NASA looking for people to spend a year pretending they live on Mars
NASA is looking for applicants to spend a year pretending they are isolated on Mars.
The space agency wants people to apply so that it can prepare for eventually sending astronauts to the red planet.
Applications opened on Friday for four people to live for a year in Mars Dune Alpha.
An image taken by China’s Zhurong rover
The 1,700-square-foot Martian habitat, created by a 3D-printer, is based inside a building at Johnson Space Centre in Houston, Texas.
There will be no windows, and the applicants will consume ready-to-eat space food.
The paid volunteers work a simulated Martian exploration mission which includes spacewalks, limited communications back home, restricted food and resources and equipment failures.
Three of these experiments are being planned by NASA, with the first one starting in the autumn in 2022.
Lead scientist Grace Douglas said: “We want to understand how humans perform in them. We are looking at Mars realistic situations.”
Applicants have to hold a master’s degree in science, engineering or maths, or have pilot experience.
The agency also says only American citizens or permanent US residents are eligible for the experiment, which echoes 2015 film The Martian, starring Matt Damon.
They have to be aged between 30 and 55 and in good physical health, with no dietary issues and not prone to motion sickness.
Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield says it shows NASA is looking for people who are close to astronauts, which would make it a better experiment if the participants are more similar to the people who will really go to the planet.
He said previous Russian efforts at a pretend mission called Mars 500 did not end well, partly because the people were too much like everyday people.
Mr Hadfield spent five months in orbit in 2013 at the International Space Station, where he played guitar and sang a cover video of David Bowie’s hit Space Oddity.
He said: “Just think how much you’re going to be able to catch up on Netflix. If they have a musical instrument there, you could go into there knowing nothing and come out a concert musician, if you want.”
The experience could involve “incredible freedom” in a “year away from the demands of your normal life”, he added.
Meanwhile, NASA’s newest Mars rover, called Perseverance, failed in its first attempt to pick up a rock sample to eventually be brought back to Earth.
The machine drilled into the floor of the planet’s Jezero Crater to extract a finger-sized sample from slabs of flat rocks.
Although the drill seemed to work as intended, no rock appeared to have ended up in the sample tube.
Children are among the fatalities in a mass shooting at a child’s birthday party in California.
Police said four people had died and 10 were wounded in the incident in Stockton, about 60 miles east of San Francisco.
Officers were called on Saturday to a banquet hall just before 6pm local time (2am UK time) and district attorney Ron Freitas said children were among the dead.
He said the attacker was still at large.
First responders walk through a parking lot near the scene of a mass shooting in Stockton, California. Pics: AP
“We can confirm at this time that approximately 14 individuals were struck by gunfire, and four victims have been confirmed deceased,” San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office said on X.
The post said early indications suggest it could be a “targeted incident” but that information remains limited.
Police have so far not disclosed the attacker’s identity and the motive is unclear.
Stockton’s vice mayor Jason Lee confirmed on Facebook that the shooting on Lucile Avenue happened at a child’s birthday party.
Pics: AP
Mayor Christina Fugazzi also said that “families should be together instead of at the hospital, standing next to their loved one, praying that they survive”.
California governor Gavin Newsom’s office added that he had been briefed on the “horrific shooting”.
Venezuela has accused Donald Trump of a “colonial threat” after he said the airspace “above and surrounding” the country should be considered closed “in its entirety”.
Mr Trump made the declaration amid growing tensions with President Maduro – and as the US continues attacking boats it claims are carrying drugs from Venezuela.
He wrote on Truth Social: “To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY.”
Air traffic above Venezuela on Saturday afternoon. Pic: FlightRadar24
Venezuela’s foreign affairs office called it a “colonial threat” and “illegal, and unjustified aggression”.
It accused the president of threatening “the sovereignty of the national airspace… and the full sovereignty of the Venezuelan state”.
President Trump’s words were part of a “permanent policy of aggression against our country” that breached international law and the UN Charter, it added.
The Pentagon and the White House have so far not given any additional detail on the president’s statement.
Mr Trump’s post comes after the American aviation regulator last week warned of a “potentially hazardous situation” over Venezuela due to a “worsening security situation”.
Nicolas Maduro is widely considered a dictator by the West. Pic: Reuters
The South American nation revoked operating rights for six major airlines that went on to suspend flights to the country.
Mr Trump warned a few days ago that land operations against suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers would begin “very soon”.
Such a move would be a major escalation in Operation Southern Spear – the US naval deployment in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific that’s so far attacked at least 21 vessels.
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Three killed as US strikes another alleged drug boat
Venezuela has said the attacks, which have killed more than 80 people, amount to murder.
The US has released videos of boats being targeted, but hasn’t provided evidence – such as photos of their cargo – to support the smuggling claims.
Read more:
Trump may have another motive in war on drugs
The US-Venezuela crisis explained
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Venezuela claims Trump creating ‘fables’ to justify ‘war’
The Pentagon has sought to justify the strikes by labelling the drug gangs as “foreign terrorist organisations” – putting them on par with the likes of al Qaeda.
It claims the boats targeted are carrying drugs bound for the US, although Sky’s chief correspondent says the final destination is likely to be Europe and West Africa.
President Maduro has denied Mr Trump’s claims he is involved in the drugs trade himself and said his counterpart wants to oust him so he can install a more sympathetic government.
Venezuelan officials have also claimed Mr Trump’s true motivation is access to the country’s plentiful oil reserves.
Mr Maduro is widely considered a dictator who’s cheated elections and has been president since 2013.
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