Mars 500

An isolation experiment in Russia simulated a 520-day human mission to Mars.

Six volunteers were locked away in windowless cells in June 2010. The $15-million Mars500 experiment, which ended on Nov. 4, was the first full-duration simulation of a human expedition to Mars.

During the mission, the crew was hermetically isolated. After 250 days the crew was divided in half, three sent to a Martian surface simulator and three kept in the ‘spacecraft’. Crew lived and worked like astronauts on the International Space Station. Crewmembers were monitored, and their psychological, medical and physical signs recorded.

The idea behind the project was to study the psychological and physical effects of long-haul space flight on human beings in anticipation of a real mission to Mars. The all-male crew, which comprised of three Russians, a Frenchman, an Italian-Colombian, and a Chinese man, agreed to be locked inside a giant wood-panelled tin can in order to simulate a return flight to the Red Planet. The tin can was complete with fake emergencies, space walks, scientific experiments, and only sporadic electronic communication with their loved ones.

Credit:

• Image Layout of Mars 500, Source © 2012: BBC