NAMRU San Antonio NREIP Interns hear from NASA CHAPEA Crew Member

Story by:  Burrell D. Parmer, Naval Medical Research Unit San Antonio Public Affairs

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONO-FORT SAM HOUSTON – (July 23, 2024) – Interns participating in the Office of Naval Research's (ONR) Naval Research Enterprise Internship Program (NREIP) assigned to Naval Medical Research Unit (NAMRU) San Antonio, seized the opportunity to hear from Lt. Anca Selariu at the Battlefield Health and Trauma Research Institute. 

Selariu, a microbiologist assigned to NAMRU San Antonio, was part of a four-person crew that took part in NASA's inaugural Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog's (CHAPEA) mission from June 25, 2023, to July 6, 2024.

The CHAPEA missions, consisting of simulated expeditions to the surface of Mars, aim to collect critical data which will inform future human expeditions to space.

Selariu, a native of Romania, brought expertise in vaccines, prion transmission, gene therapy and infectious disease research to the CHAPEA mission.

She shared some of her experiences as part of the CHAPEA crew, such as not having access to the internet.

"Our reliance on instant access to all the human knowledge had to come from the crew and ground support," said Selariu.  "Each crew member had a unique role and we relied on each other's special skills. Thus, we had no other choice but to communicate with each other."

According to Selariu, many have taken instant access to information for granted and makes for an interesting case study to ascertain how can science be conducted in austere or deployed environments where the internet or satellite communications are nonexistent or disrupted.

Additionally, she spoke highly of her fellow crew members who lived with her for 378 days in Mars Dune Alpha, a 3D 1,700 square foot printed structure located at Johnson Space Center in Houston.   

"This was a volunteer crew composed of people convinced of the importance of what they do," said Selariu. "They knew that our mission was directly supporting the next step in space exploration. We were there because it mattered, and because it mattered beyond us."

Returning NREIP intern Cecilia Shuler, of Panama City, Fla., a senior attending the University of Pennsylvania, was excited to meet Selariu.

"Lt. Selariu was incredible! Her path to get to where she is now is fascinating," said Shuler, who is majoring in biophysics with a minor in chemistry. "It was interesting to hear her thoughts on the mission including the emphasis on teamwork and food science."

If given the opportunity, Shuler wants to become a physician astronaut with NASA, and provide medical care to astronauts and conduct medical research in space.

NREIP places college and university students in the Department of the Navy laboratories where they take part in real Naval research for ten weeks during the summer.

The program gives academically talented college students, graduating seniors, and graduate students pursuing STEM careers the opportunity to learn about Naval research and technology while receiving first-class mentoring by top scientists and engineers.

NAMRU San Antonio is one of the leading research and development laboratories for the U.S. Navy under the Department of Defense (DoD) and is one of eight subordinate research commands in the global network of laboratories operating under the Naval Medical Research Command in Silver Spring, Md.

Its mission is to conduct gap driven combat casualty care, craniofacial, and directed energy research to improve survival, operational readiness, and safety of DoD personnel engaged in routine and expeditionary operations.

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