Article Posted on : - May 06, 2010

Mars mission: Life in the isolation chamber. ESA photo

MOSCOW (BNS): A group of volunteers have started their final round of training in Russia for a simulated mission to Mars that will last 520 days, a media report said.

Three Russians, two other Europeans and one Chinese national will be shut away for one-and-a-half years inside a 180-square-metre module housed in the Institute of Medical and Biological Problems (IMBP) in Moscow.

The mission, dubbed ‘Mars500’ was designed to simulate the journey from Earth to the Red Planet, and illustrate the possible physical and mental toll that it will take on the participants.

"The biggest risk of such isolation is psychological," AFP quoted researcher Alexander Suvorov, who is leading the experiment at the IBMP, as saying.

"Of course relations between the crew will not always be harmonious, some will get on with others, others will not. But the priority is to be able to carry out tasks in spite of this," he said.

The crew will enter a completely isolated capsule. The tiny capsule consists of four connected modules, each with a volume of 550 cubic meters. There are no windows. Their diet will be identical to the freeze-dried menu on the International Space Station.

During the isolation period the candidates will be simulating all elements of the Mars mission, traveling to Mars, orbiting the planet, landing and return to Earth.

Mars500 will be the first full-duration simulated mission to Mars. “Mars is the ultimate goal of the global human exploration programme,” said Simonetta Di Pippo, ESA Director of Human Spaceflight.

The Mars500 experiment is conducted by Russia’s Institute of Biomedical Problems IBMP with extensive participation by ESA.