Space is so vast that a return trip to Mars, one of the closest planets, will take several years. Before we can send astronauts on such long, risky journeys, it is a good idea to know as much as possible about the problems they will have to overcome. This is why ESA is planning to team up with the Russians to send a crew of six to Mars in spring 2008.
No, it’s not a real mission. It’s actually a simulated flight, known as Mars500. During their ‘voyage’, the crew will spend 500 days living and working inside a special isolation facility in Moscow. Shut inside metal tanks, the volunteers will go through many of the situations that they would actually face on a journey to the Red Planet. This means they will have to ‘experience’ a launch, an outward trek of up to 250 days, a trip to the Martian surface and a long journey home.
ESA is now looking for scientific experiments that will teach us more about the mental and physical stresses of such a long mission and how they might be overcome. For example, how will they cope with living far from home in cramped conditions? How will they deal with sudden emergencies and communication delays of up to 20 minutes each way? Will they be able to survive on a limited amount of food and drink, with no hope of resupply? Will they suffer from mood swings and sleeplessness? Will they start to argue and fall out? Watch this space.
