While this is the longest pseudo-Mars expedition thus far, two previous teams already spent four and eight months in the dome in the past. The experiments are necessary in order for NASA to know what kind of conflicts can arise from having to live together with very little privacy in such a small space. After all, its astronauts typically spend only six months aboard the ISS per expedition.

The eight-month mission members went through some issues, for instance, though they thankfully solved them and made sure the project would go as planned. "I think one of the lessons is that you really can't prevent interpersonal conflicts. It is going to happen over these long-duration missions, even with the very best people," HI-SEAS chief investigator Kim Binsted told AFP. "But what you can do is help people be resilient so they respond well to the problems and can resolve them and continue to perform well as a team."



[Image credit: Hi-seas]