The crew of a NASA mission to Mars emerged from their craft after a yearlong voyage that never left Earth.
The four volunteer crew members spent more than 12 months inside NASA’s first simulated Mars environment at Johnson Space Center in Houston, coming out of the artificial alien enviroment Saturday around 5 p.m.
Kelly Haston, Anca Selariu, Ross Brockwell and Nathan Jones entered the 3D-printed habitat on June 25, 2023, as the maiden crew of the space agency’s Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog project.
Haston, the mission commander, began with a simple, “Hello.”
“It’s actually just so wonderful to be able to say ‘hello’ to you all,” she said.
Jones, a physician and the mission medical officer, said their 378 days in confinement “went by quickly.”
The quartet lived and worked inside the space of 17,000 square feet (1,579 square meters) to simulate a mission to the red planet, the fourth from the sun and a frequent focus of discussion among scientists and sci-fi fans alike concerning a possible voyage taking humans beyond our moon.
The first CHAPEA crew focused on establishing possible conditions for future Mars operations through simulated spacewalks, dubbed “Marswalks,” as well as growing and harvesting vegetables to supplement their provisions and maintaining the habitat and their equipment.
They also worked through challenges a real Mars crew would be expected to experience including limited resources, isolation and delays in communication of up to 22 minutes with their home planet on the other side of the habitat’s walls, NASA said.
Two additional CHAPEA missions are planned and crews will continue conducting simulated spacewalks and gathering data on factors related to physical and behavioral health and performance, NASA said.
Steve Koerner, deputy director of Johnson Space Center, said most of the first crew’s experimentation focused on nutrition and how that affected their performance. The work was “crucial science as we prepare to send people on to the red planet,” he said.
“They’ve been separated from their families, placed on a carefully prescribed meal plan and undergone a lot of observation,” Koerner said.
“Mars is our goal,” he said, calling the project an important step in America’s intent to be a leader in the global space exploration effort.
Emerging after a knock on the habitat’s door by Kjell Lindgren, an astronaut and the deputy director of flight operations, the four volunteers spoke of the gratitude they had for each other and those who waited patiently outside, as well as lessons learned about a prospective manned mission to Mars and life on Earth.
Brockwell, the crew’s flight engineer, said the mission showed him the importance of living sustainably for the benefit of everyone on Earth.
“I’m very grateful to have had this incredible opportunity to live for a year within the spirit of planetary adventure toward an exciting future, and I’m grateful for the chance to live the idea that we must utilize resources no faster than they can be replenished and produce waste no faster than they can be processed back into resources,” Brockwell said.
“We cannot live, dream, create or explore on any significant timeframe if we don’t live these principles, but if we do, we can achieve and sustain amazing and inspiring things like exploring other worlds,” he said.
Science officer Anca Selariu said she had been asked many times why there is a fixation on Mars.
“Why go to Mars? Because it’s possible,” she said. “Because space can unite and bring out the best in us. Because it’s one defining step that ‘Earthlings’ will take to light the way into the next centuries.”
Crew of NASA’s earthbound simulated Mars habitat emerge after a year
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Crew of NASA’s earthbound simulated Mars habitat emerge after a year
- The crew in the first of three planned CHAPEA missions focused on establishing possible conditions for future Mars operations through simulated spacewalks
Netanyahu says Israel army destroyed ‘large part’ of Hezbollah arsenal
- “We destroyed a large part of the array of missiles and rockets that Hezbollah built over the years,” said Netanyahu
JERUSALEM: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday said the Israeli military had succeeded in destroying much of Hezbollah’s arsenal and altered the course of the war against the Iran-backed group.
“We destroyed a large part of the array of missiles and rockets that Hezbollah built over the years,” said Netanyahu in a televised address, adding: “We have changed the course of the war and the balance of the war.”
He also said ‘shame’ on Macron for urging halt to arms supply to Israel.
France to host Lebanon aid conference, Macron says
- “We will hold in the next few weeks a conference to provide humanitarian aid,” Macron said
PARIS: France will host an international conference this month to help drum up humanitarian aid for Lebanon and strengthen security in the southern part of the country, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Saturday.
“We will hold in the next few weeks a conference to provide humanitarian aid, support the international community and support the Lebanese armed forces boost security, especially in southern Lebanon,” Macron said after a meeting of French speaking countries in Paris.
Israel has begun an intense bombing campaign in Lebanon and sent troops across the border in recent weeks after nearly a year of exchanging fire with Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
Fighting had previously been mostly limited to the Israel-Lebanon border area, taking place in parallel to Israel’s year-old war in Gaza against Palestinian group Hamas.
Lebanon crisis sparks risk of new wave of Syrian refugees into Turkiye
- There is ‘great uncertainty’ about Turkiye’s options regarding migration management from Lebanon, analyst says
ANKARA: A surge in the number of Syrian refugees fleeing violence in Lebanon and attempting to reach Turkish-controlled areas in northern Syria is raising concerns over how Turkiye will manage a new influx of refugees.
Lebanon, which hosts more than 1.5 million Syrian and Palestinian refugees, is witnessing an exodus as security conditions worsen as a result of Israel’s bombing campaign.
Turkiye, which currently shelters around 3.1 million registered Syrian refugees, now faces pressure to accommodate more.
Ankara is also helping to evacuate foreign nationals from Lebanon via Turkiye, following requests from around 20 countries.
On Thursday, Deniz Yucel, spokesperson for the main opposition Republican Peoples’ Party (CHP), submitted a parliamentary question concerning the potential impact of the Israel-Lebanon war on Turkiye.
“There is growing concern that the ongoing conflict in our southeastern border could trigger a massive wave of migration,” he said in his address to Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya. “(This) would not only increase our population but also lead to a rise in unemployment, rent, and property prices while disrupting social order and demographic balance in a country already turned into the world’s refugee camp. The minister of interior must urgently inform the public about the possibility of a new migration wave.”
Turkiye, Yucel continued, “is not anyone’s refugee camp. We will never allow the Turkish people to become alienated in their homeland. We will close the borders and save the country.”
Metin Corabatir, president of the Research Center on Asylum and Migration in Ankara, said that there is great uncertainty about the options ahead for Turkiye in terms of migration management from Lebanon.
“A significant number of Lebanese and Syrian refugees are evacuating the country or are crossing into Syria,” he told Arab News. “If Lebanon becomes a battleground, there may be pressure on Turkiye.”
The Turkish government “is pursuing a policy to fight against irregular migration. If there is a new wave of migration, I don’t think Turkiye will opt for an open-border policy, because it will greatly affect domestic politics,” he added.
Some 77 percent of Turks favor closing borders to refugees — significantly more than the global average of 44 percent — according to the results of a recent survey by IPSOS and the UN refugee agency, UNHCR.
According to Corabatir, if there is a large wave of migration, the Turkish government will be expected to cooperate with the international community to develop formulas based on international humanitarian law rather than accepting offers to once again transform Turkiye into a buffer against migration waves.
“The absorption capacity of northern Syria has reached its full capacity for hosting more refugee flow. In that case, these people can transit through Syrian soil in a controlled manner and pass to other countries via Turkiye,” he said.
Turkiye, which has a 911 km-long border with Syria, became the country hosting the most refugees in the world in 2011 when the Syrian conflict began.
However, experts do not anticipate a similar influx through the border at present because, since then, Turkiye has imposed tight controls by building a security wall.
“Considering many European countries have already closed their doors to the migration flow, Turkiye will not be expected to operate an open-door policy like it did in the past. But it will cooperate in the conditional and controlled evacuation of refugees in case a large-scale humanitarian crisis erupts,” Corabatir said.
According to Dr. Oytun Orhan, coordinator of Levant studies at ORSAM, an Ankara-based think tank, as tensions escalate in Lebanon and Syria a new wave of migration is likely to be triggered from the latter, where airstrikes targeting Hezbollah and Iran-backed militias are increasing.
“This could further destabilize Syria, potentially prompting a fresh migration wave from the south to the north of the country. Turkiye’s primary advantage is managing the influx in designated safe zones,” he told Arab News.
However, these areas are already overfilled. In Idlib alone, 3.5 million people reside, while other regions house another 1.5 million, most of whom have been internally displaced within Syria.
Dr. Orhan believes Syria’s rising instability, chaotic conditions, and the risk of a new migration wave may force Turkiye to strengthen its border defenses.
“Expanding the safe zones is one potential outcome, but that remains a last resort,” he said.
“A military operation to close off the remaining unsecured areas of the safe zone is the worst-case scenario, particularly if the conflict in Gaza or Lebanon spills into Syria. Should this happen, Turkiye is expected to take preventive measures to address any potential border-security risks.
It remains to be seen how this new flow of refugees will affect the slow but ongoing normalization process between Ankara and Damascus.”
In July, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he might invite Syrian leader Bashar Assad to Turkiye “at any moment” to restore relations to the level of the past.
That statement came after Assad said Damascus was open to “all initiatives” to restore Turkish-Syrian ties “as long as they are based on respecting the sovereignty of the Syrian state over all its territory and fighting all forms of terrorism.”
For Dr. Orhan, there are two options ahead. “Initially, the spread of conflict into Syria might accelerate negotiations, as Damascus faces increased pressure and Iran’s influence in the region weakens,” he said, adding that Russia would likely back such peace efforts in case of further clashes and a migration surge.
“However, if Ankara is obliged to conduct any cross-border military action to secure its borders, it could disrupt normalization talks until tensions subside,” he added.
Ireland calls Israeli demand to move UN troops ‘outrageous’
- “It is outrageous that the Israeli Defense Forces have threatened this peacekeeping force,” President Michael Higgins said
- “Indeed, Israel is demanding that the entire UNIFIL operating under UN mandates walk away“
DUBLIN: The president of Ireland on Saturday sharply criticized Israel’s demand that UN peacekeepers leave their positions in southern Lebanon.
“It is outrageous that the Israeli Defense Forces have threatened this peacekeeping force and sought to have them evacuate the villages they are defending,” President Michael Higgins said in a statement.
“Indeed, Israel is demanding that the entire UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) operating under UN mandates walk away.”
Ireland accounts for 347 of the 10,000 soldiers serving in the UNIFIL forces, which are charged with maintaining peace in the south of Lebanon.
Earlier Saturday, UNIFIL said it had rejected Israeli demands that it “relocate” some positions ahead of Israeli ground operations against Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
Higgins called the demand “an insult to the most important global institution.”
Fighting between Hezbollah and Israel has intensified since the start of ground incursions by Israeli troops in southern Lebanon earlier this week.
Some 1,110 people have died in Lebanon and hundreds of thousands have fled their homes because of the fighting.
Saudi FM, Secretary Blinken discuss Lebanon escalation
- Israeli attacks intensified on Saturday on Beirut’s southern suburbs
RIYADH: Saudi foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan spoke on the phone with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday, Saudi Press Agency reported.
During the call, they discussed the escalation in the region, developments in Lebanon, and the efforts being exerted in this regard.
Israeli attacks intensified on Saturday on Beirut’s southern suburbs and southern towns.
According to a Higher Defense Council report, the death toll in the past 24 hours had reached 37, with 151 injured, raising the total number of victims in Lebanon since the confrontations began to 2,011 dead and 9,535 wounded.
