HERA Mission 10 crew to ‘splashdown’ June 1

After 30 days in the confines of a simulated spacecraft, the Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA) Mission 10 crew will “splashdown” on the evening of June 1. HERA is one of several analogs used by the Human Research Program (HRP) to research ways to help NASA astronauts move from lower-Earth orbit to deep space explorations. A spaceflight analog is a situation on Earth that produces physical and mental effects on the body similar to those experienced in space. During the 10th HERA mission, crew members went through all the motions of a real deep space mission without ever actually leaving JSC’s building 220.

The four “astronauts” selected from Johnson Space Center’s Test Subject Screening (TSS) pool are Chris Matty of Houston; Ron Franco of Lockport, New York; Casey Stedman of Olympia, Washington; and Oscar Mathews of Virginia Beach, Virginia. After splashdown, the crew will remain on-site at Johnson for debriefing, which lasts approximately one week.

The HERA 10 crew tested hardware prototypes to be used in off-Earth missions, conducted experiments involving plants and brine shrimp and created a piece of equipment with a 3-D printer. They visited a virtual asteroid and simulated the processing of soil and rocks collected. Researchers outside of the spacecraft collected data regarding team dynamics, conflict resolution and the effects of extended isolation and confinement.

“Based on real-time observations and reports from the MCC (Mission Control Center) during the mission, the crew successfully accomplished many of the planned scientific objectives,” said Andy Self, Flight Analogs project operations lead. “This should result in high quality data sets for the investigators.”

Lisa Spence, the HRP’s Flight Analogs project manager, is pleased with the progress of the crew. They “performed exceptionally well as an EVA (Extravehicular Activity) team,” she said. “They collected asteroid samples during the rendezvous phase of the simulation and accomplished the mission objectives they were trained for.”

How real is a HERA mission?

“When we set up an analog research investigation, we try to mimic as many of the spaceflight conditions as we can,” Self said. “Obviously, we are not in microgravity, but we can mimic confinement and the stress that goes along with it.”

HRP will conduct two additional 30-day HERA missions in calendar year 2016. The TSS group is currently recruiting healthy, non-smoking volunteers ages 30 to 55 for these missions. Volunteers will be compensated and must pass a physical and psychological assessment to qualify. For more information on being a crew member, contact Linda Byrd, RN, at 281-483-7284, or Rori Yager, RN, at 281-483-7240.

For more information on NASA’s Human Research Program, visit: www.nasa.gov/hrp 


"Astronauts" of the HERA 10 crew began their mission on May 2. They “splashdown” on June 1, ending their 30-day analog mission aboard the HERA simulated spacecraft. Image Credit: NASA
 

Monica Edwards
Laurie Abadie
Human Research Program Engagement & Communications