11am EST., Friday February 16th

Presenting Live via Zoom

Houston, we have a botanist! My 45-day simulated space mission at NASA's Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA)

During the summer of 2017, I spent 45 days as a test subject in NASA’s Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA) at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.  During this time, my crew of four people remained in isolation within a high-fidelity analog spacecraft, simulating a deep space mission to an asteroid.  The purpose of the mission (as well as other analog space missions) was to learn about various physical, psychological, and social factors that result from long-term confinement and isolation.  By understanding human responses to these environments, NASA will be better able to predict and mitigate adverse responses during deep space missions.  In this presentation, I will discuss my experience in HERA, describing some of the daily activities and my own responses to the unique conditions in this analog.

Tim Evans is a professor of Biology at Grand Valley State University, where he teaches courses in botany, genetics, and introductory biology.  Although his training is in botany and plant evolution, he has had a lifelong interest in space and science associated with space exploration.  This interest led him to apply to be a test subject in NASA’s Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA) program.  As a participant in HERA in 2017, he was one of four crew members participating in a 45-day simulated space mission to an asteroid.