Four Crews On Fake Mars Start Planting Food Ingredients, Ready To Make Salads In Space!

Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA) (photo: dock. NASA)

JAKARTA - Four volunteer crews who are being placed in fake habitats or Mars, and will now start growing some crops as their food for a year there.

Produced ground-based, NASA's Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA) began their mission on June 25 at the Johnson Space Center, Houston, United States (US), after several weeks of training to adapt to habitat life, mission operations, safety, communications, and team dynamics.

During the first three missions, four crew members will test a variety of food systems, such as several plant growth experiments, Marswalks simulations, robotics operations, habitat maintenance, personal hygiene, exercise that will test endurance and the impact of isolation on the crew.

"Nutrition will be the basis for success for space exploration missions where food systems are limited. Key factors for successful missions include maintaining food and body mass intake, monitoring and managing food supplies, and maintaining positive crew interactions," said CHAPEA fellow researcher for nutrition biochemicals Scott Smith in a statement, quoted Monday, July 24.

"These and more factors will be played during CHAPEA and will provide knowledge to enable successful space exploration in the future," he added.

During future missions to Mars, food supplies will most likely be delivered along with the crew to limit the possibility of change or resupply.

Unfortunately, there will be no way to send fresh fruits and vegetables or adjust the menu for each astronaut when they arrive on Mars, both of which are standard items sent on a supplier spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS).

Therefore, NASA asked the crew to start planting the planned foods including a combination of food that has been packaged and can be stored on the shelves.

Meanwhile, the CHAPEA mission will evaluate this more limited realistic Mars food system for its ability to support the crew's health and performance during longer missions.

During the mission, the crew will be able to plant several plants. The plant growth system in CHAPEA habitat is similar to the system used for gardening in the home provided with water, nutrients, lighting that can support the growth of leafy plants, plants, and small fruits.

'Production of salad plants can complement packaged foods, reduce the saturation of menus, and provide creative channels for crews to add a variety of fresh products to their foods,' said CHAPEA plant production team leader at NASA, Gioia Massa.

Planting plants can also provide psychological benefits for astronauts living in isolated and confined environments far from Earth, and we look forward to obtaining data from these two aspects, he added.

This CHAPEA simulation is the beginning for the Artemis mission, in which NASA will land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon, using innovative technologies to explore more of the Earth's natural satellite surface than ever before.

Lessons learned at and around the Moon will prepare NASA for the next giant leap by sending astronauts to Mars.