14 DAY TRIAL // After spending more than eight months inside a dummy spacecraft heading for Mars, astronauts in the Mars500 experiments have finally reached their virtual target, the surface of the Red Planet.
Of the six permanent crew members, three “departed” for the Martian surface in their lander, and two of them actually set foot in a surface simulator at the Institute of Biomedical Problems facility.
The simulated spacecraft, lander and Martian terrain are set in a huge hangar in Moscow, surrounded by scientific equipment and related apparatus. Mars500 is a joint project of three space agencies.
The European Space Agency (ESA) has two seats on the experiment. The Russian Federal Space Agency (RosCosmos) has three seats, while the China National Space Administration (CNSA) has a single representative.
According to scientists, the goal of the investigation is to assess the effects of a one-and-a-half-year-long journey to another planet on the human mind, and on very small groups.
The six “astronauts” involved in the 520-day experiment are being subjected to the same conditions an actual Martian-bound expedition would, including a built-in communications delay that can extend up to 10 minutes.
This is how long it takes for a radio signal to travel between Mars and Earth. At this point, the Mars500 crew experiences maximum delay, as they are in orbit around our neighboring planet.
RosCosmos representative Alexandr Smoleevskiy, ESA expert Diego Urbina and Chinese “astronaut” Wang Yue were the three team members that got onboard the Martian lander on February 8.
They arrived on the surface about 4 days later. For the first sortie, which took place at about 13:00 Moscow time, the two astronauts that stepped onto the simulated planetary surface used Russian-built Orlan spacesuits.
“Europe has for centuries explored Earth, led by people like Columbus and Magellan,” said Urbina at the beginning of the three-hour ‘Marswalk’ with Smoleevskiy.
“Today, looking at this red landscape, I can feel how inspiring it will be to look through the eyes of the first human to step foot on Mars. I salute all the explorers of tomorrow and wish them godspeed, he added.
Two more sorties are planned before the crew “returns” home. The next one will be on February 18, and will be carried out by Smoleevskiy and Yue. The third and final one will take place on February 22, and will be conducted by Smoleevskiy and Urbina.
The mission is due to conclude sometime in November 2011.