astronauts while isolated within a space vessel, but that's not what this experiment is. NASA wants to research the environment while on a Martian surface mission, including doing stuff like suiting up in spacesuits to go do work outside, deal with communication delays, and having research responsibilities. It's somewhat similar to being confined on a sailing ship, but is still different, and the minute details really matter for something like this.
- aasasd 5y ago
  E.g.: > The ship, without a mast or a rudder, was carried across the northern Pacific Ocean by currents. It drifted for 14 months, during which the crew lived on desalinated seawater and on the rice of their cargo. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otokichi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otokichi
inglor_cz 5y ago
These people usually make good money and often need to make good money, because they have families and mortgages. It won't be easy to find people fulfilling all that criteria (including health requirements) and willing to leave a good job for a year.
- exo-pla-net 5y ago
  They will be compensated. More importantly, it's the chance to do something weird, meaningful, and important. To be a part of history. Not to mention that getting away from one's life is a selling point to quite a number of people. I myself think they'll be swamped with applicants.

rbanffy 5y ago

> A U.S. citizen or permanent resident. I guess I’ll have to wait for the ESA version…

_moof 5y ago

You must also pass the medical screening, which prohibits a laundry list of common medications: - blood pressure medications - blood thinners - seizure medications - daily allergy medications - diabetic insulin daily - sleeping aids - ADHD/ADD medications - antidepressants - anxiety medications (Insert grumbling about "flight surgeon horseshit" here.)

mbrumlow 5y ago
Gattaca Here we come!
closeparen 5y ago
I don't think my seasonal allergies are going to be a problem in space.
- throwaway803453 5y ago
  You'll be growing crops year round, indoors. So you could be miserable. Curious if they select for plant strains that give off less pollen.
  - hinkley 5y ago
    I have idiopathic allergies and mold and mildew drive me absolutely batty. There's really no way to avoid bringing those with you, and if the humidity control isn't just right, well then that stuff can grow anywhere that humidity accumulates. And it's not like you can open the windows and scrub the place down every six months to keep it at bay.
  - KMnO4 5y ago
    When all crops will be (presumably) manually pollinated, it might be easier with plants that produce a lot of pollen.

sandworm101 5y ago

Every time they run one of these similations they ignore the common realworld analogue: sailors. All around the world are tiny communities of mostly men living inside metal boxes for months or years at a time. Historic voyages regularly lasted even longer than the proposed mars missions, and where much more dangerous. Astronaughts could learn much from common sailors.

sorenn111 5y ago
You can even take it a step further to the subset of sailors that operate on submarines.
- sandworm101 5y ago
  Military is different. Those are much larger crews and dont spend as much time at sea, generally only a few months at a time.
  - madaxe_again 5y ago
    Depends on your military, I guess. I know in the U.K. 9 months isn’t an unusual deployment for a submariner, and a few months underwater isn’t unusual either. Isolation is pretty much their number one challenge. Machines are easier to keep running than minds.
awsthro00945 5y ago
It doesn't seem like they ignore it. Sailors might be a decent analogue for astronauts while isolated within a space vessel, but that's not what this experiment is. NASA wants to research the environment while on a Martian surface mission, including doing stuff like suiting up in spacesuits to go do work outside, deal with communication delays, and having research responsibilities. It's somewhat similar to being confined on a sailing ship, but is still different, and the minute details really matter for something like this.
aasasd 5y ago
E.g.: > The ship, without a mast or a rudder, was carried across the northern Pacific Ocean by currents. It drifted for 14 months, during which the crew lived on desalinated seawater and on the rice of their cargo. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otokichi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otokichi

inglor_cz 5y ago

These people usually make good money and often need to make good money, because they have families and mortgages. It won't be easy to find people fulfilling all that criteria (including health requirements) and willing to leave a good job for a year.

exo-pla-net 5y ago
They will be compensated. More importantly, it's the chance to do something weird, meaningful, and important. To be a part of history. Not to mention that getting away from one's life is a selling point to quite a number of people. I myself think they'll be swamped with applicants.