Living on Mars in Hawaii

Scientists are training for Mars missions inside a dome on a barren Hawaiian volcano. This site mimics the isolation of space so perfectly that researchers live there for up to a year without ever stepping outside.

Perched 8,200 feet up the Mauna Loa volcano, the terrain is so desolate and rocky that it serves as a stand-in for the Martian landscape. Volunteers spend months in this confined habitat, testing how humans handle long-term isolation and extreme stress. By studying these pioneers, NASA learns how to keep astronauts sane and healthy during the real months-long journey to the Red Planet. It is essentially a high-stakes rehearsal for humanity's first steps onto another world.