Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA), located at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, is a ground-based analog used by NASA’s Human Research Program to study the effects of isolation and confinement on the human body, without leaving Earth. A spaceflight analog is a simulated environment that produces physical and mental effects similar to those experienced in space. This research will help NASA better understand the hazards of human spaceflight with the goal of sending astronauts safely to the Moon and onto Mars. This mission, known as HERA XVIII, is the first mission in Campaign 5. It began on February 15 with 4 crewmembers on a simulated mission to Phobos, the larger of Mars’s two moons. The mission was completed on April 1. The first picture shows crew emerging and taking a bow to the waiting welcoming crowd. The second, crew member Ian Porter hugs daughter Gracie moments after his 45-day simulated mission to Phobos ended. It was Gracie’s 9th birthday. Credits: NASA ...