The six-man
crew of a mock Mars mission cracked open the hatch of their simulated spaceship for
the first time in 105 days Tuesday, setting the stage for an even longer spaceflight experiment in Russia.
The four
Russians and two Europeans spent 3 1/2 months living in cramped quarters,
conducting experiments and collecting information to help assess the
psychological and medical demands of a future mission
to Mars. Based in Moscow, the mission was part of the joint Mars500
isolation experiment by the European and Russian space agencies,
The next
phase will begin next year and is even more ambitious: 520 days of isolation.
"Living for
that long in a confined environment can only work if the crew is really getting
along with each other," said Cyrille Fournier, a French airline pilot who
participated in the experiment, in a statement. "The crew is the crucial key to
mission success, which became very evident to me during the 105 days. We had an
outstanding team spirit throughout the entire 105 days."
An actual
trip to Mars by humans would be the longest spaceflight by astronauts to date.
Today, astronauts typically spend up to six
months aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The current world record
for the longest single spaceflight by a human is 438 days. It is held by
Russian cosmonaut Valery Polyakov, who made the flight between 1994 and 1995
aboard Russia's Mir Space Station.
Simulating
Mars on Earth
During
their mock mission, the first Mars500 crew engaged in simulations red planet
travel, including the launch, cruise stages to orbit and back, as well as landing
on and leaving the
Martian surface.
They tackled
mock emergencies and experienced a communication delay of up to 20 minutes each
way, which is the time it takes signals to reach or return from Mars. Scientists
will use the crew's experiences to evaluate the psychological and physiological
effects of isolation.
The crew
also published a diary about their experience in which they described their
research and their daily lives.
Among some
of their activities: The Mars500 volunteers conducted daily medical checks,
exercised, prepared microwavable foods from each others' countries, played
poker and collected their own urine for analysis.. They also grew some of their own
food, such as lettuce, radishes and cabbage, to supplement the astronaut-style
pre-packaged meals.
"The crew has
done an excellent job," said Simonetta Di Pippo, a spaceflight director at the ESA.
DiPippo attended the opening of the hatch and greeted the crew as they stepped
out of the module. "These studies, like many other activities we carry out on
Earth in space exploration analogue facilities, will help Europe to move
forward in human exploration - making use of the ISS to go back the Moon and
one day also beyond."
The 105-day experiment was the precursor to a longer simulation of a
full-fledged mission to Mars and back due to start in early 2010. That exercise
will see another six-member crew sealed in the same chamber to experience a
complete 520-day
Mars mission.
"We have
successfully completed our mission," said Oliver Knickel, a German mechanical
engineer and member of the ESA. "This is a big accomplishment that I am very
proud of. I hope that the scientific data we have provided over the last months
will help to make a mission to Mars possible."
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