Space · Monday, 2 November 2026

Four people leave NASA's pretend Mars base in Houston after 378 days inside

9 stories 11 sources

Signals on this beat

The bar and the word are our reading of how hard each one is pushing, and the arrow is where it is heading.

Getting people ready for Mars Building↑

Four volunteers just spent 378 days in NASA's pretend Mars home in Houston. [1]
Perseverance, a NASA rover, found the finest dust yet seen on Mars, a hazard future crews must be protected from. [7]
Another team practised space work for five days in a lab underwater off Florida. [2]

More things falling from space Building↑

NASA's Swift telescope is expected to fall back to Earth within days. [6]
About ten times more objects now fall back each year than five years ago, a tracking company says. [6]
Weather satellites caught a space rock exploding as a fireball over the South Atlantic in April. [9]

Space data shared more widely Steady↑

NASA agreed to share its Earth-watching satellite data with the US farm department. [8]
Lightning cameras on two weather satellites gave scientists fireball data they can discuss openly. [9]

The stories

9 stories on this beat today.

Every story told the same way: what happened, who is involved, why it matters, how it works, the truth and the good news.

01
Four people leave NASA's pretend Mars base in Houston after 378 days inside

378 days

the second crew spent inside NASA's pretend Mars home

the same length as the first crew's year in 2023 and 2024 [1]

158 m2

of 3D-printed living space shared by four people

they entered it on 19 October 2025 [1]

4

volunteers in the crew, led by Ross Elder

they now face two weeks of checks with NASA scientists [1]
What happened
- 4 people left a pretend Mars base in Houston on Saturday after 378 days inside. [1]
- The base is inside the Johnson Space Center, run by NASA, the US space agency. [1]
- It was NASA's second year-long practice for living on Mars, called CHAPEA. [1]
- The crew had lived in a 3D-printed home of 158 square metres since 19 October 2025. [1]
- They grew crops in pretend Martian soil. [1]
- Their messages with NASA came with built-in delays, like real messages between planets. [1]
Who is involved

Ross Elder led the crew, with Ellen Ellis, Matthew Montgomery and James Spicer. [1]
Ellis, the medical officer, said: 'analogue astronauts living in captivity of our own free will.' [1]
An analog astronaut lives and works in conditions made to copy life in space. [2]
- Ross Elder commander of the four-person CHAPEA crew; he led it through the 378 days
- Ellen Ellis the crew's medical officer; she spoke for the crew as it came out
- Matthew Montgomery science officer
- James Spicer flight engineer
- NASA the US space agency; it built the pretend Mars home and ran the year-long test
- Vanessa Wyche director of NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston; she greeted the crew
How it unfolded

NASA ran the first such year, also 378 days, across 2023 and 2024. [1]
In summer 2026 analog astronauts lived 5 days in an underwater lab off Florida. [2]
1. 2023-2024 first crew, 378 days
2. 19 Oct 2025 second crew goes in
3. Saturday second crew comes out
4. 2023-2024 the first CHAPEA crew spends 378 days inside [1]
5. 19 Oct 2025 the second crew goes in [1]
6. Sat 31 Oct the second crew comes out after 378 days [1]
7. Next 2 weeks checks and debriefs with NASA scientists [1]
Why it matters

Vanessa Wyche, who runs the Johnson Space Center, met the crew as they came out. [1]
Wyche said: 'These delays require patience, careful planning and greater independence.' [1]
NASA wants to learn what keeps crews healthy and working on long trips beyond Earth. [1]
NASA hopes to send people to Mars as early as the 2030s, after the Moon. [1]
How it works
Why the farther away something is, the older the news from it

Light and radio have a top speed, so every message and every glimpse from far away arrives late, and the farther it comes, the later it is.

The twist

Nothing from space reaches us live. A star's picture and a far crew's message are both already old when they arrive.
Step by step
1. Physics sets one top speed, the speed of light, and radio travels at it too
2. So every message and every glimpse takes time to cross a distance
3. The farther away the sender, the older the news when it arrives
4. A crew far from Earth waits for each answer, so it must plan and decide more on its own
5. A far star's light left it long ago, so we see the star as it was then
The same force, elsewhere today

Where this chain is also running, in today's other stories.
- The CHAPEA crew leaves its pretend Mars base
  
  NASA held back every message to copy the travel time to Mars, so the crew had to plan ahead instead of waiting for answers.
- Betelgeuse's hidden partner
  
  The star is about 650 light-years away, so the egg-shaped gas the radio telescopes saw is Betelgeuse as it was about 650 years ago.
- Turkey's first Moon orbiter
  
  The Moon is close, so commands from Earth reach the craft almost at once and controllers can fly it from the ground.
Where you've seen this

Thunderstorms

you see lightning before you hear thunder, because light is far faster than sound, and the gap tells you how far away the storm is

Live TV interviews by satellite

a reporter pauses before answering, because the signal goes up to a satellite and back down first

Online games

a player far from the game's computer sees the action a moment late and reacts to where others were

The catch

On Earth and around it the delay is too small to matter for most things. It decides things only across the big distances of space.

And the whole of it

Mission Control and the four people in the Houston base each saw only the messages that had reached them so far. Anyone looking up at Betelgeuse tonight sees light that left it about 650 years ago.
The truth
- What is really going on Four volunteers spent a year in NASA's pretend Mars home in Houston and came out on Saturday saying people will reach Mars.
- What is really going on NASA's Johnson director said they coped with limited supplies and delayed messages, and their results will come from two weeks of checks that start now. [1]
- Why it works on people A crew stepping out after a year inside is a strong picture, and it arrives weeks before any measured results do. [1]
- Commander Elder called putting people on Mars 'not only achievable, but rather inevitable'. [1]
- Who gains NASA's plans for crews on Mars — Its year-long test ended with the crew publicly calling a Mars landing 'achievable' and 'inevitable'. [1]
- Who pays The four CHAPEA volunteers — They gave up 378 days of ordinary life in a home of 158 square metres. [1]
- Nobody knows yet
  What the year in the pretend Mars home actually showed.
  
  The crew now begins two weeks of checks and debriefs with NASA scientists, and the reports of the exit carry no findings. [1]
Good news
- Four people came out of NASA's pretend Mars home in Houston after 378 days, the second crew to finish a full year there.
What comes next

Next, the crew spends 2 weeks in checks and debriefs with NASA scientists. [1]

02
Turkey's first Moon craft starts its tests
What happened
- Turkey plans to send its first spacecraft to the Moon in 2027. [3]
- The craft, called TLM-1, is an orbiter: it will circle the Moon, not land. [3]
- Its first tests, in a thermal vacuum chamber, an airless test room, began in late October. [3]
- A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is booked to launch it between April and June. [3]
- It will circle 100 km above the Moon, passing over both poles. [3]
- Its instruments will measure radiation, surface heat and the solar wind hitting the Moon. [3]
- Project manager Burak Yaglioglu said 56 of its 65 parts were made in Turkey. [3]
Who is involved

Tubitak Uzay, a Turkish space company, built it with DeltaV, which made its engine. [3]
- Tubitak Uzay built the craft
- DeltaV made the engine
Why it matters

Turkey would be the ninth country or group to put a craft at the Moon. [3]

How it works

Engineers plan a controlled impact at the end: steering the dying craft onto a chosen spot. [3]
That crash is meant as a rehearsal for landing the second craft. [3]

The Moon is close, so commands from Earth reach the craft almost at once and controllers can fly it from the ground.
The idea, in story 01: Why the farther away something is, the older the news from it →
The truth
- Yaglioglu spoke of reaching the Moon 'with our own capabilities'. [3]
- But the ride there is a US rocket, from SpaceX. [3]
- Who gains SpaceX — It holds the contract to launch Turkey's first Moon craft on a Falcon 9 in 2027. [3]
- Who gains Turkish space companies such as Tubitak Uzay and DeltaV — They built 56 of the orbiter's 65 parts, and the lander is meant to reuse the design. [3]
- Nobody knows yet
  When Turkey's second Moon mission, the lander, will fly.
  
  No launch date or rocket has been chosen for TLM-2. [3]
Good news
- Turkey's first Moon orbiter began its first tests in late October, with 56 of its 65 parts made in Turkey.
What comes next

TLM-2, a lander with a rover, has no launch date or rocket yet. [3]
03
Betelgeuse's hidden partner stirs its gas
What happened
- Radio pictures show a small partner star disturbing the outer gas of Betelgeuse, astronomers report. [4]
- Betelgeuse is a dying giant star, the shoulder of the Orion constellation. [4]
- It is about 650 light-years away, so its light takes about 650 years to arrive. [4]
- Betelgeuse is more than 640 times wider than the Sun. [5]
- Its partner, Siwarha, orbits so close that it passes through Betelgeuse's outer gas. [4]
- From 2021 to 2026 the star's gas swung between an egg shape and a round one. [4]
Who is involved

Lynn Matthews of MIT's Haystack Observatory led the study. [4]
Her team used the VLA in New Mexico and ALMA in Chile, two big radio telescopes. [4]
- Lynn Matthews MIT Haystack Observatory
Why it matters

That swing matches a slow brightening and dimming of Betelgeuse every 5.9 years or so. [5]
So some of its changes come from the partner, not from Betelgeuse alone. [5]

How it works

Astronomers can find a star too faint to see by what it does to its neighbour. [4]

The star is about 650 light-years away, so the egg-shaped gas the radio telescopes saw is Betelgeuse as it was about 650 years ago.
The idea, in story 01: Why the farther away something is, the older the news from it →
The truth
- Space.com says Siwarha's existence was confirmed in early 2026. [4]
- Universe Today says the evidence is not yet strong enough to confirm it. [5]
- Nobody knows yet
  Whether Betelgeuse's partner star is confirmed.
  
  Space.com says Siwarha was confirmed in early 2026, while Universe Today says the evidence is not yet strong enough to confirm it. [4][5]
Good news
- The same data show Betelgeuse has largely recovered from its 2020 'Great Dimming'. [4]
- Radio telescopes show Betelgeuse has largely recovered from the Great Dimming that faded it in 2020.
04
Swift telescope is days from falling
What happened
- NASA's Swift telescope is expected to fall back to Earth within days. [6]
- Its path only crosses a band within about 21 degrees of the equator. [6]
- That band is mostly ocean but crosses parts of Africa, South Asia and Latin America. [6]
- Most of the 1,500 kg craft should melt; its six heavy spinning wheels may survive. [6]
Who is involved

Swift, launched in 2004, studied gamma-ray bursts, the most powerful explosions in the universe. [6]
How it unfolded

A robot rescue mission failed to push it higher, so NASA ended its work. [6]
On 20 October it was 275 km up, too low to beat the air's drag. [6]

Why it matters

LeoLabs, a company that watches objects in orbit, spoke to Space.com about the fall. [6]
It says about 10 times more objects fall back each year than five years ago. [6]

How it works

Engineers call building a craft to burn up completely 'design for demise'. [6]
The truth
- NASA's own rule caps the chance of anyone being hurt at 1 in 10,000. [6]
- No detailed risk study for Swift's fall has been published, an engineer told Space.com. [6]
- Who pays People living under Swift's path — Any surviving parts land somewhere in a band crossing Africa, South Asia and Latin America, though the risk is called very small. [6]
- Who pays Astronomers who used Swift — A telescope that studied gamma-ray bursts since 2004 is lost after its rescue failed. [6]
- Nobody knows yet
  When and where Swift will come down.
  
  No exact time or place has been given; its path crosses a band within about 21 degrees of the equator. [6]
- Nobody knows yet
  How big the risk from Swift's surviving parts is.
  
  An engineer told Space.com no detailed risk study has been published, though NASA's rule caps the risk at 1 in 10,000. [6]
05
Perseverance finds Mars's finest dust
What happened
- NASA's Perseverance rover has found the finest dust yet seen on Mars. [7]
Who is involved

Scott VanBommel, a planetary scientist at Washington University in St. Louis, led the study. [7]
It appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a US science journal. [7]
- Scott VanBommel planetary scientist, Washington University in St. Louis
How it unfolded

Perseverance has explored Jezero Crater, in Mars's northern half, since landing in 2021. [7]

Why it matters

Smaller grains can go deeper into the human body and are harder to clear, he said. [7]

How it works

He called Mars dust a hazard to design for, like radiation and distance from Earth. [7]
The truth
- He also said smaller does not necessarily make the dust more dangerous. [7]
- Who pays Future Mars crews and the people designing their gear — They must guard against the finest dust yet found on Mars, along with radiation and distance. [7]
- Nobody knows yet
  How harmful Mars's finest dust would be to people.
  
  The study's lead author said smaller grains go deeper into the body, and also that smaller does not necessarily mean more dangerous. [7]
06
Weather satellites catch fireballs
What happened
- Two weather satellites caught a fireball exploding over the South Atlantic on 1 April. [9]
- US government sensors saw it too; it was brightest about 90 km up. [9]
- A fireball over Alaska in April 2025 was rebuilt almost entirely from civilian sensors. [9]
- Scientists used 37 earthquake stations, sound sensors, weather radar and video. [9]
Who is involved

A fireball, or bolide, is a space rock burning up in the air. [9]
The two were NOAA's GOES-East and Europe's Meteosat, using cameras built to spot lightning. [9]
Why it matters

A nation could mistake a natural fireball for an attack, NASA's Rob Landis warned. [9]

How it works

Planetary defence experts combine sensors, because each records a different part of the fall. [9]
The truth
- Landis said he thinks a lot of smaller space rock gets through the air. [9]
- Who gains Scientists who study fireballs — Lightning cameras on civilian weather satellites give them data they can discuss openly. [9]
- Nobody knows yet
  How many small space rocks reach the air unseen.
  
  NASA's Rob Landis said that, in his personal view, a lot of smaller material gets through. [9]
Good news
- Civilian satellites let scientists discuss these events openly, Landis said. [9]
- Two weather satellites caught a fireball over the South Atlantic in April, giving scientists data they can share openly.
07
NASA and US farm department share data
What happened
- NASA and the US Department of Agriculture signed a deal to share satellite data. [8]
- It is a memorandum of understanding, a written promise to work together. [8]
- It covers watching crops, droughts and natural disasters from space. [8]
Who is involved

NASA chief Jared Isaacman and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins signed it in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. [8]
- NASA
- US Department of Agriculture
- Jared Isaacman head of NASA
- Brooke Rollins US agriculture secretary
How it unfolded

It is NASA's 2nd such deal with another US agency this month. [8]
On 8 October NASA signed one with the Department of Energy on nuclear power in space. [8]
1. 8 Oct deal with the energy department
2. Late Oct deal with the farm department
Why it matters

Isaacman said it aims to improve the information farmers and ranchers get. [8]
The truth
- The report lists four areas of work and names no budget. [8]
- Who gains US farmers and ranchers — The new agreement is meant to bring them NASA's satellite data on crops, droughts and disasters. [8]
- Nobody knows yet
  What the NASA and farm department deal will cost or deliver.
  
  The report lists four areas of work and names no budget. [8]
08
Five planets to spot in November
What happened
- Mars passes 1.2 degrees from Jupiter in the morning sky on 16 November. [10]
- A fist held at arm's length covers about 10 degrees of sky. [10]
- Jupiter will outshine Mars about 13 times when they meet. [10]
- Saturn is best in the evening, well up in the southern sky. [10]
- Venus climbs higher before dawn all month and is brightest near the month's end. [10]
- Mercury rises well before the Sun from about 16 to 26 November. [10]
How it unfolded
1. 16 Nov Mercury appears before dawn
2. 26 Nov best stretch ends
Why it matters

The guide's times are for watchers about 40 degrees north of the equator. [10]
09
Voyager 1 gets a date with one light-day
What happened
- NASA says Voyager 1 will be one light-day from Earth on 18 November. [11]
- A light-day is how far light travels in 24 hours: about 26 billion km. [11]
- NASA has put up a countdown clock for the moment. [11]
- It will be the first human-made object to reach that distance. [11]
How it unfolded

Voyager 1 was built for a five-year trip past Jupiter and Saturn. [11]
It reaches the mark after 49 years, 2 months and 13 days of flight. [11]
In 2024 engineers spent weeks fixing a memory fault on board. [11]

Why it matters

At that distance a radio message takes a whole day to arrive. [11]
In 2024 each message there and back already took at least 45 hours. [11]

How it works

Physicists measure such distances by light's travel time, at about 300,000 km a second. [11]
The truth
- Experts estimate its 3 nuclear power units can keep it working into the 2030s. [11]

Four people leave NASA's pretend Mars base in Houston after 378 days inside

9 stories on this beat today.

Why the farther away something is, the older the news from it