>> The best part of my job
is that I get to work
on the cutting edge.
I get to interact with
not only individuals,
but hardware and science
that is going to
take us to the moon,
to Mars, and being part
of the team that is gonna
get us to that next frontier,
to be a part of the team
that is going to make
humanity really become
an interplanetary species.
Hi, I'm Daniel Hernandez
and I am a space exploration
analog project manager
here at NASA.
An analog is an opportunity
for scientists and engineers
to expand and explore
their understanding
of a particular environment
or particular set of
science-based projects
before we actually
introduce them into
a real-life scenario.
CHAPEA is a Mars-forward analog
specifically focused on what
we call the surface segment
of a Mars mission,
and that's where
our Mars astronauts would
be living on the surface
of Mars.
We are performing
this particular project
because we are wanting
to make sure that we are
getting ready
and we are prepared
for long duration exploration
type missions like the moon
and even Mars.
The significance of CHAPEA
is that we have a crew
that is living in isolation
and confinement for
the duration of a year
and we hope to understand
the different crew dynamics,
the behavior, health,
and performance
of those crew members
while they are living in
a long term isolated
and confined environment
with a level
of resource restrictions.
As a exploration
project manager,
I am directly responsible
for making sure that the team
as a whole is collaborating,
and by team, I'm talking
about the scientists, engineers,
and the mission control,
uh, operators.
I also, uh, have
a responsibility to make sure
that I'm managing the budget,
that I'm also making sure
that the project is on track
and on schedule, and we,
you know, have everything
in place for mission success.
The CHAPEA habitat is
a 3D printed structure.
It is approximately
1,700 square feet, uh,
so it's like, you know,
the size of a, you know, small
to medium sized home,
and it has, you know,
some similarities to a house.
You know, you have the rooms
where our crew members live.
Uh, the difference is
is that they're all identical
in size to each other,
but we also have a common space
for our galley area
where crew would commonly
meet there for downtime,
or that's where they have
their meals.
And then the largest part
of our habitat is really
the workroom space.
And so this is where
crew spends, really,
a large amount of their time
throughout the course
of the mission where
they are, um, performing
different tasks and activities
that we would expect
a Mars crew to perform.
That's everything from
growing crops
to performing, uh, science
and engineering activities, uh,
to even exploring our simulated
Martian environment as EVAs
or extravehicular activities.
This is our opportunity
to really understand
the different things
that we need to start
planning for, so in a nutshell,
an analog is an opportunity
for us to test
in a very safe environment
before actually moving there.
As a kid, you know, I loved
to tinker and take things apart
just to learn why
and how things worked,
so everything from
the family radio
to the family TV.
Whether that meant I could
put it back together
after I took it apart
is a different story.
My fondest memories growing up
were actually, um,
working under the hood
of our family car
with my mom,
cooling alternators,
and swapping things out,
everything from oil changes
to brake changes.
I never thought that tinkering
actually was associated
to engineering.
Looking back at it,
it had everything to do
with engineering.
It was an opportunity
to explore my imagination,
to be curious, and just really
develop that understanding
of how things work
and why things are connected.
So some advice that I would
give someone that wants
to work for NASA,
or to even jump into
the STEM field, engineering,
is that no one path is linear,
and I know mine wasn't.
Failing is a part
of the process of learning
to create the products,
to create
the engineering marvels
that we have today.
Embrace those opportunities
where you fail,
because it's an opportunity
to improve upon yourself,
make yourself better.
Trust the journey
that you're on.
Trust the path that you're on
because it's going to lead you
to where you're meant to be.
And...