This month on Inside the Habitat, we’re traveling to northeastern Brazil to explore Habitat Marte, the Southern Hemisphere’s only continuously operating Mars analog station.

Founded by professor, researcher, and analog astronaut Julio Rezende, Habitat Marte has welcomed more than 1,000 participants from over 40 countries and conducted nearly 190 simulated space missions. Built in Brazil’s rugged semiarid landscape, the station has become a global leader in analog research, combining sustainable agriculture, astronaut training, scientific experimentation, and education to prepare humanity for future missions to the Moon and Mars.

In this conversation, Julio shares the remarkable story of how Habitat Marte grew from a bold idea into one of the world’s premier analog facilities. We explore the station’s unique greenhouse and aquaponics systems, its lunar and lava tube habitats, EVA operations, and why sustainability isn’t just important for Mars—it may help improve life here on Earth.

We also discuss Habitat Marte’s participation in The World’s Biggest Analog, the largest synchronized analog astronaut mission ever conducted, where the station represented Brazil alongside habitats from around the globe. The international collaboration was even featured by National Geographic, highlighting the growing role analog stations play in preparing humanity for permanent life beyond Earth.

Whether you’re fascinated by analog astronauts, sustainable living, or the future of Mars exploration, this episode offers an inspiring look at how one community in Brazil is helping shape the next chapter of human spaceflight.

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A huge thank you to Julio for taking the time to sit down with me and share the incredible story behind Habitat Marte and everything his team has built over the past eight years. It’s inspiring to see a world-class Mars analog thriving in the Southern Hemisphere and helping prepare people from around the globe for the future of space exploration. And of course, thank you to Nick Thorburn for the stellar theme music, Ceci Giglio for the incredible graphics, Jero Squartini for the amazing animations, to RDan, Leila, Inka, and Carl for admining the Facebook group, and to my family for supporting this project—even when my travel wishlist starts including Mars analog stations.

Imagine we've landed on Mars, set up shop, and are absolutely thriving.

Now what?

It’s a question that rarely gets asked. We spend countless hours talking about rockets, habitats, food production, and surviving the journey to the Red Planet—but if humanity truly plans to build permanent settlements beyond Earth, another challenge inevitably awaits us: creating the next generation.

In this episode of Everyday Mars, returning guest Dr. Shawna Pandya—physician, neuroscientist, commercial astronaut, analog astronaut, and one of the world’s leading experts in space medicine—joins us to explore the fascinating science and ethics of reproduction beyond Earth.

Together we examine why fertility and pregnancy have remained one of the biggest blind spots in human spaceflight, what decades of research have (and haven’t) taught us, how reduced gravity and radiation may affect pregnancy and fetal development, and why Mars forces us to rethink everything from prenatal care to emergency medicine.

We also explore IVF on Mars, genetic screening, the possibility of future Martians evolving differently than humans on Earth, whether astronauts should even be allowed to become pregnant during early settlements, and what the birth of the very first Martian child could mean for the future of our species.

It’s one of the most thought-provoking conversations we’ve ever had on the podcast—and a reminder that becoming a multi-planetary civilization isn’t just about learning how to survive on another world.

It’s about learning how to build a future there.

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• International Space Station Integrated Medical Group (IMG) Medical Checklist (p. 418) - https://newspaceeconomy.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/163533main_iss_med_cl.pdf

• Walking Through Elephant Cancer Resistance: What it can teach us about elephants, genetics and disease defenses - https://www.researchgate.net/publication/378443177_Walking_Through_Elephant_Cancer_Resistance_What_it_can_teach_us_about_elephants_genetics_and_disease_defenses
• Open Label, Dose Escalation, Repeat Dose Study Evaluating YCT-529 in Healthy Males - https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06542237
• Understanding how space travel affects the female reproductive system to the Moon and beyond - https://www.nature.com/articles/s44294-024-00009-z#citeas
• Microgravity promotes osteoclast activity in medaka fish reared at the international space station - https://www.nature.com/articles/srep14172

A huge thank you Dr. Shawna Pandya for joining me today and sharing her time, expertise, and passion for one of the most fascinating (and important) questions we’ll have to answer before humanity becomes a multi-planetary species. And of course, thank you to Nick Thorburn for the stellar theme music, Ceci Giglio for the incredible graphics, Jero Squartini for the amazing animations, to RDan, Leila, Inka, and Carl for admining the Facebook group, and to my family for supporting this project

In this special bonus episode of Aspiring Martians, I caught up with NASA astronaut Dr. Anil Menon just weeks before his first journey to space aboard Soyuz MS-29, where he’ll spend roughly eight months aboard the International Space Station as part of Expeditions 74 and 75.

Although Anil has served as a NASA flight surgeon, SpaceX’s first medical director, an Air Force physician, engineer, pilot, and emergency medicine specialist, he says the most challenging role he’s ever had is being a father.

With Father’s Day having just passed in the United States, our conversation explores the human side of space exploration—how he and his wife, fellow astronaut Anna Menon, balance two demanding careers while raising their children, the creative ways he stays connected with his family during long separations, and why parenting may be some of the very best preparation for becoming an astronaut.

As humanity prepares for missions lasting years instead of months, these are the kinds of conversations we’ll need to have more often. Because building a civilization on Mars won’t just require engineers and astronauts—it will require families.