520 Days of Simulated Spaceflight Really Messes With Your Sleep Patterns
There's been a lot of discussion about the obstacles that would have to be overcome before NASA could send humans to Mars. Food, fuel, radiation, and more have all been considered, but here's a new one to take into account: Sleep. A study done on six mock astronauts in a 520 day simulated mission to Mars showed signs of severely disrupted sleep patterns, and in space that could lead to muscle atrophy and bone loss.
Men Emerge From "Spaceship" After 500-Day Mission to "Mars"
It's going to be a long, long time before any humans walk on the red planet, but that hasn't stopped people from preparing. Today, the 520-day long simulated mission to Mars called Mars500 has ended and the subjects emerged back into society.
The mission, originally begun some 18 months ago, was designed to gather information about how humans would behave when isolated for such an extended period of time.
Simulated Mars Mission Approaches “Mars”
Mars500: Six Cosmonauts Start 18-Month Journey to Not-Quite-Mars
This morning, an international group of six volunteers recruited by the European Space Agency began the Mars500 project. Taking place at the Institute of Biomedical Problems in Moscow, the experiment will simulate the long journey to Mars as scientists observe the physiological and psychological stresses impacted on the six spacemen over a period of 18 months. Keeping them sheltered from the perils of space otherwise known as Russia is an elaborate craft consisting of a series of tubes that simulates the different living environments one might encounter on the International Space Station.
Read MoreNew Fake Mission To Mars Will Test The Limits Of Human Endurance
While long-distance space travel in science fiction usually never ends well, a new Mars simulation is out to prove that humans can withstand each other during the isolation of long distance space flight. Just how long will this simulated journey take? 520 days.
This May, six crew members will voluntarily seal themselves into four, interconnected windowless tubes in order to find out what will really happen when humans attempt the long flight to Mars. The simulation is the final part of the Mars500 experiment, based out of Russia's Institute of Biomedical Problems (IBMP) in conjunction with the European Space Agency (ESA). Last year the IBMP successfully sealed six male crew members into its isolation facility for 105 days, but the Mars500 test will last five times as long, simulating the full 250 days it takes to get to Mars, 30 days on the Red Planet, and 240 days to get back home. The crew will consist of individuals from Russia, Europe, and China.
What will life be like within the simulation?
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