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Four Nasa astronauts have emerged from a 3D-printed habitat in Houston after spending 378 days cut off from the outside world.
The crew exited isolation on Saturday after completing a NASA exercise intended to prepare astronauts for a possible journey to Mars. They had lived inside the 1,700-square-foot (158-square-meter) structure at the US space agency’s Johnson Space Center since Oct. 19, 2025.
Their tasks during the simulated mission included growing crops in simulated Martian soil and communicating with NASA officials under delays recreating those inherent in interplanetary communications.
“It’s been a hell of a year — analog astronauts living in captivity of our own free will,” Ellen Ellis, the medical officer on the Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog, or CHAPEA, mission, said in remarks at Johnson Space Center after emerging with her three crewmates.
“We have a narrowing window of opportunity to maintain US preeminence in space.”
Ellis mentioned the service academy for space-related operations pursued by President Donald Trump’s administration and plans for a lunar base.
“Let’s seize the initiative, lead with science that will benefit our economy and ensure our legacy in space for our children’s children,” Ellis said.
Her crewmates were mission commander Ross Elder, science officer Matthew Montgomery and flight engineer James Spicer.
“For Mars, the risks are great,” Elder said in remarks after emerging from isolation. “But through seeking understanding, strong vision and leadership, creativity, fortitude, hard work and incredible foundation, the goal of putting humans on Mars is not only achievable, but rather inevitable.”
Vanessa Wyche, director of the Johnson Space Center, greeted the crew members when they exited isolation. Wyche said they managed to live with limited resources, maintain their habitat, and carry out simulated Mars operations.
She also noted how the crew dealt with the simulated interplanetary communications, with lag times between sending messages and receiving responses.
“These delays require patience, careful planning and greater independence — qualities that will be essential for future astronauts traveling millions of miles from home,” Wyche said.
Wyche said the lessons learned from the CHAPEA crew and their experiences will help pave the way for the missions first to the moon and “one day, Mars.”
The crew is set to participate in two weeks of post-mission evaluations and debriefing with NASA scientists. NASA has said it is looking for insight into what it takes for astronauts to adapt to the routines and demands of daily life on long-duration missions beyond Earth to keep them healthy, productive, and connected.
The agency, which has explored Mars with robotic rovers and orbiting spacecraft, has ambitions for a human mission to Mars as early as the 2030s. Before that, it plans to return astronauts to the moon for the first time since 1972.
This was NASA’s second CHAPEA mission, with another four-person crew in isolation at Johnson Space Center for 378 days spanning 2023 and 2024.