But now, here on Earth, specifically in Moscow, Russia, a experiment is already being held regarding the effects on humans that the long journey from our planet to Mars may cause. Six male volunteers from Russia (3), Italy (1), France (1) and China (2) have been living isolatedly for about one hundred days in an facility designed ad hoc for testing the psychological demands of an interplanetarian trip.
The Mars500 crew. Photo from ESA's Mars500 program page.
Leaded by Commander Alexei Sitev, a Russian engineer, the team will leave the facility they have been living in since June 3rd, 2010 by the day 520 of isolation, i.e., on November 5th, 2011. Until that date, the men will have to share a space consisting in four hermetically sealed interconnected sections, consisting in habitable, medical and storage modules, as well as a Mars Landing simulator. They even have gym and sauna.
The first 250 days of isolation will consist in the "trip to Mars", followed by 30 days for "orbiting and landing on Mars", while the final 240 days will be for "going back to Earth". The presumed distances
This experiment is being carried out by Russia's Institute for Biomedical Problems (IBMP), the Russian Academy of Sciences and the European Space Agency (ESA) and is the third phase of the Mars500 program.
The first stage, developed during November 2007, consisted in a 15-days isolation for equipment, facilities and operating procedures testing and involved a different group of six volunteers (one of them being a woman). The second phase of the Mars500 program, developed with an all-Russian team, consisted in a trip simulation similar to the one being currently held, but designed to last only 105 days. It was completed on June 3rd, 2010.
More information on the Mars500 program can be found here.
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