Space pioneers wanted for 520-day Mars experiment

LE BOURGET, France (AFP) - The European Space Agency (ESA) on Tuesday called for applications for one of the most demanding human experiments in space history: a simulated trip to Mars in which six "astronauts" will spend 17 months in an isolation tank on Earth.

Their spaceship will comprise a series of interlocked modules in an research institute in Moscow, and once the doors are closed tight, the volunteers will be cut off from all contact with the outside world except by a delayed radio link.

They will face simulated emergencies, daily work routines and experiments, as well as boredom and, no doubt, personal friction from confinement in just 550 cubic metres (19,250 cubic feet), the equivalent of nine truck containers.

news.yahoo.com...

This is very cool.... when I first read the headline, I thught that man was finally headed to Mars.... still cool though.

Makes me wonder, if we're not ready to send man to Mars and this is part of the training exercise?

Russians are very keen on idea to be the first one to land people on Mars. After all genius Korolev was panning unnamed missions to Mars from 1959 - no luck for Russians.

2 spacecraft launched to Phobos failed ( although the second one is pretty mysterious)...only Mars 6 landed on Mars surface - but contact was never established with spacecraft. They try to get help from NASA - but Regan pass on that one.

some people beleive that there are already humans on Mars.
I'm on the fence on that one, just not sure what to think.

Seems they've added 20 days onto the initial plan.


Just to add to this thread, an earlier thread about this mission when the ESA first announced it.

ESA to Conduct Manned Mars Mission Simulation


I am curious to see where all the participants will be from, like will it end up just being
Europeans, or will it be more international.

I think it would be interesting to be a part of the experiment, although I personally don't have a year of my life to devote to something like that. Although, I suppose I could get an MBA or something from an online university during the "trip." A year is a long time to be away from everyone you know.

No matter how nice they are, the other people would almost certainly get on my nerves in one way or another. And I would imagine that during the simulated emergencies, one of which is bound to relate to solar flare eruption, we'd be jammed into an even smaller protective compartment for a week or more. Smelling each other's butts. Murder in space?

During some prolonged MIR flights, the cosmonauts used to shut off their radio so the ground control people would stop bugging them with busy work. I wonder if the same thing might happen here.

Well, good luck to whoever volunteers. It'll be all the work of a flight to Mars with none of the actual glory. I'll pass on this one.

Four of the crew will be Russian, and two will come from countries that are members of ESA, agency and Russian officials said at the Paris Air Show in Le Bourget.

In all, 12 European volunteers are needed.

I'd like to do this... it would be a great experience.