NASA's second CHAPEA crew to leave its Mars habitat after 378 days

28 October 2026

The four volunteers of CHAPEA Mission 2, NASA's Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog, are to leave their simulated Mars habitat on Saturday 31 October 2026 after 378 days of isolation. Ross Elder, Matthew Montgomery, Ellen Ellis and James Spicer entered the 3D-printed habitat of about 1,700 square feet at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston on 19 October 2025. The mission is run by NASA's Human Research Program and simulates Mars operations under communication delays, limited resources and isolation, with simulated spacewalks, exercise, habitat maintenance and plant growing. The health and performance data gathered are to inform food system design, use of crew time, Deep Space Network bandwidth and medical and behavioural support for Artemis and later Moon and Mars missions.