How a US Air Force test pilot led NASA’s 378-day simulated Mars mission

US Air Force experimental test pilot Ross Elder drew on his aviation experience to lead NASA’s second year-long Mars habitat experiment.
On 31 October, four volunteers emerged from a NASA habitat after spending 378 days simulating life on Mars. The crew was led not by a veteran astronaut, but rather by a US Air Force test pilot.

Ross Elder was named commander of NASA’s second Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA) mission in September 2025.

On 19 October that year, he entered NASA’s 3D-printed Mars Dune Alpha habitat at Johnson Space Center in Houston alongside fellow crew members Ellen Ellis, Matthew Montgomery and James Spicer.

More than a year would pass before the four emerged, having conducted a series of research experiments to help NASA prepare for future crewed missions to Mars.

Life inside the roughly 158 sq m (1,700 sq ft) habitat involved growing crops, operating drones and rovers and conducting simulated Marswalks. Throughout the mission, NASA also examined how the volunteers responded to prolonged isolation, limited resources, simulated communication delays and equipment failures.

The research builds on NASA’s first CHAPEA mission, which ran from 25 June 2023 to 6 July 2024.

NASA’s Mars Dune Alpha habitat was 3D-printed using Lavacrete, a concrete-like material that was then dyed red to mimic the colour of Mars. Source: NASA

A career in flight testing

Elder began his career in aviation as a student at the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in astronautical engineering. Upon graduation, he was commissioned as an air force officer.

He then went on to earn a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Colorado Colorado Springs and a master’s degree in flight test engineering from the US Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in California, where he graduated in 2020 as part of Class 20-B.

Before becoming commander of the second CHAPEA mission, Elder had accumulated more than 1,800 flight hours, including 200 combat hours, across more than 35 military aircraft.

When NASA selected him for the CHAPEA mission, Elder was serving as director of operations for the US Air Force’s 461st Flight Test Squadron.

Elder has flown a range of US military aircraft, including the Lockheed Martin F-35 and F-16 fighter jets, Boeing F-15E/EX fighters and Fairchild Republic A-10C attack aircraft. Source: US Air Force

Elder says he received the email notifying him that he had been named CHAPEA commander while conducting a flight test.

“I, ironically, was airborne at the time at Edwards [Air Force Base], flying a test mission in [the] F-35 and so it was many, many, many hours later that I found out,” he says in a pre-mission interview with NASA.

Elder says he was encouraged to apply by family and friends, who repeatedly sent him information about the opportunity.

“Several of my family and friends kept forward[ing] me the articles and the application link over and over and over again. And finally I yielded, and figured I’d throw my name in the hat,” he says.

Beyond the encouragement from family and friends, Elder had another reason for applying. He says he had “always wanted to contribute in some way, shape or form in the aerospace industry”.

Having “spent the last six years living in an Airstream” and been “confined in isolated environments” many times during his military career, Elder says he felt prepared for the challenges of the mission.

A test pilot’s approach to Mars

According to NASA, Elder’s background in aviation proved relevant to his work inside the simulated Mars habitat.

“Elder brought a US Air Force experimental test pilot’s approach to leading the crew,” the agency said in a post-mission account published on 9 November.

NASA also added that Elder found many of the mission’s tasks to be “uncannily similar” to flight operations.

Throughout the 378-day mission, NASA researchers monitored the crew’s food intake, exercise and health to better understand how astronauts might cope with extended stays on Mars. Source: NASA

“Regardless of air force, space force, or another branch, the process of identifying and working through constraints across the sky, the atmosphere, or deep space requires the same foundation of understanding how to manage risk effectively and gather good data,” says Elder.

“At day’s end, it’s that foundation taught at institutions like the Air Force Test Pilot School that will ultimately propel humans onto Mars and beyond – faster.”

Test pilots set their sights on space

Elder’s move into space exploration from an aviation background is not uncommon. He is one of several US Air Force Test Pilot School graduates to have entered the space sector.

Majors Adam Fuhrmann and Cameron Jones, both graduates of the school, were selected as NASA astronaut candidates in September 2025. The pair are currently undergoing training before becoming eligible for future spaceflight assignments.

The US Air Force Test Pilot School itself has also expanded its curriculum to include space-related testing. Its Space Test Fundamentals course began in January 2021, and in May 2024, students conducted satellite operations from Edwards Air Force Base for the first time.

Back to the cockpit

For now, Elder and the rest of the second CHAPEA crew are undergoing post-mission evaluations and debriefings, which NASA says will help researchers interpret the data collected during their 378-day mission.

NASA plans to launch a new year-long Moon and Mars simulation in 2027, building on research from its CHAPEA missions. Source: NASA

Although his next air force assignment has not been confirmed, Elder appears eager to return to the cockpit.

In a NASA podcast episode recorded towards the end of the mission, Elder said he had been “mentally picturing” himself in the skies as a way of “trying to figure out how to fly a plane again”.

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