The four people taking part in NASA's simulated Mars mission have passed the one-year mark. Since the mission began they have lived and worked together in isolation inside a small, enclosed habitat at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, according to NASA.
The habitat is built to resemble a future outpost on the Martian surface. Inside it, the crew follows a schedule close to what real explorers might face: simulated surface excursions, growing some of their own food, maintaining equipment, and coping with limited supplies and delayed communication with mission control on Earth.
NASA uses analog missions like this to study how long stays in confinement affect people's health, performance and teamwork. The data should help the agency plan the resources, procedures and support that crews will need on actual journeys to Mars.
