Skip to content

Encore: A Year In Mars Dune Alpha

October 20, 2026 · 27 min

Show notes

To prepare for the day when humans travel to Mars, NASA is conducting a one-year experiment in a Mars simulation environment. So what’s it like to spend a year in CHAPEA, the Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog? Travel through the airlock with voice recordings made by the four-person crew, including what it feels like—and smells like—inside their realistic 3D printed habitat and how virtual reality gives them the sensation of walking on the Red Planet.  

This episode was originally published in 2023. For more information about CHAPEA, visit nasa.gov/chapea. 

All episodes of NASA’s Curious Universe

Settings

Display

Language

Decides which stations you see first on the home page.

History

Recently played stations and episodes and your latest searches are only stored in this browser.

Notifications

A short notice when a podcast you follow has a new episode. Turn off single podcasts with the bell on their page.

Account

Save favorites – in the app and on the website.

Keyboard shortcuts

/
Open search
Space
Play or pause
← →
In the player: back 15 s, forward 30 s (episodes) · in a row: next tile
↑ ↓
In a row: target within the tile
Home / End
In a row: first or last tile
Esc
Close window or menu
?
This overview
Now playing

Go to station page

Play next

    Add episodes with “Play next” – they play after the current episode.