Misleading Posts About Piyumi Wijesekera’s Participation in NASA’s Simulated Mars Mission

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Sri Lankan scientists are making significant contributions in various countries and prestigious institutions like NASA. However, their achievements are sometimes overshadowed by misleading social media posts that spread false information about their activities.

Social Media Posts

Social media posts are claiming that Sri Lankan scientist Piyumi Wijesekera is joining a NASA space exploration mission to Mars.

FB | Archived 

We decided to do a fact check on this.

Fact Check 

Fact:

The claim that Piyumi Wijesekera is going on a NASA mission to Mars is misleading. Piyumi Wijesekera, along with Jason Lee, Stephanie Navarro, and Shareef Al Romaithi, is part of NASA’s Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA) mission. This mission is a simulated Mars mission, not an actual space mission. The purpose of HERA is to study how crew members adapt to isolation, confinement, and remote conditions similar to what astronauts would experience on long-duration space missions.

Details:

Simulated Mission: Piyumi Wijesekera and her team entered the HERA habitat at NASA’s Johnson Space Center on May 10 for a 45-day mission, and currently living and working as if they were on a real mission to Mars.More details can be read here 

Purpose: The mission aims to help scientists understand the psychological and physiological effects of isolation and confinement in preparation for future deep space missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

Duration: The crew will exit the habitat on June 24, after completing their simulated mission.

Alternates: Jose Baca and Brandon Kent are the alternate crew members for this mission.

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Conclusion:

Piyumi Wijesekera is not currently selected to go on an actual Mars mission. She is participating in a simulated mission as part of NASA’s research to prepare for future deep space exploration. The social media posts suggesting otherwise are inaccurate and misleading.