Crew return from 'Mars mission'

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HI-SEAS dome in HawaiiImage source, University of Hawaii
Image caption,

This dome is designed to mimic life on Mars

Six people who've been 'living on Mars' are back in the outside world.

The group haven't actually been to the red planet. Instead they've stayed in an isolation dome close to a remote Hawaiian volcano to mimic what life would be like there.

They spent eight months in the dome without fresh air, fresh food or privacy.

The two women and four men have been carrying out research and tracking how much food, power and water they've used.

They've mainly been eating freeze-dried food so the first thing they did after leaving the dome was enjoy a fresh fruit buffet.

Image source, University of Hawaii
Image caption,

The group's first meal outside the dome was a fresh fruit buffet

The dome included a small space to sleep, a kitchen, laboratory, bathroom and a simulated airlock area.

They could send messages outside the dome but there was a 20 minute delay to copy what reception would be like between Earth and the red planet.

It's hoped the experiment will help NASA pick astronauts for future space missions, including trips to Mars.

This isn't the first time people have been trialling life on Mars right here on planet earth.

Simulated missions, like this one, have been taking place since 2012.