---
title: "NASA Will Pay You to Chill in a Fake Mars Mission for 8 Months"
description: "NASA is looking for participants to spent eight months together inside a spaceflight simulator at the Russian Institute for Biomedical Problems in Moscow."
date: "2020-05-21"
modified: "2020-05-21"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-pay-chill-fake-mars-mission"
categories:
  - "Astronomy"
  - "Mars"
  - "NASA"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "mars"
  - "NASA"
  - "Simulation"
  - "the digest"
---

# NASA Will Pay You to Chill in a Fake Mars Mission for 8 Months

![NASA is looking for participants to spent eight months together inside a spaceflight simulator at the Russian Institute for Biomedical Problems in Moscow.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/nasa-pay-self-isolate-fake-spaceship.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: ESA\</em\>*

## Spaceman Simulator

NASA is [looking for participants](<https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-seeking-us-citizens-for-social-isolation-study-for-moon-and-mars-missions/>) to spent eight months together inside a spaceflight simulator at the Russian Institute for Biomedical Problems in Moscow.

The goal is to study the effects of spending time in isolation and confinement — sound familiar? — while on lengthy space missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

"Participants will experience environmental aspects similar to those astronauts are expected to experience on future missions to Mars," reads a [NASA statement](<https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-seeking-us-citizens-for-social-isolation-study-for-moon-and-mars-missions/>). They will also have to complete simulated space missions during their stay.

## 500 Days of Space

The eight month mission will follow a four-month study last year that simulated a journey to the Moon and back at the same Russian facility. The longest mission, called Mars500, went on for [520 days](<https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3973648/>) to simulate a trip to Mars.

According to a [call for participants](<https://www.nasa.gov/analogs/nek/participate>) on its website, NASA is looking for "healthy participants" between the ages of 30 and 55 who have professional experience with "science, technology, engineering or math experience." Participants also have to be proficient in Russian and English — and of course be willing to be locked up for eight months.

Participants will also be compensated for their time spent inside the simulator, but it's still unclear how much they'll get paid.

**READ MORE:** [Love isolation? NASA wants you to spend 8 months locked in a Russian lab](<https://www.space.com/nasa-russia-social-isolation-experiment.html>) \[*Space.com*\]

**More on space simulators:** *[CHINA OPENS ITS FIRST MARS SIMULATION BASE](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/mars-simulation-base-china-open>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)