NASA Simulates Mission to Mars Inside Volcano in Hawaii

NASA's plan to colonize Mars is set to begin in the 2030s. However, astronauts will need to intensively prepare for this journey to the Red Planet. They will experience extreme isolation and the complex psychological effects of space, not to mention potential the health hazards of exposure to space radiation. Now, astronauts are training inside a volcano in Hawaii that simulates this mission to Mars.

This new project is located inside the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Astronauts will stay there for the next two weeks, as they hike around the Mauna Ulu to collect rock samples. The researchers would then carry out protocols in the volcano that will occur during sampling collection missions on Mars.

 NASA's new project is known as BASALT (Biologic Analog Science Associated with Lava Terrains). It aims to not only practice exploring the alien world but to also ensure that there will be no human contamination on Mars especially contamination of samples that can potentially host microbial life or biosignatures from the Red Planet.

According to John Hamilton from the University of Hawaii, the reason why humans are going to Mars is to see if there is any life out there despite its great geology.

NASA's Mars 2020 mission is all about the hunt for microbial life, past or present. Another rover will be launched to the surface of Mars to not only search for signs of potential life but also investigate the environment and hunt for resources.