The US space agency is looking for four people who would be willing to spend 12 months in conditions simulating those on the Moon and Mars in order to test technologies developed for future space missions.
A job posting on this subject is currently online on the NASA website, stipulating that volunteers must be prepared to live in isolation for approximately 366 days, in addition to being available one month before and one month after the simulation.
“Volunteers will help NASA test and validate materials, protocols, technologies, prerequisites and other systems designed to keep astronauts alive and ensure their performance during long missions in deep space,” it says.
The test mission could begin as early as August 2027.
Volunteers sought must be between the ages of 30 and 55, not taller than 6 feet 1, be U.S. citizens or green card holders, and speak English, among other languages.
Having completed studies in a field of expertise adjacent to that of an astronaut is also an asset.
The selected people will first be placed on board spaceships to simulate space travel and arrival on the Moon or Mars and will then be placed in turn in two cockpits simulating the conditions present on these two stars.
They will also be called upon to drive a rover, grow food and generally live in the same way as astronauts would on a mission.
Full details of this mission are available on the NASA website.
