NASA Selects Research Mission Team for Simulated Mars Journey; An Iranian in the Four-Member Team

NASA has introduced the selected group to participate in a simulated journey to Mars at a habitat in the Johnson Space Center in Houston; Kamak Abadi, an Iranian scientist and astronaut, is one of the four members of this group. According to NASA, Kamak Abadi, alongside Abhishek Bagat, Susan Hilbig, and Ariana Loutsich, will enter the ground facilities on Friday, January 26, to live and work like Mars astronauts for 45 days during the simulated mission to the Red Planet. The team will exit the facilities on March 11. During this period, scientists are set to study how the crew adapts to isolation, confinement, and the working conditions that astronauts will experience during future space missions. Kamak Abadi commented on this mission and his success in being part of this scientific event: "From January 26, I will live and work with three other crew members in a spacecraft, simulating Mars exploration scenarios. Our responsibilities include a range of scientific tasks, technology demonstrations, spacecraft operations, maintenance, and addressing unexpected anomalies during the round trip to Mars." He added: "This mission closely examines the conditions of long-duration space missions, including communication delays, lack of access to fresh food, absence of privacy, lack of access to phones and the internet, and complete isolation from the outside world." The Iranian researcher also noted: "The main goal of this mission is to develop and validate countermeasures aimed at minimizing the adverse effects of isolation, confinement, and work in high-stress environments, and these efforts are aimed at enhancing the well-being and safety of astronauts and ensuring success in future deep space flights." This mission is the first of four simulated Mars missions scheduled for 2024. Each mission will include different crews consisting of four research volunteers, and the final mission is set to conclude on December 16 of this year. The Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre of the United Arab Emirates and the European Space Agency are collaborating with NASA on this study.