Project Mars 500

Project Mars 500

Six would-be cosmonauts have entered a sealed facility at a medical institute in Moscow where they will spend 18 months with no windows and only e-mail contact with the outside world. The men are taking part in the Mars 500 project, which aims to simulate a mission to Mars. Scientists say the project will help them understand how humans would cope on a long journey to another world.

The project has been designed to be as realistic as possible even though some elements - such as the weightless conditions of spaceflight - cannot be created for long periods here on Earth. Everything will be onboard at the start. There will be no re-load, re-supply whatsoever. It will be like a real mission.

The craft comprises a series of interconnected steel canisters. The total interior volume is about 550 cubic metres. Four of the tubes provide the living and working environment on the "journey" to and from Mars. Their interior has been decorated with wood panelling to give the cylinders a more homely feel. A fifth module is a mock-up of the Red Planet itself, an enclosed room with a floor covered in rocks and sand.

About half-way through the mission, three of the crew will have to "land" on this "surface" and walk about on it while dressed in heavy space suits.

Scientific investigations during the experiment will assess the effect that isolation has on various psychological and physiological aspects such as stress, hormone levels, sleep quality, mood and the benefits of dietary supplements. Scientists expect Mars 500 to have Earth applications, in understanding group dynamics connected to isolation and loneliness.

The spaceship itself will come under scrutiny, as the crew monitor their surroundings to see which types of bacteria take hold and thrive in the enclosed space. All of the results of these investigations will have to be emailed to "mission control" as the organisers of the project intend to introduce a 20-minute, one-way time-delay in communications to mirror the real lag in sending messages over the vast distance between Mars and Earth.

This 520-day mock mission with its 30 days of "surface operations" is the final phase of the three-part Mars 500 project. There have already been two smaller studies, one lasting 14 days and another taking 105 days to complete.

Space agencies describe Mars as the "ultimate destination" for human explorers. However, they do not possess the technology to complete such an endeavour and are unlikely have it for many years yet.

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