Why is NASA tracking two explorers as they trek across Antarctica?

Two explorers have embarked upon a 2,268-mile (3,650 kilometers) journey across Antarctica, and NASA is watching closely.

The duo comprises British explorers Justin Packshaw and Jamie Facer Childs, undergoing an 80-day trek across Antarctica as part of the Chasing the Light mission. The mission aims to give space agencies insight into the impact living in similarly harsh conditions on other planets like Mars might have on people's psychology and physiology.

While facing freezing temperatures and katabatic winds potentially up to 200 miles per hour (320 kilometers per hour), the pair will first travel 1,342 miles (2,159 kilometers) from Novolazarevskaya to the geographic South Pole, followed by a 926 mile (1,490 kilometers) journey past Hercules Inlet to Union Glacier Camp.

"Much like the extreme conditions found on planets in our solar system, Antarctica has a [harsh] environment that is useful for a range of human and biological research. Justin and Jamie's mission will allow scientists to observe a rare scientific story of human adaptability, which will ultimately contribute to ... human-centered space exploration," as seen on the Chasing the Light mission website.

They are making the journey by walking and skiing and occasionally using kites to pull them along in favorable wind conditions. They also have to tow two 440-pound (200 kilograms) sleds that carry their food and equipment, as well as samples of their blood, saliva, urine, and feces taken throughout the journey.

NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and Stanford University are collecting data from smart devices worn by the pair and testing their ability to estimate distance visually, a difficult skill for humans in unknown environments. A famous example of this occurred during the 1971 Apollo 14 mission, astronauts Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell spotted a crater they wanted to visit to retrieve samples from but estimated it to be more than a mile away and turned back when they were only 50 feet (15.24 meters) from its edge.

You can track their journey for yourself on the live Chasing the Light's tracker here.