NASA preps for Mars trip by forcing researchers to deal with exceptionally slow internet

Composite image of the Valles Marineris canyon on Mars.

(Image credit: NASA/Arizona State University via Getty Images)

published 15 December 2015

A rocky field near a Hawaiian volcano is the closest humans have come to living on Mars — but the research they're doing there could help future astronauts on the first manned journey to the Red Planet, currently scheduled for 2025. In order to make the study realistic and productive, the scientists in Hawaii need to live like they're actually on Mars, a simulation they've committed to for an entire year.

But life on "Mars" isn't for wimps: The six researchers occupy a 1,000-square-foot domed structure, wear mock spacesuits whenever they leave the building, eat shelf-stable food and, perhaps worst of all, have to deal with Mars' super slow internet connection:

What's the Internet situation like?[Physicist and engineer Christiane Heinicke:] Since we are on "Mars," all our messages travel through interplanetary space for 20 minutes one way before they reach Earth. That is true for emails, web browsing and Skyping, for example. Since nobody wants to wait 40 minutes for an answer during a conversation, we don't use Skype, or any other form of real-time conversation. We communicate with our families only by email, or video recordings that are attached to an email. [The New York Times]

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.

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