Four NASA volunteers leave simulated Mars habitat after 378 days in Houston

Exit from the habitat

Four volunteers left NASA's Mars Dune Alpha habitat at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, on the evening of Saturday, 31 October 2026, after 378 days inside. Ross Elder, Matthew Montgomery, James Spicer and Ellen Ellis had entered the habitat on 19 October 2025. The exit was broadcast live on YouTube, where the crew came out through an ordinary white interior door to applause and cheers. Ellis told the gathering that the year had passed quickly and that the team had laughed more than she had expected. Spicer said he was looking forward to feeling the sun, or perhaps a heavy downpour, for the first time in more than a year.

Life inside the habitat

The crew lived in a 3D-printed habitat of 158 square metres according to VRT and de Volkskrant, while N-tv, NOS and 20 Minuten put the floor area at 160 square metres. Each person had a sleeping cell of roughly two by three metres, plus a shared living room with a television, computer workstations and a small infirmary. Their duties included growing food, testing technology, keeping the living quarters and machines in working order, and looking after their own health. They learned to draw their own blood and to help a teammate do the same. Simulated Mars walks took place in a small outdoor enclosure using virtual reality headsets, according to NOS. De Volkskrant reported that equipment failures and communication outages were part of the experiment and had been carefully staged.

Delayed contact with Earth

Contact with family and friends was only possible in "Mars time", so a short text message took about 22 minutes to arrive. Emails sent to the mission control centre took 44 minutes, and replies needed the same time to travel back. VRT put the delays built into the experiment at 26 to 44 minutes, reflecting an average Earth-Mars distance of 225 million kilometres that changes over time. A two-week blackout simulated the period when the sun sits between Earth and Mars, and no communication was possible during it. Spicer said he received more than 4,000 emails from relatives and friends, which he described as his lifeline. Elder said the messages from home had carried the team through the isolation.

Text message (SMS)22

Email to mission control44

Text message (SMS)

22 minutes

Email to mission control

44 minutes

Data from the article text

Selection and earlier missions

The four were not trained NASA astronauts. Applicants had to be between 30 and 55 years old, healthy and motivated, non-smokers, and hold a university degree in a natural science, according to NOS. N-tv and 20 Minuten also listed US citizenship or permanent residency and at least 1,000 flight hours as requirements. In 2023, four other volunteers took part in an earlier isolation experiment at NASA's request, according to NOS. The name of the mission stands for Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog.

What comes next

The missions aim to eventually send people back to the Moon and later to Mars, with a focus on how long isolation in a small space affects people and how crops can be grown. NASA expects future settlements in space could be built with 3D printing, which would avoid launching large amounts of building material on repeated flights. The habitat itself was made of lava concrete. A third crew is due to follow in 2027 according to N-tv, and de Volkskrant reported that the next simulation is unlikely before August 2027. Elder hoped the findings would reduce the risks of a stay on Mars, while Ellis said the United States has a shrinking chance of keeping its lead in space, pointing mainly to competition from Asia. Mental and physical data from the crew are being collected over the two weeks after the exit.