Nathan Jones, an emergency room doctor from Springfield, Illinois, was part of NASA’s Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog, or CHAPEA. It was the first of a series of missions to simulate life on Mars.

He was one of four crew members living in isolation on earth at the Johnson Space Center from June 25, 2023 – July 6, 2024.

It’s the official policy of the U.S. government to work toward putting people on Mars. Debates about that usually focus on cost and national priorities. Less considered is what life on Mars would do to the people who go there.

That, however, is the subject of a new book by scientist Scott Solomon. It’s called Becoming Martian: How Living in Space Will Change Our Bodies and Minds. Solomon was raised in Champaign, attended University High in Urbana, and earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Four volunteers, including a Springfield-based E.R. doctor, are on a 1-year mission living on a simulation of Mars. Today we discuss the challenges that these four volunteers will face to help NASA prepare for its real-life mission to Mars. 

Are you a science fiction fan? Today on Focus, host Jim Meadows talks with New York Times best-selling author Kim Stanley Robinson.

Guest: Steven Squyres, Professor of Astronomy at Cornell University.

Twin robotic explorers Spirit and Opportunity have added a great deal to our understanding of Mars. Among other things, they have found substantial evidence that at one time, there was water on the surface of the planet. Today on Focus, Cornell University astronomer Steven Squyres talks us through what we know so far and the big question... was there ever life on the Red Planet?