The Hardest Part of Going to Mars Isn't Mars | Dr. Nathan Jones
🪐 What happens to a person who spends a year sealed inside NASA's simulated Mars habitat? Dr. Nathan Jones lived it for 378 days as medical officer on NASA's CHAPEA mission at Johnson Space Center in Houston.
We talk about how NASA picks a crew, the love notes he hid around his house, missing a year of his kids' lives, and why having the option to leave can be its own kind of hard.
ABOUT DR. NATHAN JONES:
Dr. Nathan Jones is an emergency medicine physician who served as medical officer on NASA's CHAPEA Mission 1, a year-long simulated Mars mission (2023–2024). He has also flown helicopter EMS and worked as a SWAT tactical medic.
🎧 Listen to the full episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and more: https://www.WhosOnMyMind.com
Learn more about CHAPEA: https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/chapea/
⏱️ TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 – Open and introduction
02:38 – June 25, 2023: the door closes and the mission begins
05:45 – How NASA picks a crew (and why it chose an ER doctor)
10:44 – Night shifts, sleep, and never drinking caffeine
17:00 – The family decision, and applying to NASA without telling his wife
20:57 – His biggest worry going in
22:33 – Living in 1,700 square feet: did it feel small?
24:35 – Mars walks and why we send humans, not just robots
26:35 – A typical day and Earth–Mars communication delays
34:28 – Boredom, no internet, and NASA's daily news brief
37:57 – Space food: low salt, 3,000 calories a day
46:16 – Did it ever feel like Mars? Imposter syndrome
49:48 – "That speck is Earth"
51:31 – Why having the option to leave is its own kind of hard
57:33 – Hidden love notes and Valentine's flowers ordered a year early
59:26 – The hardest part: missing a year of his kids' lives
1:04:02 – How four people in tight quarters avoid turning on each other
1:08:21 – How NASA tests astronauts under pressure
1:11:58 – His identical twin brother
1:12:49 – The biggest surprise of the mission
1:16:03 – His favorite part: the people
1:18:21 – Walking back into the world: phones, AI, sunlight
1:21:54 – Did the mission change him?
1:25:45 – Would he spend a year on the Moon? "We do hard things"
1:31:14 – Closing thoughts
🎧 PODCAST LINKS:
Website: https://www.WhosOnMyMind.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WhosOnMyMindPodcast
Spotify: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/WhosOnMyMindPodcast
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/whos-on-my-mind/id1783427441
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#NASA #Mars #SpaceExploration #Astronaut #Podcast
