14 DAY TRIAL // Officials at the European Space Agency (ESA) announce that the first full-length, high-fidelity simulation of a manned mission to the Red Planet has just concluded in the Russian Capital. The six “astronauts” of the Mars500 experiment exited the simulation facility today, November 4.
The hatches separating the real world from the interconnecting modules that served as home for the test participants were opened at precisely 14:00 local time (11:00 CET, 1000 GMT), to the resounding cheers of scientists present at the ceremony.
Mission commander Alexey Sitev, from Russia, led his five crewmembers out of the test facility, which is located at the Institute for Biomedical Problems, in Moscow. The team has been locked inside a series of modules since June 3, 2010, or about 17 months.
Their purpose was to investigate whether humans can withstand the rigors of traveling all the way to Mars and back using existing technologies. At this point, researchers are more worried about psychological problems than engineering challenges.
“The international crew were isolated in their interplanetary spacecraft mock-up, faithfully following the phases of a real mission: a long flight to Mars, insertion into orbit around the planet, landing, surface exploration, return to orbit, a monotonous return flight and arrival at Earth,” an ESA statement says.
In total, the six astronauts performed in excess of 100 experiments, which scientists say helped them past the time, while introducing some new elements in what would otherwise have been a boring routine. Such a routine would be inevitable for any trip to Mars.
What is interesting to note here is that scientists even simulated the length of time it would take an electrical signal to reach Earth when transmitted from Martian orbit. It took a signal sent by the Mars500 crew about 10 minutes to reach our planet when the simulation took them to Mars.
The three Russians, one Chinese and two European astronauts were congratulated for their extraordinary discipline, and for the dedication they exhibited throughout their long journey.
“Thank you very much for your outstanding effort. I welcome the courage, determination and generosity of these young people who have devoted almost two years of their lives to this project, for the progress of human space exploration,” ESA Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain told the crew.
“It is great to see you all again. On the Mars500 mission we have accomplished on Earth the longest space voyage ever so that humankind can one day greet a new dawn on a distant but reachable planet,” Mars500 crewmember Diego Urbina said.
“And, as a European Space Agency crewmember, I am honored to have been part of this remarkable challenge together with five of the most professional, friendly and resilient individuals I have ever worked with,” he added.
“I’ll be forever thankful to those who, even from a distance, always stood close to me during this space odyssey,” Urbina concluded.
In addition to Urbina and Sitev, who is from Russia, the crew also included ESA representative Romain Charles, from France, Russian selections Sukhrob Rustamovich Kamolov and Alexandr Egorovich Smoleevskiy, and China Astronaut Research and Training Center instructor Wang Yue.