TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Beginning Thursday, April 27 at 9 a.m., a four-person crew given the moniker Inclusion 1 will make their way inside a sealed, pressurized habitat within the Biosphere 2 compound.
The crew will stay inside the habitat, known as the Space Analog for the Moon and Mars (or SAM), for six days. SAM was built by Biosphere 2 researchers as an "experimental prototype" to understand how humans might live and work in space.
UArizona's Controlled Environment Agriculture Center, Paragon Space Development Corporation, as well as NASA assisted in the development of SAM.
"Thirty years ago, eight people sealed themselves inside Biosphere 2 for two years. For the first time since, a crew will seal themselves inside of an analog habitat at this historic location," said Kai Staats, director of research for SAM at Biosphere 2.
The crew, known as the Inclusive I team, consists of:
- Cassandra Klos: mission commander and photographer
- Eiman Jahangir: mission medical officer
- Bailey Burns: mission engineer
- Sheri Wells-Jensen: mission communications officer
Wells-Jensen is also blind and will help address accessibility concerns within the habitat. You can read more about the team and their extensive collective experience here.
The Inclusive I team will exit the SAM on May 2.
