Crew Health And Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA)

Active TRL 6 (started at 6, targeting 7)

Description

Missions for Moon to Mars are very different from missions to the ISS due to length of isolation and confinement, distance from Earth, and the resource restrictions that will be applied to the crew. Artemis Program vehicles have limited mass allocations for food and other consumables. Given the increased distance to Mars and timeline for return, programs need to understand the impacts of restrictions within realistic constraints on health and performance to inform risk/resource trades prior to a mission.

CHAPEA is a high-fidelity Mars Analog focusing on validating operational countermeasures and informing program risk/resource trades.

Benefits

CHAPEA is a Mars forward analog with the objectives to:

Assess the integrated impacts of realistic Mars mission constraints including isolation and confinement, timelines, time delay and more extreme resource restrictions than ISS on human health and performance for exploration class missions.
Inform NASA standards, associated vehicle mass and volume requirements, and resource-risk trades for long-duration exploration missions.

Details

Technology area	Human Health, Life Support, and Habitation Systems > Human Health and Performance > Behavioral Health and Performance
Program	Mars Campaign Office (MCO)
Lead organization	Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX
Start date	2020-06-01
End date	2027-09-30

Project contacts

Listed on TechPort itself — the most direct way to ask about this specific project.

Daniel H Hernandez — daniel.h.hernandez@nasa.gov
Grace L Douglas — grace.l.douglas@nasa.gov
Kelle I Pido — kelle.i.pido@nasa.gov
Reanna E Whiting — sara.whiting@nasa.gov
Trent M Smith — trent.m.smith@nasa.gov
Grace L Douglas — grace.l.douglas@nasa.gov
Alyssa N Varanoske — alyssa.n.varanoske@nasa.gov
Brian E Crucian — brian.crucian-1@nasa.gov
Gioia D Massa — gioia.massa@nasa.gov
Millennia H Young — millennia.young@nasa.gov
Patrick N Estep — patrick.n.estep@nasa.gov
Sara R Zwart — sara.zwart-1@nasa.gov
Scott M Smith — scott.m.smith@nasa.gov
Suzanne T Bell — suzanne.t.bell@nasa.gov

How to get involved

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 6) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.