In a joint project between Russia’s Institute of Biomedical Problems (IBMP) and the European Space Agency (ESA), six individuals were locked up in a capsule in Moscow yesterday to simulate conditions for a manned mission to Mars.
The all-male ensemble of volunteers includes two Europeans and four Russians who will spend three months closed off in the 550 cubic meter facility in an effort to test the physiological and psychological effects of isolation.
The two Europeans, a 28-year-old engineer in the German army and a 40-year-old pilot for Air France, were selected from an applicant pool of over 5,600 individuals.
The Russians involved in the experiment include two cosmonauts, a doctor, and a sports physicist.
A great deal of effort has gone into simulating the conditions expected in a real mission, including a 20 minute time delay in communications and a limited supply of provisions.
The IMBP and ESA are planning on sending another six individuals into the capsule at the end of the year for a 520 day period.
A manned mission to Mars is estimated by experts to take approximately a year and a half and both the ESA and NASA have separately sketched dates around 30 years from now for such a mission.