JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON – (August 26, 2024) – Women’s Equality Day celebrates the passage of the 19th Amendment, guaranteeing all American women the right to vote, and recognizes the contributions and achievements of others in their fight for equality in other areas.

At the Naval Medical Research Unit (NAMRU) San Antonio, one of the U.S. Navy’s premier research and development laboratories under the direction of the Department of Defense (DoD), women are an integral part of the command.

One of these women is Lt. Anca Selariu, a microbiologist assigned to the Directorate of Craniofacial Health and Reconstructive Medicine at NAMRU San Antonio.

Selariu, who was born near Brasov, Romania, during the communist regime, recently completed temporary service as part of a four-person crew during NASA’s first Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA) mission from June 25, 2023, to July 6, 2024.

The CHAPEA missions, which consist of simulated expeditions to the Martian surface, aim to collect important data that will serve as a basis for future human space expeditions. The first mission consisted of 378 days in Mars Dune Alpha, a 3D-printed 17,000-square-foot structure at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Selariu, who entered the United States as an adult on an A-1 permanent resident visa, brought expertise in vaccines, prion transmission, gene therapy and infectious disease research to the CHAPEA mission.

According to Selariu, who will be promoted to lieutenant commander in September, space exploration has been a symbol of hope and aspiration for all people since the beginning of recorded history.

“Mars is our planet’s closest relative within reach, and human exploration missions are not far away,” said Selariu, who received her doctorate in biomedical sciences from Rutgers University in 2012. “Yet we know very little about the challenges facing humans and other life forms, because to our knowledge no life form has ever traveled that far.”

According to Selariu, the crew performed many of the activities expected to be required during a manned Mars surface mission, including activities such as growing crops, cleaning, housekeeping, maintaining life support systems, equipment repair, exercises, spacewalks, remotely operating robotic equipment, conducting drone/rover operations on the surface and responding to unplanned situations, etc. The crew also had private time to relax or participate in fun team activities.

“Working and living in a completely isolated environment for over a year, where you can’t communicate in real time with anyone except the three other crew members, is something that not many people experience in their lives,” said Selariu, who also holds two bachelor’s degrees in biochemistry and philology. “It is crucial to collect data in an isolated environment that includes exercise, nutrition, behavioral health, workload and so on.”

Selariu, who has been in the U.S. Navy for five years, was grateful to be part of an incredible team of brilliant, selfless and fun crew members who worked hard and cared for each other.

“NASA has decades of experience selecting crews based on their collaboration and complementarity, and it was a privilege for me to witness this firsthand,” Selariu said. “Each of us had a different personality, and together we created a broad knowledge base and shared incredibly diverse life experiences and values, which positively impacted the success of the mission.”

Selariu was the only female Navy member selected to participate in the first CHAPEA mission.

“The Navy has always supported NASA in some capacity,” Selariu said. “For me, the purpose of the Department of Defense is to ensure peace and security so that the people of our country and our planet are free to reach for the stars and achieve the impossible. I am honored to have been given the opportunity to be part of the CHAPEA mission.”

Prior to deploying to NAMRU San Antonio, Selariu served with Navy Environmental Preventive Medicine Unit 5 (NEPMU-5) and NAMRU Indo Pacific.

“I have worked in very diverse environments, including forward preventive medicine, diagnostic testing in remote and underway environments, international relations and defense cooperation,” Selariu said. “I spent nearly a year at sea as part of the COVID-19 response team on the USNS Mercy and USS Nimitz Carrier Strike Group. In addition, I helped build new projects and strategic partnerships in Southeast Asia and Oceania, focusing on force health protection, medical readiness and rapid response to threats.”

Recruited from Fort Collins, Colorado, as a cryptographic technician (interpretation), Selariu has studied and worked in biomedical research, development and manufacturing for approximately 20 years, contributing to discoveries in vaccine development, gene therapy and disease transmission through protein misfolding.

She is a person who knows the value of freedom of speech.

“I never took it for granted. When I became a citizen of the United States, I enjoyed every privilege that comes with being a U.S. citizen,” Selariu said. “I always wanted to serve this country to show my gratitude and defend the people’s right to a voice.”

“The Navy is my family,” she continued. “Military service is inherently rewarding because it directly contributes to national and global security, which benefits every member of society everywhere. I hope that my accomplishments will raise awareness of what Naval Medicine is and how important its personnel are, and that these accomplishments will serve to inspire young citizens and scientists to contribute to the mission of Naval Medicine.”

She made the following statement when considering a career in the American Navy.

“I rarely think about my career as I am driven and guided by my beliefs. And I believe in helping people be exceptional ambassadors for life on Earth,” Selariu said. “I enjoy being in an organization that actively advocates for its people. By empowering and nurturing the leadership skills of each Soldier, we create and sustain a culture of excellence.”

NAMRU San Antonio’s mission is to conduct gap-focused research in combat casualty care, craniofacial research, and directed energy research to improve the survivability, readiness, and safety of DoD personnel during routine and expeditionary operations. It is one of eight subordinate research commands in the global network of laboratories operating under the Naval Medical Research Command in Silver Spring, Maryland.