Mission commander reflects on 378 day mission inside a Mars simulator at JSC

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- After 378 days inside a Mars simulator at the Johnson Space Center, Ross Elder says he didn't realize how much he would miss the things he took for granted.

"To be honest, it's just been interesting to get back in a vehicle and drive again. That's an experience we haven't had for a year," Elder said.

Elder was the commander of a four-person Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog that lived inside the simulator for just over a year.

They couldn't step outside, hug family members, or eat certain foods.

NASA says the purpose of the mission was to see how humans handle life in deep space. Elder said missing family and friends was hard, but the isolation was its own challenge, including the everyday chores that never went away.

"Things like maintenance, trash, cleaning showers and toilets. All those things are still there. Those don't go away," Elder said.

NASA is looking to return to the moon in two years. Elder said his crew's work on the ground may help the astronauts who go there, though not everything has been figured out yet.

"There are difficulties with technology, the distances, the time delays, and other challenges that we sat out on CHAPEA to work through, but they're not all solved," Elder said.

The crew was made up of volunteers, not astronauts.

Elder said the experience hasn't discouraged him from pursuing an astronaut application.

"Absolutely. Sign me up. I would love to have that opportunity. You'll see my name listed in the astronaut candidate list," Elder said.

The crew left the simulator nearly two weeks ago. NASA said the crew is still under a health protocol because they had no sunlight and were not around any germs for more than a year.

The agency plans to continue debriefing and studying the crew for another couple of weeks.

NASA is currently looking for volunteers for another crew.

Elder said the simulation is a chance to experience what it might be like to be an astronaut without going to space.