Blog Archives

Sri Lankan among NASA’s new crew for next simulated Mars journey Source : dailymirror A Sri Lankan postdoctoral research scientist Piyumi Wijesekara is among the new crew of four volunteers selected by NASA to participate in a simulated mission to Mars within a habitat at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The NASA said Jason Lee, Stephanie Navarro, Shareef Al Romaithi, and Piyumi Wijesekara will step into the agency’s Human Exploration Research Analog, or HERA, on Friday, May 10. Once inside, the team will live and work like astronauts for 45 days. The crew will exit the facility on June 24 after they “return” to Earth. Jose Baca and Brandon Kent are this mission’s alternate crew members. HERA enables scientists to study how crew members adapt to isolation, confinement, and remote conditions before NASA sends astronauts on deep space missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Crew members will carry ...