520-day mock Mars mission ends

PALE but smiling, a crew of researchers yesterday walked out of a set of windowless modules after a 520-day simulation of a flight to Mars.

The all-male crew of three Russians, a Frenchman, an Italian-Colombian and a Chinese man slowly emerged from the Moscow facility, which simulated the conditions of interplanetary travel — minus the weightlessness. Dressed in blue track suits emblazoned with the mission emblem, they walked down a metal ladder to a greeting crowd of officials and journalists.

“The crew has completed the experiment,” team leader Alexey Sitev reported to Russian space officials. “The mission is accomplished, the crew is in good health and is ready for new missions.”

Psychologists said long confinement without daylight and fresh air put the team under stress as they grow increasingly tired of each other’s company. They said that conditions can even be more challenging on a mock mission than a real flight because they won’t experience the euphoria or dangers of space travel.

Despite that, the crew showed no sign of stress as they walked to microphones to speak before cameras. “We hope that we can help in designing the future missions to Mars,” Frenchman Romain Charles said with a smile.

During the experiment, the crew communicated with the organisers and their families via the internet, which was delayed and disrupted to imitate the effects of space travel. They ate canned food similar to that offered on the International Space Station.

During the mission, the crew conducted a mock Mars landing, venturing into a sand-covered room and plant flags of Russia, China and the European Space Agency on a simulated Red Planet. They also took “samples” from the ground and conducted faux scientific experiments.