NASA's 20-foot Sunshade & 378-day Mars Sim

NASA's NEO Surveyor will use a 20-foot sunshade to keep its telescope cool while hunting near-Earth asteroids near the Sun. BAE Systems Space & Mission Systems technicians inspected the 8-foot-wide, 6-meter-tall structure on Oct. 26, 2026. Meanwhile, four volunteers completed a 378-day Mars-mission analog at Johnson Space Center. It was the second CHAPEA mission, which began on Oct. 19, 2025. They lived in a 1,700-square-foot, 3D-printed habitat, doing spacewalks, exercise, plant growth, and maintenance. The crew, Ross Elder, Ellen Ellis, James Spicer, and Matthew Montgomery, faced communication delays and isolation. Data from the mission will refine food systems, crew time use, bandwidth, and medical support for Artemis. The exit ceremony on Oct. 31, 2026, will be streamed live at 3 p.m. EDT. NASA's dual projects highlight the agency's push to master deep-space challenges ahead of lunar and Martian exploration. The 378-day simulation will help NASA design safer missions for the Moon and beyond.