Learning to Breathe Mars Air (Video)

By Nancy Atkinson - May 9, 2008 at 12:13 PM UTC | Planetary Science
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Talk about dedication! Volunteers in Russia are testing the ability of humans to breathe argon-enriched air, as part of a research program that simulates a manned trip to Mars. Researchers want to know if humans can survive breathing air similar to that found on Mars. Of the experiment one Russian scientist said, "Our experiments show that argon combined with the right portion of oxygen is safe for humans. I tested it on myself and I'm OK, and volunteers are also doing fine." Somehow, I'm not convinced about the rationale and safety of this test. This is preliminary research for the Russian

Mars 500

project, which will simulate a manned Mars mission next year.

People will spend 520 days locked in a bunker-like habitation module, creating an environment like a real mission to Mars, which would take about that same amount of time, with round trip and a month spent on Mars.

For the current research, volunteers stayed inside a sealed capsule for ten days at a time, breathing a combination of argon, nitrogen, and oxygen. The TV news report below seems to advocate this type of research, saying that Western researchers "still use mice" for such experiments.

Especially reassuring is the scientist who keeps telling the test subjects, "Breathe calmly!" Take a look:

Original News Source:

You Tube

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com