Techrecipe

Mars adaptation training in Hawaii’s volcanic terrain…

HI-SEAS (Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation) is a space education facility located on the Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii. Founded in 2013, it is a place where astronaut candidates, scientists and engineers can simulate life on the moon and Mars.

Candidates for astronauts spend up to one year to experience life on the moon and Mars indirectly at a facility located at an altitude of 2,500 meters above sea level. This is to find out how humans can live in places other than Earth.

In such a difficult situation, humans need to know how to adapt, and there is still room for improvement in how to create a space where families can live together in space and how to solve problems that occurred during a long mission. .

Unlike in real space, astronaut candidates are not exposed to radiation and microgravity here, but they learn the same equipment as when they go to the Moon and Mars. They are sent to the facility with their spacesuits and oxygen inhaler securely fastened. However, it is said that space suits are made to protect astronauts in space, so there is a bit of awkwardness in working with volcanoes in the rugged terrain of Hawaii.

As an astronaut candidate in a working environment in a volcano, you have to go down a steep rocky cave, collect microbial samples in such an environment, or dig a groove with a special tool. Like NASA’s Johnson Space Center and other simulation facilities, HI-SEAS is a facility to prepare humans for life in places other than Earth, but gathering people to space life education sites rather than Hawaii tourism may happen in the not-too-distant future. I do not know. Related information can be found here.