NASA Selects Crew for 45-Day Simulated Trip to a Mars Moon

On October 1, four people began living and working for 45 days inside a unique, ground-based habitat at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Designed to serve as an analog for isolation, confinement, and remote conditions in exploration scenarios, this small habitat is called the Human Exploration Research Analog, or HERA. Among those chosen for the backup crew is Justin Lawrence, a Ph.D. student studying planetary science and astrobiology int the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. Lawrence is also a fellow with the Future Investigator in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology program (FINESST).