{"id":35700,"date":"2015-06-16T12:48:47","date_gmt":"2015-06-16T22:48:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=35700"},"modified":"2023-03-15T13:48:17","modified_gmt":"2023-03-15T23:48:17","slug":"clear-skies-ahead-as-hi-seas-wraps-up-eight-month-space-simulation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2015\/06\/16\/clear-skies-ahead-as-hi-seas-wraps-up-eight-month-space-simulation\/","title":{"rendered":"Clear skies ahead as HI-SEAS<\/abbr> wraps up eight-month space simulation"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

\"HI-SEAS<\/a><\/p>\n

On Saturday, June 13, looking pale but smiling broadly, the six crew members of the Hawai\u02bbi<\/span> Space Exploration Analog and Simulation<\/a> (HI-SEAS<\/abbr>) mission emerged from the dome where they have been isolated since October 2014.<\/p>\n

The crew was still joyful and enthusiastic after enduring eight months in isolation as part of this NASA<\/abbr>-funded space exploration simulation. It was the longest such space simulation study ever conducted on U.S. soil.<\/p>\n

The research effort led by the University of Hawai\u02bbi<\/span> at M\u0101noa<\/a> is gaining insights into the human factors that contribute to astronaut crew function and performance over time\u2014including the psychological, social and biological challenges of isolation and confinement.<\/p>\n

Sensory deprivation is part of the game. HI-SEAS<\/abbr> crew members recalled suiting up in full simulation spacesuits and visors whenever they went outside of the habitat dome, which is located at 8,000 feet on the slopes of Mauna Loa.<\/p>\n

When asked what it felt like to be looking at the world without the blur of a bubble of glass, they laughed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s totally amazing,\u201d said HI-SEAS<\/abbr> mission commander Martha Lenio. \u201cSophie [Milam] and I went on an EVA<\/abbr> (extravehicular activity, or simulated space walk) last night, and it was so clear at night. Even through the suits, we could see the stars and the Milky Way. We were like, \u2018Oh my god, it\u2019s going to be amazing tomorrow when we can get out and can actually see things again!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Like its predecessor missions\u2014including a four-month study in early 2014\u2014this mission is anticipated to expose many unexpected realities that future Mars explorers will experience once they become situated on the planet surface in a small space for a prolonged period of time.<\/p>\n

Under the guidance of UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa principal investigator Kim Binsted<\/strong>, researchers are still crunching data collected during the past eight months of monitoring the HI-SEAS<\/abbr> crew. But they\u2019ve also begun preparing for the third and final simulation in the series: a year-long mission, scheduled to begin in August 2015. The names of the participants in the next faux astronaut crew have not been announced yet.<\/p>\n

The HI-SEAS<\/abbr> crew celebrated the end of its mission with a tandem parachute dive with the U.S. Army Golden Knights<\/a> parachute team.<\/p>\n

\u2014By Talia Ogliore<\/em><\/p>\n

\"HI-SEAS<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The six crew members of the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS<\/abbr>) mission emerge after eight months in isolation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[308,442,484,637,174,14,9],"class_list":["post-35700","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research","tag-college-of-natural-sciences","tag-hi-seas","tag-information-and-computer-science","tag-psychology","tag-space","tag-uh-hilo","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t