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HI-SEAS Mars mission simulation on Mauna Loa canceled

The University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) habitat on the slopes of Mauna Loa. Photo courtesy of HI-SEAS

The University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) habitat on the slopes of Mauna Loa. Photo courtesy of HI-SEAS

By Hawaii 24/7 Staff

HI-SEAS VI crew Calum Hervieu from Scotland, Lisa Stojanovski from Australia, Michaela Musilova from Slovakia and Sukjin Han of Korea. Photo courtesy of HI-SEAS

HI-SEAS VI crew Calum Hervieu from Scotland, Lisa Stojanovski from Australia, Michaela Musilova from Slovakia and Sukjin Han of Korea. Photo courtesy of HI-SEAS

The University of Hawaii at Manoa announced Monday (Feb 26) that the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) Mission VI, which simulates a space mission by four crewmembers, on the slopes of Mauna Loa has been canceled.

A crewmember was injured in what was reported to be a minor accident at the HI-SEAS dome on February 19, 2018 and that crewmember was taken to Hilo Medical Center where they were treated and released after a few hours. The entire crew left the dome as team members investigated and inspected the habitat putting the mission on hold.

On Monday (Feb 26) it was announced that a crewmember has voluntarily withdrawn participation in the mission. The UH decided to cancel the mission as it would not be possible to continue with just three crewmembers. A full safety inspection of the dome continues and a new call for applicants will be released to form a new crew for another mission.

The crew started their mission at the geodesic dome habitat on Mauna Loa on February 15, 2018. The four astronaut-like crewmembers were an international team from Australia, Korea, Scotland and Slovakia and were supposed to live and work at the isolated habitat and area for eight months.

HI-SEAS VI crewmembers:

  • Sukjin Han is an assistant professor in economics at University of Texas at Austin.
  • Calum Hervieu is an astrophysicist and systems engineer from rural Scotland.
  • Michaela Musilova is an astrobiologist and the chair of the Slovak Organisation for Space Activities.
  • Lisa Stojanovski is a professional science communicator, and host of the YouTube show TMRO.

The NASA-funded project studies human behavior and performance and aims to help determine the individual and team requirements for long-duration space exploration missions, including travel to Mars.

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