William Atkins
Thursday, 02 April 2009 19:23
Science -
Space
Page 1 of 3
An Earth-based experiment started in Moscow on March 31, 2009, will simulate a space-based journey to the planet Mars. Six would-be space travelers have been locked into a capsule to simulate the two-year mission from Earth to Mars and back.
The participants of this Earth-based space experiment are Russian cosmonauts Sergei Ryazansky and Oleg Artemyez, Russian physician Alexei Baranov, Russian physiotherapist Alexei Shpakov, French pilot Cyrille Fournier, and German engineer Oliver Knickel.
The experiment is co-sponsored by the Russia Federal Space Agency (RSA, or
Roscosmos) and the European Space Agency (
ESA ).
At 14:00 local Moscow time (12:00 Central European Summer Time [CEST]) on Tuesday, March 31, 2009, all six crewmembers entered the capsule at the Moscow, Russia-based Institute for BioMedical Problems (IBMP), which is within the
Russian Academy of Sciences.
They will stay in their capsule (a
“dedicated isolation facility”) for one hundred five (105) days (a little over three months)—far short of the two-year mission envisioned for in two decades from now. But, it’s a start, and there is more to come as we learn more about extended missions to space. We know about months in space, but we really don't know that much about a couple of years in space. We will learn this before our manned missions to Mars now scheduled in the 2030s.
During their make-believe journey to Mars they will contend with the same conditions and would-be problems that would exist if they really were flying to the Red Planet. (Boy, I sure hope the toilets work properly!)
These cosmonuats will be performing a routine set up to simulate conditions while in space. Their capsule consists of about 2,152 square feet (200 square meters) of area involving a series of connected metal tanks. The tanks include areas for a kitchen, medical facility, research lab, crew compartment, along with a descent capsule.
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