NASA is recruiting people to live in a test Mars home for a year with almost no contact with the outside world. The test facility will be a 3D printed structure of 1700 square feet with living quarters and space for growing food. The idea is to prepare for a structure that will ultimately be built on Mars from materials found on the red planet.

ICON, a developer of advanced construction technologies was awarded a subcontract through Jacobs to build the structure. The project supports NASA’s Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA). The goal is to deliver a 3D-printed habitat, known as Mars Dune Alpha, at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. ICON used its next-gen Vulcan construction system to complete the structure. The building was designed by architecture firm BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group to simulate a realistic Mars habitat to support long-duration, exploration-class space missions.