Volunteers Still Needed for Simulated Mars Mission

By Nancy Atkinson - October 28, 2009 at 8:13 AM UTC | Space Exploration
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[/caption] Need to get away from it all? If you have a background in medicine, computers or engineering and can speak a little Russian and English, this might be just what you are looking for. The European Space Agency and the Russian Institute of Medical and Biological Problems are still looking for volunteers to participate in a 520-day simulation of an expedition to Mars. The institute announced last week the opening of registration, but haven't yet gotten enough applicants. The nearly two-year experiment will simulate all aspects of a journey to the Red Planet, with a 250-day outward trip, a 30-day stay on its surface, and a 240-day return flight.

Basic requirements: age 25-50, higher education, knowledge of the Russian and English languages ensuring professional and household communication, and a citizen of Russia or ESA member countries.

This full-up simulation follows an earlier 14-day experiment in November 2007, and a 105-day simulation of a mission to Mars this year that ended in July. That mission involved four Russians and two members of the European Space Agency, who spent over three months hunkered down together in a lab that simulated life on board a spaceship. [caption id="attachment_43478" align="aligncenter" width="250" caption="A warm-up 105-day mission took place in 2009, with participants from Germany and France and four Russians living together in cramped conditions. Credit: ESA"]

[/caption] But now comes the real test. The mission is slated to begin mid-2010 and the participants will live and work in a sealed facility in Moscow, Russia, to investigate the psychological and medical aspects of a long-duration space mission, focusing on the effect that isolation has on the human subjects. Similar to reality TV, the six participants will be filmed throughout their stay.

Scientists will also test various life-support, communications and scientific equipment.

The crew will grow their own vegetables in a special lab, sleep in capsule-sized rooms and will only leave the facility during their 30-day trip to Mars "surface." They will stick to a rigid daily regime of work, rest and exercise, and follow the same diet as crews aboard the International Space Station.

The participants will be paid, although the amount isn't specified. For the 105-day mission, each participant was paid 15,500 Euros ($20,000).

For more information or to sign up go to

this website from ESA.

Sources:

RiaNovosti

,

ESA

, Russian Institute of Biological and Medical Problems

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