On Saturday, after 378 days of solitude, crewmembers Anca Selariu, Nathan Jones, Kelly Haston, and Ross Brockwell emerged from Mars Dune Alpha: a 1,700-square-foot simulated Mars habitat part of NASA’s Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA) program. The yearlong simulation was the first of three planned exercises with human volunteers.

“Hello. It’s actually just so wonderful to be able to say hello to you all,” said Haston, CHAPEA commander, as cameras captured the moment she stepped outside the 3D-printed habitat.

The goal of CHAPEA is to provide NASA data on the effects of long-duration habitation of Mars by putting the crew through the throes of life on the Red Planet: isolation, equipment failures, limited resources, and plenty of work. Selariu, Jones, Haston, and Brockwell entered the simulator on June 25, 2023.

The habitat includes 3D-printed spaces for cooking, medical, recreation, fitness, work, and growing crops, as well as private quarters and bathrooms for each crewmember. Volunteers tested out each of these amenities, grew and ate crops like tomatoes and peppers, and performed simulated “Marswalks,” collecting data on their physical and mental health.

“We cannot live, dream, create, or explore on any significant time frame if we don’t live these principles, but if we do, we can achieve and sustain amazing and inspiring things like exploring other worlds,” Brockwell said Saturday during a press conference.

In conjunction with Artemis missions to the moon, CHAPEA is helping prepare NASA for flights to Mars and beyond without crews having to leave Earth. According to the space agency, 3D printing could become a unique tool in its arsenal when the time comes.

“Future space exploration settlements have the potential to be 3D printed with additive construction technology to eliminate the need to launch large quantities of building materials on multiple flights, which is cost prohibitive,” the agency says on the Mars Dune Alpha webpage.

In February, NASA put out the call for the next group of CHAPEA volunteers, who are scheduled to enter the habitat in spring 2025.

“Mars is our goal,” said Stephen Koerner, deputy director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center, during the media briefing Saturday. “As global interests and capabilities in space exploration continue to expand, America is poised to lead.”

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The mission, set to begin in 2025, is the second of three ground-based CHAPEA (Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog) efforts that aim to inform NASA’s plans for human exploration of Mars.

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Based on the job description, applicants must be up for an adventure.

“Each CHAPEA mission involves a four-person volunteer crew living and working inside a 1,700-square-foot, 3D-printed habitat based at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston,” NASA said. “The habitat, called the Mars Dune Alpha, simulates the challenges of a mission on Mars, including resource limitations, equipment failures, communication delays, and other environmental stressors. Crew tasks include simulated spacewalks, robotic operations, habitat maintenance, exercise, and crop growth.”

WATCH: NASA Offers a Sneak Peek of its Simulated Mars Habitat

According to NASA, applicants must be healthy, U.S. citizens or permanent residents, proficient in English, nonsmokers, and between the ages of 35-50.

The deadline to apply, which may be done here, is April 2.

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