Would you sign up to live in isolation for a year, all in the name of furthering scientific research? Probably not, we’re guessing, but that’s exactly what four NASA volunteers have agreed to do over the next 12 months. The participants will live in an environment created to simulate conditions on the surface of Mars as part of NASA's Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog for 378 days. The people involved are research scientist Kelly Haston, structural engineer Ross Brockwell, emergency medicine physician Nathan Jones and US Navy microbiologist Anca Selariu. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The simulation has been built at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, and will see the four volunteers undertake a series of tasks as part of the exercise. Data collected over the next 12 months will help to inform future missions to send astronauts to Mars. During that time, the guests will take part in activities such as crop growing as well as simulated spacewalks and other operations. The 3D-printed hub they’ll spend their time in contains a kitchen, sleeping areas, two bathrooms as well as work and recreation spaces. The mission will also see the guests faced with simulated obstacles, which are designed to test responses to equipment failure, communication delays and other issues. Speaking at a recent briefing, the mission's principal investigator at NASA Grace Douglas said: “Thank you all for your dedication to exploration. Our best wishes go with you." Haston also spoke, calling her fellow participants an "amazing group of dedicated individuals who feel very passionate about space exploration and science." "The crew has worked so hard this month to get ready for this mission," Haston added. "It has been very special to be a part of such a tremendous group of scientists and specialists from a diverse set of backgrounds working together to bring CHAPEA 1, the first of three missions, to reality." Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Greek authorities have evacuated five more villages near the northeastern border with Turkey where a large summer wildfire is raging for a second day

Investigators have so far found six bodies and warned that the death toll could rise.

Matthew Perry’s “Friends” co-stars are sharing more remembrances of the star in their first personal social media posts since the actor’s death last month

Rickie Fowler's wild ride in the U.S. Open concluded with him sharing the 36-hole scoring record and taking a one-shot lead into the weekend

Jurors in the trial of a Las Vegas police officer accused in a series of casino heists are listening to opening statements Tuesday morning

The mother of a 17-year-old who was killed during a traffic stop in France led a protest Sunday to call for justice after after the police officer suspected in the fatal shooting of her son was released from custody pending further investigation. The death of Nahel Merzouk June touched off rioting around the country that highlighted anger over police violence, poverty and discrimination against people with immigrant backgrounds. Merzouk was of North African origin. A few hundred people rallied Sunday at the site where he was killed, Nelson Mandela Square in the Paris suburb of Nanterre. Police vans lined nearby streets. Shouts briefly erupted when objects were thrown at police, but the gathering was overall peaceful. The late teenager's mother, Mounia, choked with emotion as she described missing her son. She led the group in chants of ‘’Justice for Nahel.'' Those in the crowd included people who have experienced police violence, such as music producer Michel Zecler, as well as left-wing activists and mothers fearful their children could experience the same fate as Merzouk. Several described dismay at a far-right crowdfunding campaign that raised $1.6 million for the police officer before he got out of custody. "We don’t understand his release,'' Nanterre resident Nadia Essa said. ‘’It's a bad signal to young people.'' She said she refused to let her 17-year-old son, who has Moroccan roots, go out for weeks after Merzouk’s death. ‘’We are longer comforted when we pass by the police.'' Video of the day Merzouk died showed two motorcycle officers at the window of the car he was driving, one with his gun pointed at the teenager. As the car pulled forward, the officer fired. The officer, who has been identified only as Florian M., was jailed two days later and given a preliminary charge of voluntary homicide. On Wednesday, the Nanterre prosecutor’s office said magistrates concluded that his continued detention “no longer fulfills the legal criteria” under which he was held. Preliminary charges in French law mean magistrates have strong reason to suspect wrongdoing but allow more time for further investigation. It is unclear whether or when the case will go to trial. Protests over Merzouk's death quickly morphed into rioting that spread to towns around France, driven by a mainly teenage backlash against a French state that many say routinely discriminates against them, and amplified by social networks. The mayhem subsided after a massive police deployment, and left 100 million euros ($109 million) in damage to schools, stores and other public buildings, many of which have not been repaired. The government has promised a raft of measures in response to the summer events, mostly focused on tougher policing and prosecution. ’’We all know someone in our families or entourage who has been touched by police violence, because you are Arab or Black,'' Ibrahim Assebbane, a 22-year-old computer science student from Nanterre, said during Sunday's protest. ‘’The only time they heard us was when there were riots,'' Assebbane said. "We don't support that, but we understand'' where the anger was coming from. Read More Reports say Russell Brand interviewed by British police over claims of sexual offenses Investigators probe for motive behind shooting at New Hampshire psychiatric hospital A hat worn by Napoleon fetches $1.6 million at an auction of the French emperor's belongings AP Top 25: Ohio State jumps Michigan, moves to No. 2. Washington, FSU flip-flop at Nos. 4-5 US calls Nicaragua's decision to leave Organization of American States a 'step away from democracy' Fires in Brazil threaten jaguars, houses and plants in the world's largest tropical wetlands

Milligan treats professional athletes for their sports injuries at Elite OrthoSport, her physical therapy business

Two sisters have told an Australian court that being sexually abused by their Jewish school's principal broke their ability to trust forever and is painful to remember

Since his discovery on November 18 at 9:30 pm, Jace Evans has been receiving mental health treatment at a hospital

Countries' greenhouse gas-cutting pledges put Earth on track for warming far beyond key limits, potentially up to a catastrophic 2.9 degrees Celsius this century, the UN said Monday...

Kaley Cuoco and Tom Pelphrey welcomed their daughter, Matilda, on March 30