Tuesday, July 10, 2007

mars expedition preview

ESA is looking for 12 human lab-rats. They are to take part in an experiment which will simulate a 520 day Mars mission. This will take place in the Russian Institute of Biomedical Problems (IBMP). To have an idea on what is this experiment about, this is what the volunteers have to do:
  • Nutrition and hygiene of the crewmembers will be comparable to that on-board the International Space Station, i.e. food will be predefined and carefully rationed, there will be no shower, and water supply will be limited. Smoking and consumption of alcoholic beverages will not be allowed.
  • The crew will largely be autonomous, which will be expressed in independent decision-making, control of the environmental situation and of consumable resources, to name a few.
  • A signal passage delay of up to 20 minutes one-way during communication of the crew and the ground-based control center will be gradually built in with the aim of simulating a real interplanetary mission. Additionally, private communication to family and friends will be limited comparable to a spaceflight situation.
  • The daily routine will be similar to the schedule of crews in orbital flights (7 day week with two days off) and will consist of 8 hours of work, 8 hours of leisure time and 8 hours of sleep per day. In addition all crewmembers will operate on night-shifts for one week each, in rotation.
  • During work time the crew will conduct scientific experiments, perform physical exercise (1hour per day), as well as tasks related to maintenance of the facility, life support system control and maintenance, skill maintenance and learning, sanitary and hygienic procedures, etc.
More on this...

picture credits: ESA