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>> HI, I'M CHRIS
AND THIS IS MADDIE.
WE'RE HERE LOCKED INSIDE OF
HERA CAMPAIGN 6, MISSION I.
WE'RE SIMULATING A MISSION
TO PHOBOS, ONE OF THE TWO MOONS
OF MARS.
WE'RE HOPING THAT THIS MISSION
HELPS US UNDERSTAND
HOW ISOLATION AND CONFINEMENT
CONTRIBUTE TO HOW ASTRONAUTS
WORK AND LIVE IN DEEP SPACE.
WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD
TO ANSWERING YOUR QUESTIONS.
>> HI, MY NAME IS AVERY.
I GOT TO THE UNIVERSITY
OF BALTIMORE,
AND MY QUESTION IS:
HOW CAN YOU KNOW IF YOU'VE
COVERED ALL FACTORS THAT WILL BE
EXPERIENCED IN SPACE
THROUGH YOUR SIMULATION?
>> THANK YOU FOR
THAT QUESTION, AVERY.
IT GETS TO THE CORE OF
THE SCIENCE HERE IN HERA
NO EARTH-BASED STUDY
CAN BE A PERFECT ANALOG
FOR SPACE-- FOR INSTANCE,
WE CAN'T CANCEL OUT
THE EFFECTS OF GRAVITY
HERE IN HERA.
BUT WE CAN SIMULATE
THE EFFECTS OF ISOLATION
AND CONFINEMENT.
SCIENTISTS CAN USE STUDIES
LIKE HERA TO BETTER UNDERSTAND
HOW THESE FACTORS MAY INFLUENCE
FUTURE HUMAN SPACE FLIGHT.
>> HI, I'M CAMDEN REDMOND,
I GOT TO DEER PARK HIGH SCHOOL.
HOW CAN ANALOG MISSIONS
HELP SCIENTISTS AND ASTRONAUTS
PREPARE FOR REAL MISSIONS
TO THE MOON AND MARS?
>> GREAT QUESTION, CAMDEN.
THAT'S REALLY THE CENTRAL
PURPOSE OF MISSIONS LIKE HERA.
FOR THIS MISSION,
WE'RE SIMULATING
A TRIP TO PHOBOS,
ONE OF THE TWO MOONS OF MARS.
AND THE FURTHER WE GET INTO
OUR MISSION, THE FURTHER AWAY
WE ARE FROM EARTH,
AND THE LONGER
THE COMMUNICATION DELAY WILL BE.
CURRENTLY, WE ARE EXPERIENCING
A 5 MINUTE COMMUNICATION
DELAY WITH EARTH.
EVERY TIME WE SEND A MESSAGE
TO MISSION CONTROL,
IT TAKES FIVE MINUTES
TO GET THERE.
THEY HAVE TO FORMULATE
A RESPONSE AND SEND IT BACK
FIVE MINUTES LATER.
SO WE CAN'T RELY ON THE GROUND
FOR TROUBLESHOOTING STEPS,
OR IF WE NEED ASSISTANCE
WITH A TASK.
WE REALLY ARE FOCUSING
ON CREW AUTONOMY HERE.
THAT'S ONE OF THE BIGGEST ISSUES
THAT FUTURE ASTRONAUT CREWS
WILL FACE AS WE SEND THEM
DEEPER AND DEEPER INTO SPACE.
>> HI, MY NAME IS REBECCA.
AND I GO TO GEORGIA TECH.
MY QUESTION IS, WHAT DO YOU
ANTICIPATE BEING THE MOST
CHALLENGING PART OF THE MISSION,
AND WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL BE
THE MOST FUN PART?
>> THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION,
REBECCA. I LOVE NATURE
AND BEING OUTDOORS.
SO BEING IN CONFINEMENT
FOR 45 STRAIGHT DAYS
IS GOING TO BE A CHALLENGE.
WE DON'T HAVE ANY WINDOWS
IN HERA, BUT WE DO HAVE SCREENS
WHICH SHOW US IMAGES
OF A STAR FIELD OR MARS,
DEPENDING ON WHERE WE ARE
ON OUR MISSION.
ALTHOUGH I'LL MISS THE OUTDOORS,
LOOKING AT THESE SCREENS
HAS BEEN A GREAT WAY TO TRACK
WHERE WE ARE IN THE PROGRESS
OF OUR MISSION
AS WE MAKE OUR WAY TO MARS
AND THEN BACK TO EARTH.
THE MOST FUN PART HAS BEEN
WORKING WITH MY CREW MATES.
WE FACE SEVERAL CHALLENGES,
BUT I FOUND THAT THIS HAS
JUST BROUGHT US CLOSER TOGETHER.
>> HI! MY NAME IS RASHA,
AND I'M FROM
THE UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON,
AND MY QUESTION IS:
WHAT PERSONAL GOAL DO YOU WISH
TO ACHIEVE AFTER COMPLETING
THIS MISSION?
>> GOOD QUESTION, RASHA.
PERSONALLY,
I'M MOST LOOKING FORWARD
TO CATCHING UP WITH FAMILY
AND FRIENDS AND SHARING
ALL THE STORIES THAT WE'VE
GATHERED HERE AT HERA.
BEING IN AN ISOLATED
ENVIRONMENT IS REALLY TOUGH
AND IT'S HARD TO BE AWAY
FROM THE THINGS THAT YOU LOVE.
I ALSO REALLY LOOK FORWARD
TO GETTING OUTDOORS,
RIDING MY CYCLE AGAIN,
AND HAVING A- A HOT,
FRESH CUP OF COFFEE.
AND EVEN A SALAD
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN AWHILE.
BUT ON A PROFESSIONAL NOTE,
I REALLY HOPE THAT
THE EXPERIENCES I GAIN HERE
CAN TRANSLATE INTO MY DAILY JOB
AND THAT I CAN BRING SOME OF
THIS EXPERIENCE TOWARDS
MY OTHER CAREER
IN HUMAN SPACE FLIGHT.
>> UH, HELLO, UH,
MY NAME IS ANDREW,
I'M AM 16-YEARS-OLD,
UH, IN HIGH SCHOOL
I'M PART OF THE K-12 ONLINE
LEARNING CURRICULUM
AND THE QUESTION I WANTED
TO KNOW IS IF YOU HAVE ANY FEARS
IN RELATION TO YOUR MISSION?
>> THANK YOU FOR
THAT QUESTION, ANDREW.
I KNOW THE WHOLE CREW
IS LOOKING FORWARD
TO COMPLETING OUR MISSION.
SO, I WOULD SAY ANYTHING
THAT MIGHT CUT IT SHORT.
HERA'S LOCATED
IN HOUSTON, TEXAS,
SO HURRICANE'S POSE
A POTENTIAL RISK.
BACK IN 2017,
THERE WAS ONE CREW
THAT HAD TO CUT THEIR MISSION
SHORT ON DAY 23.
SO WE'RE ALL HOPING
FOR GOOD WEATHER HERE.
>> MY NAME IS JACQUELYN
AND I'M FLIGHT TRAINING AT
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA.
MY QUESTION FOR THE CREW
IS WHAT KIND OF FOOD
WILL YOU GUYS BE EATING
DURING YOUR MISSION?
IS IT GONNA BE FRESH FOOD
LIKE HERE ON EARTH,
OR FOOD SIMILAR TO
THE SPACE STATION. THANKS!
>> THANKS FOR YOUR QUESTION,
JACQUELYN.
FOOD'S AN EXTREMELY IMPORTANT
AND CHALLENGING ASPECT
OF HUMAN SPACE FLIGHT.
FOR THIS MISSION IN HERA,
NASA DIETICIANS HAVE SELECTED
A BALANCED MENU
OF COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE
DEHYDRATED FOODS.
IT'S SIMILAR TO FOODS
YOU WOULD TAKE BACKPACKING
OR CAMPING.
THEY ALSO THREW IN PLENTY
OF SNACKS AND TREATS
TO KEEP US HAPPY.
>> HI, MY NAME IS SOPHIE,
AND I'M IN THE ELEVENTH GRADE.
MY QUESTION FOR YOU IS
WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO TAKE PART
IN THIS MISSION?
>> EXCELLENT QUESTION, SOPHIE.
I WORK HERE AT
THE JOHNSON SPACE CENTER
AND THAT'S HOW I CAME TO LEARN
ABOUT HERA AND ITS MISSION.
I REALLY WANTED TO CONTRIBUTE
A LITTLE BIT MORE
THAN MY DAILY JOB
BY VOLUNTEERING HERE AT HERA.
I REALLY HOPE THAT MY TIME HERE
AND THE WORK WE'RE DOING
CONTRIBUTES A LITTLE BIT MORE
TO THE FUTURE
OF HUMAN SPACE FLIGHT.
AND I HOPE THAT SOMEDAY,
SOMEONE LIKE YOU
WILL ALSO BE HERE
CONTRIBUTING MORE TOWARDS
THE FUTURE OF SPACE FLIGHT.
THANKS, EVERYBODY,
FOR YOUR GREAT QUESTIONS TODAY.
>> YOU CAN LEARN MORE ABOUT
OUR MISSION ON HERA'S WEBSITE.
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