New York Times :
New York Times Simulation of 18-Month Mission to Mars Begins
Originally printed by the Associated Press
June 3, 2010
The Crew :
The Crew Alexander Smoleevskly of Russia
Romain Charles of France
Diego Urbina of Italy
Alexy Sitev of Russia
Wang Yue of China
Sukhrob Kamolov of Russia
(clockwise upper left to right for photo identification)
The Task :
The Task Spend 520 days in a capsule to simulate, as much as possible, the time it will take for a Mars mission
Internet access allowed-though slow and unreliable
Food and beverage to mimic space travel
Who’s In Charge? :
Who’s In Charge? European Space Agency (ESA)
Moscow-based Institue for Medical and Biological Problems
China’s space training center
Photo of the Moscow isolation capsule
Why a simulation? :
Why a simulation? Mars missions are far off
But preparations are in the works now
Understand how astronauts fare on such a long trip-emotionally, behaviorally, psychologically
For More Information :
For More Information New York Times article online
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/06/03/science/space/AP-EU-Russia-Mission-to-Mars.html?_r=1&ref=science
ESA webpage devoted to Mars-500
http://www.esa.int/esaMI/Mars500/SEM7W9XX3RF_0.html
Mars-500 website
http://mars500.imbp.ru/en/index_e.html