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HERA

NASA’s Human Exploration Research Analog

Active Mission

Overview

What is HERA?

Experience

Watch the Latest Groundlinks

Participate

How to Apply

HERA is a unique 650-square-foot habitat split among two floors and a loft, designed to serve as an analog for isolation, confinement, and remote conditions in exploration scenarios.

Location

Houston, Texas

Environment

Closed Environment

HAZARDS

Isolation and Confinement

Mission Duration

Up to 45 Days

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Stay up-to-date with the latest news from HERA
NASA Selects Crew for 45-Day Simulated Mars Mission in Houston
7 min read

Editor’s Note, Oct. 29, 2024: The crew roster for this HERA mission has been updated. A crew of four research volunteers…

Article
Crew Returns from Simulated Trip to Mars—Take a Peek Inside Their Journey
4 min read

An all-volunteer crew on a simulated trip to Mars “returned” to Earth on Sept. 23, 2024, after being isolated in…

Article
NASA Research Volunteers to Begin Next Simulated Mission to Mars
7 min read

NASA selected a new team of four research volunteers to participate in a simulated mission to Mars within HERA (Human…

Article

Media

10 Images
HERA crew member Pietro Di Tillio prepares a mix of freeze-dried veggies, which participants must ration throughout simulated Mars missions.
HERA crew member Jared Broddrick performs a resistive exercise during a workout session on a simulated Mars mission.
HERA crew member Monique Garcia watches her spacecraft ?launch? on a monitor during a simulated mission to Mars.
Inside Campaign 6 of NASA’s Human Exploration Research Analog, or HERA, crew member Lauren Cornell dons a pair of augmented reality goggles for one of her mission tasks.
HERA crew member Monique Garcia holds a device for measuring the size of shrimp raised in the habitat that NASA uses to help simulate missions to Mars.
HERA crew member Christopher Roberts rides an indoor bicycle inside a tiny habitat that NASA uses to help simulate missions to Mars.
HERA crew members Dragos Michael Popescu and Pietro Di Tillio wear headsets to coordinate with others on a simulated Mars mission with communication delays.
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