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Volunteers wanted for simulated 520-day Mars mission
physorg.com ^ | October 22, 2009 | N/A

Posted on 10/22/2009 6:20:38 AM PDT by Jet Jaguar

Starting in 2010, an international crew of six will simulate a 520-day round-trip to Mars, including a 30-day stay on the martian surface. In reality, they will live and work in a sealed facility in Moscow, Russia, to investigate the psychological and medical aspects of a long-duration space mission. ESA is looking for European volunteers to take part.

The ‘mission’ is part of the Mars500 programme being conducted by ESA and Russia’s Institute of Biomedical Problems (IBMP) to study human psychological, medical and physical capabilities and limitations in space through fundamental and operational research. ESA’s Directorate of Human Spaceflight is undertaking Mars500 as part of its European Programme for Life and Physical Sciences (ELIPS) to prepare for future human missions to the Moon and Mars.

Following on from the successful 105-day precursor study completed in July, ESA is now looking for two candidates and two backups for the full 520-day study, which is due to get underway before mid-2010 after four months of training. The crew will follow a programme designed to simulate a 250-day journey to Mars, a 30-day surface exploration phase and 240 days travelling back to Earth. For the ‘surface exploration’, half of the crew will move to the facility’s martian simulation module and the hatch to the rest of the facility will be closed.

Candidates should be aged 20-50, motivated, in good health and no taller than 185 cm. They should speak one of the working languages: English and Russian. Candidates must have a background and work experience in medicine, biology, life support systems engineering, computer engineering, electronic engineering or mechanical engineering.


TOPICS: Astronomy; Education; Gardening; Health/Medicine
KEYWORDS: xplanets

1 posted on 10/22/2009 6:20:38 AM PDT by Jet Jaguar
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To: Jet Jaguar

Can you program TIVO for that long?


2 posted on 10/22/2009 6:31:08 AM PDT by Thrownatbirth (.....Iraq Invasion fan since '91.)
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To: Thrownatbirth

:0)


3 posted on 10/22/2009 6:32:27 AM PDT by Jet Jaguar (A mob of one.)
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To: Jet Jaguar

I volunteer The Chosen One.


4 posted on 10/22/2009 6:33:41 AM PDT by Lawgvr1955 (You can never have too much cowbell !!)
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To: Jet Jaguar
3 positions have already been filled...


5 posted on 10/22/2009 6:38:54 AM PDT by TruthBeforeAll (To liberals if something is a complete and utter disaster, it's because there's not enough of it.)
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To: Jet Jaguar
Candidates should be aged 20-50, motivated, in good health and no taller than 185 cm.

Perhaps my back surgery could help me get in under the 185 cm limit. Considering it's in Moscow, are they going to have some hot Russian women in the group?

6 posted on 10/22/2009 6:39:32 AM PDT by Paleo Conservative
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To: Jet Jaguar

Can you say, ‘claustrophobia?’


7 posted on 10/22/2009 7:09:19 AM PDT by JPG (Stand up and take our country back.)
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To: Jet Jaguar

I vote to send Obama.


8 posted on 10/22/2009 7:24:36 AM PDT by cblue55
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To: TruthBeforeAll

Who is that cosmonaut at front of the line?


9 posted on 10/22/2009 7:24:49 AM PDT by bsf2009
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To: Jet Jaguar

Absolute, giant waste of time. Ion engines will cut the trip to Mars to 40 days or so. Who wants to expose themselves to radiation for 520 days just for a trip to Mars?


10 posted on 10/22/2009 7:30:49 AM PDT by backwoods-engineer (Proud to be an American, where I least I know I'm free!)
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To: Jet Jaguar
I'll go, but only if that lady from Weird Science is on board ...


11 posted on 10/22/2009 7:36:36 AM PDT by Scythian
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To: Scythian

Kelly Preston must be around 60 yaers old by now.


12 posted on 10/22/2009 8:16:08 AM PDT by WOBBLY BOB (ACORN:American Corruption for Obama Right Now)
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To: Jet Jaguar

Since the mission to Mars will be 520 days, plus the time that will be used for training, I think it would be a good plan for us to volunteer Obama and Biden as the two to go, and then use the 500 odd members of Congress as the backup crews and they all need to be locked in for the duration of the training and mission.


13 posted on 10/22/2009 10:33:27 AM PDT by Jon57
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To: KevinDavis; annie laurie; garbageseeker; Knitting A Conundrum; Viking2002; Ernest_at_the_Beach; ...
What we need to do is have everyone in the country entered into a thing like Survivor -- only we keep voting people off this island onto the other one (Mars).
 
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14 posted on 10/22/2009 6:47:00 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/__Since Jan 3, 2004__Profile updated Monday, January 12, 2009)
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To: Jet Jaguar
My two cats want to experience weightlessness. They and I willingly volunteer.
15 posted on 10/23/2009 4:20:20 PM PDT by LiberConservative ("Sarah Palin irritates all the right people." -Dennis Miller)
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