Springfield physician to share Mars mission insights
Think you have what it takes to live on Mars? Springfield emergency medicine physician Dr. Nathan Jones thought he did. And now he knows for certain.
Late one night in 2023, Jones clicked a link on his computer and "went down a rabbit hole" that led to a year-long simulation experiment with NASA. The SIU School of Medicine alumnus was selected to serve as the mission medical officer, living in a tightly monitored 1,700-square-foot module dubbed Mars Dune Alpha at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
He will share stories about the out-of-this-world endurance test at a special presentation at noon on Thursday, September 26, at SIU School of Medicine's South Auditorium, 801 North Rutledge, Springfield.
NASA selected Jones, 41, from thousands of applicants to be part of the first four-member crew in a series of land-based missions known as the Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog, or CHAPEA.
The group subsisted on prepackaged food, supplemented with crops grown in garden boxes. Dietary, physical and emotional demands were tracked, and communication with "home" -- whether it was to Mission Control or to loved ones -- had a 22-minute delay to replicate the distance messages would have to travel between the two planets using current technology.
Jones is a married father of three children, ages 10, 12 and 14, a graduate of Southern Illinois University School of Medicine and an adjunct professor of emergency medicine at SIU.
Guests are invited to attend the free campus lecture in person at 801 North Rutledge or view it online. (see below)
Read more about Dr. Jones on the SIU Medicine website and in the Illinois Times.
Mars Mission Debriefing
WEBINAR LOG-IN INFORMATION
Date and time:
Thursday, September 26, 2024 12:00 PM | (UTC-05:00) Central Time (US & Canada)
Join link:
https://siumed.webex.com/siumed/j.php?MTID=m8206a4e393a1c59218f5e12faa47350a
Webinar number: 2482 889 6639
Webinar password: SIUSTRONG!
(74878766 when dialing from a phone or video system)
Join by phone: +1-408-418-9388 United States Toll
Access code: 248 288 96639
