LONDON - A group of volunteers that spent 105 days locked up in a mock spaceship simulating a trip to Mars has said that the most difficult part of the trip was isolation and monotony.
According to a report in New Scientist, the programme, which was used to test the psychological and physiological effects of isolation, will pave the way for a longer 520-day mission that will take place in the first half of 2010.
The experiment took place in a multi-floored facility in Moscow that includes a mock spacecraft, a descent vehicle, and a simulation of the Martian surface.
Although researchers are still analyzing the results of the tests conducted during the simulation and performing follow-up tests on the participants this week, the mission seems to have finished largely without incident.
“The most difficult part of the mission was not a single event but more the monotony,” said Oliver Knickel, a mechanical engineer in the German army and a volunteer for the 105-day mission.
The bulk of the crew’s working day was occupied by psychological and physiological tests, Knickel told New Scientist.
The crew ate astronaut-style pre-packaged meals that were intermittently enhanced by fresh vegetables like radishes and cabbage that the crew grew in a small greenhouse.
In his off time, Knickel passed the time by writing letters, learning Russian, and playing poker and dice with his crewmates.
But, the isolation and confinement in a cramped space did take its toll.
“I had a hard time focusing on the things I was doing,” said Knickel, adding that he did not retain newly learned Russian vocabulary words was well as he did back home.
During the mission, the crew had to respond to simulated emergencies and deal with a communication delay of up to 20 minutes each way when talking to ‘ground controllers’ - mimicking the time it takes for radio signals to travel between a Mars-bound spacecraft and Earth.
Such communication lags mean that crews would not be able to respond in real-time to commands from the ground and would probably need to function fairly autonomously.
According to participant Cyrille Fournier, an airline pilot from France, there was a good sense of camaraderie over the 3.5 months the six volunteers spent together.
“We had an outstanding team spirit throughout the entire 105 days,” he said.
“Living for that long in a confined environment can only work if the crew is really getting along with each other. The crew is the crucial key to mission success, which became very evident to me during the 105 days,” he added. (ANI)
Related News
How water on Moon may be 'harvested' in future to propel missions to MarsSeptember 26th, 2009 LONDON - With an instrument aboard India's Chandryaan discovering water molecules on the Moon, scientists are now all the more confident of harvesting water from the lunar surface in the future, which could help sustain lunar astronauts and even propel missions to Mars. Three spacecraft - India's Chandrayaan-1 and NASA's Cassini and Deep Impact probes - have detected the absorption of infrared light at a wavelength that indicates the presence of either water or hydroxyl, a molecule made up of a hydrogen and an oxygen atom.
Astronauts could orbit Mars in 2020s, provided NASA's budget is boostedSeptember 9th, 2009 LONDON - In a new report, a panel of experts have suggested that humans could orbit Mars in the 2020s, provided NASA's budget is boosted. According to an article in the New Scientist, at its current funding level, the agency will be unable to leave low-Earth orbit for at least the next two decades, according to a summary of the panel's report.
Mission Mars between 2013 to 2015: ISRO chiefAugust 31st, 2009 PANAJI - India will undertake Mission Mars between 2013 to 2015, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief G. Madhavan Nair said here Monday.
Inflatable shells could ensure safe landings for spacecrafts on MarsAugust 12th, 2009 LONDON - NASA is planning to test inflatable shells for spacecraft traveling to Mars in the future, so as to ensure safe landings on the Red Planet. Before NASA's Mars Science Laboratory alights on the red planet in 2012, the one-tonne rover will have fallen through Mars' thin atmosphere at hypersonic speeds and blistering temperatures.
Asteroid visits could prepare astronauts for Mars landingAugust 12th, 2009 LONDON - A committee appointed by the White House to review NASA's aims has put forward the idea to send astronauts on progressively longer space trips to asteroids, in order to prepare them for a landing on Mars. According to a report in New Scientist, committee member Edward Crawley of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said that the first mission would fly by the moon.
Scientists identify lake shorelines on MarsAugust 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A team of scientists, using images from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on board NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, have reported direct evidence of lake shorelines in the Shalbatana Vallis in Mars. Scientists generally believe that warm, wet conditions existed on Mars until only about 3.7 billion years ago.
Astronauts complete final spacewalkJuly 28th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Two astronauts have completed their fifth and final spacewalk installing two cameras on Japan's Kibo laboratory at the International Space Station (ISS), the US space agency NASA said. The spacewalk, conducted by Chris Cassidy and Tom Marshburn, lasted four hours and 54 minutes.
NASA's new chief sees Mars and beyond as goal within generation; space station to be extendedJuly 21st, 2009 New NASA boss: Astronauts on Mars in his lifetimeWASHINGTON — NASA's new boss said Tuesday he will be "incredibly disappointed" if people aren't on Mars — or venturing somewhere beyond it — in his lifetime. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden Jr., who's 62, said his ultimate goal isn't just Mars — it's anywhere far from Earth.
4th spacewalker Alan Bean says US should focus on Mars nowJuly 20th, 2009 LONDON - Captain Alan Bean, the fourth person to walk on the moon, says that it's time of the U.S. to forget about going back, and to join forces with the international community to focus on a mission to Mars instead.
About to meet the president, Apollo 11 astronauts say Mars beckons more than moon return tripJuly 20th, 2009 Apollo 11 crew: Moon less interesting than MarsWASHINGTON — The first astronauts to walk on the moon want President Barack Obama to aim for a new destination: Mars. On Monday, the Apollo 11 crewmen, fresh from a Washington lecture Sunday in which two of them expressed concerns about NASA getting bogged down on the moon, are meeting with Obama at the White House.
Moon landing is old news to Apollo 11 astronauts, who call for giant leap to MarsJuly 20th, 2009 Apollo 11 astronauts look beyond moon, toward MarsWASHINGTON — The astronauts who first landed on the moon aren't dwelling on their small lunar steps. Instead, two of them on Sunday urged mankind to take a giant leap to Mars.
Apollo astronauts dream of trip to MarsJuly 20th, 2009 WASHINGTON - It's been decades since they set foot on the moon, but the pioneers of the Apollo programme remain committed to exploring space with the goal of sending a human to Mars. Seven astronauts from the Apollo programme talked with journalists Monday to mark the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing on the moon.
Apollo 11 astronaut Aldrin: NASA should develop missions to Mars, possibly 'source of life'July 19th, 2009 Aldrin: NASA should work to put people on MarsWASHINGTON — Former Apollo astronaut Buzz Aldrin says NASA should set its sights on a bigger target in the future: Mars. Aldrin made the comments on the eve of the 40th anniversary of his landing on the moon on the Apollo 11 mission.
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in safe mode; space disturbance likely caused computer rebootJune 5th, 2009 Mars orbiter enters safe mode after disturbancePASADENA, Calif. — NASA says its powerful Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is in safe mode after being hit by a cosmic ray or solar particle.
Mars samples from NASA missions may be contaminatedMay 14th, 2009 LONDON - A new report by the US National Research Council has said that if NASA aims to bring Mars samples back to Earth, it should prepare for the possibility that the samples could include organisms that might endanger humans and other terrestrial life. According to a report in New Scientist, the report argues that to prevent potential contamination by any Martian life, NASA should begin building a secure facility on Earth to house the samples.
Loading ...