Life on Mars: Inside The HI-SEAS Isolation Habitat (Gallery)

The Lab

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A small laboratory space, separate from the main living space and kitchen, inside the habitat held many plants and biological experiments. A second laboratory, built inside an old shipping crate, was attached to the back of the habitat.

Sleep Space

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One of the six bedrooms. The ceilings are sloped, but are tall enough to stand in.

The Half-Bath

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The upstairs half-bathroom

The Tardis

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Members of a previous mission created this Tardis on a blank section of wall using masking tape and paper.

Inside the Air Lock

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Inside the "air lock," where the crewmembers got into "spacesuits" before exiting the habitat. They had to wait 5 minutes before exiting, to simulate the time it would take a real air lock to adjust the air pressure.

Storage Space

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The storage room, off the side of the air lock, which held food and other supplies.

The Kitchen

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The kitchen, which is underneath the bedrooms, is fairly spacious. There is a central island (shown here), with more storage and a sink along the walls.

Kitchen Storage

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Kitchen storage and microwave. The kitchen also has a toaster oven and electric hotplate.

The Kitchen Sink

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The kitchen area provided nearly all the facilities of a normal kitchen. There is a minifridge (for leftovers) and no stove.

Kitchen Note

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A note on the kitchen white board: "Note: Crewmembers are reminded to kindly refrain from setting up booby traps around the hab for ensnaring cameramen and reporters. Thanks! -The Mgmt"

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Calla Cofield
Senior Writer

Calla Cofield joined Space.com's crew in October 2014. She enjoys writing about black holes, exploding stars, ripples in space-time, science in comic books, and all the mysteries of the cosmos. Prior to joining Space.com Calla worked as a freelance writer, with her work appearing in APS News, Symmetry magazine, Scientific American, Nature News, Physics World, and others. From 2010 to 2014 she was a producer for The Physics Central Podcast. Previously, Calla worked at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City (hands down the best office building ever) and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in California. Calla studied physics at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and is originally from Sandy, Utah. In 2018, Calla left Space.com to join NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory media team where she oversees astronomy, physics, exoplanets and the Cold Atom Lab mission. She has been underground at three of the largest particle accelerators in the world and would really like to know what the heck dark matter is. Contact Calla via: E-Mail – Twitter