BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) -- A pilot at Edwards Air Force Base has been selected to be a part of a year-long Mars mission simulation launched by NASA.

U.S. Air Force Major Ross Elder is set to join three other volunteers for the program that is scheduled to start this October and end in October 2026.

Officials said Elder is the Director of Operation for the F-35 Integrated Test Force and an Air Force Test Pilot at the air base. • Courtesy: Edwards Air Force Base • Courtesy: Edwards Air Force Base • Courtesy: Edwards Air Force Base • Courtesy: Edwards Air Force Base

The group will live in a 1,700-square-foot 3D-printed mockup of a Mars habitat design at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, according to officials.

They will undergo resource limitations, equipment failures, commu

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