Congratulations to Dr. Piyumi Wijesekara, a scientist of Sri Lankan descent who has been chosen by NASA to join a four-member volunteer crew for a simulated Mars mission at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

Dr. Piyumi Wijesekara along with other 3 crew members will step into the agency’s Human Exploration Research Analog, or HERA, on Friday, May 10. Once inside, the team will live and work like astronauts for 45 days.

The crew will exit the facility on June 24 after they “return to Earth”. Jose Baca and Brandon Kent are this mission’s alternate crew members. HERA enables scientists to study how crew members adapt to isolation, confinement, and remote conditions before NASA sends astronauts on deep space missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.