Posted on 02/12/2011 9:59:10 AM PST by kronos77
The longest spaceflight simulation in history – a 500-day mission to Mars is reaching its destination, as the astronauts prepare to land on the Red Planet later on Saturday.
The crew of three volunteers is scheduled to leave their spaceship, where they have been locked since June, for the first “space walk” on the Martian surface.
Fake as it may seem, the ongoing experiment is more than virtual, as it helps prepare future astronauts for a real trip to Mars.
The program’s emphasis on realism means that the simulated spacewalk is going to be monitored from Russia’s real-life mission control center.
Three of the six-strong crew are going to take part in the “Mars walk” and they will be collecting samples and carrying out experiments.
The crew, the spaceship and the planet’s surface are all part of a simulated experiment – one that comes complete with mock emergencies, scientific experiments, space food, and no natural light.
Its purpose is to learn more about the physical and psychological demands of long distance space travel.
The head of the project has told RT it is a “no girls” team – perhaps to avoid any awkward tensions – and the experience itself is a tough challenge to deal with the monotony.
Aleksandr Suvorov heads a laboratory at the Institute of Medical and Biological Problems, and currently he is responsible for Mars 500 experiment.
(Excerpt) Read more at rt.com ...
They can have it ...
Its not cool like the Moon is...
Its the RED planet after all...
Just watch, they’ll probably steal the Mars Rover......
HEHEHE! Now this post is funny. Is it April 1st already?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8rYotiiFP8&feature=related been there done that.
"Get your ass to Mars."
To show you that they’re serious, there’s no women in this experiment. That’s smart of them to do that. It is my personal opinion that there’s no place for women in space travel. Perhaps later when space travel is much more advanced and we’re actually colonizing other worlds, then okay. But we are a long eay from that happening. Just my two cents.
I wonder which of them survived and which of them have been eaten.
They might land on Mars but it wouldn’t surprise me if Russia didn’t make a plan for their cosmonauts to get back.
If it was good enough for Lewis and Clark, it should be good enough for NASA. Anyway, Russia doesn't have either the money or the tech for a Mars mission, so I'm not sure how serious they are. Most of the great explorations of history had women along (someone had to cook and clean and sew!), but obviously they didn't get much press.
I think they should send only women on a real Mars mission. They use less consumables, handle boredom better, and adapt to microgravity better. That would steam up a few eyeballs :-)
It's an interesting thought experiment, anyway. A Mars mission composed entirely of men? No problem. A Mars mission composed only of women? Outrageous! It can't be allowed! Why should that be?
In fact, they've had problems with same-sex missions. One
Mir all male crewing, one cosmonaut openly contemplated
killing his crew mate.
“To show you that they’re serious, there’s no women in this experiment.”
A few years ago NASA was spitballing a Mars mission and someone (inevitably) asked why no females, and the response as well as I remember it was “Because we want the flight to actually make it there and back”! So blatently un-PC. I expected an outcry from the usual suspects....silence. Go figure.
So.... when they “arrive,” project managers have arranged for them to be met by EBEs carrying picket signs reading, “Earth Man Go Home”?
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