Author Topic: 520-day simulated mission to Mars updates  (Read 47993 times)

Offline jacqmans

  • Moderator
  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 21707
  • Houten, The Netherlands
  • Liked: 8560
  • Likes Given: 320
520-day simulated mission to Mars updates
« on: 03/12/2010 03:51 pm »
Press release no.05-2010
Paris, 12 March 2010

Media opportunity: ESA presents European participants in 520-day simulated mission to Mars

A crew of six, including two Europeans, will soon begin a simulated mission to Mars in a mockup that includes an interplanetary spaceship, a Mars lander and a martian landscape. The Mars500 experiment, as long as a real journey to Mars, will be second to none as the ultimate test of human endurance.

Four ESA-selected Europeans, Belgian Jerome Clevers, Arc'hanmael Gaillard and Romain Charles from France and Colombian-Italian Diego Urbina, started the mission training at the end of February with the other crew-members at the Russian Institute of Biomedical Problems (IBMP) in Moscow. Two of these four candidates will be selected as European participants in Mars500. This first full-duration simulated mission to Mars will start in a special human habitat at IBMP in Moscow next summer.

The Mars500 name comes from the blueprint for a possible human Mars mission in the future using conventional propulsion: 250 days for the trip to Mars, 30 days on the martian surface and 240 days for the return journey, totalling 520 days.

Apart from the technical challenges, the big question on a long mission to Mars is the human factor: how best to select and prepare humans to mentally and physically endure a spaceflight of at least one and half years -possibly much longer- in a closed environment, seeing the same faces, under constant stress and isolated from family and friends on Earth.

The European candidates who will help to answer these fundamental questions will be presented to the media on 22 March 2010 at ESA's European Space Research and Technology Centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands. Media representatives wishing to attend the event are kindly requested to fill in the attached accreditation form and return it by fax to the ESA Headquarters Media Relations Office by 18 March 2010.


For more information:

Markus Bauer
Human Spaceflight Programme Communication Officer
ESA Communications Department
Tel: + 31 71 565 6799


 
Background

Extensive preparations

The upcoming 520-day isolation study is the key part of the Mars500 programme that began back in 2007. The first phase in November 2007 was a 14-day simulation that mainly tested the facilities and operational procedures. The second phase followed in 2009, when four Russian and two European crew-members were shut into the facility for 105 days on 31 March. One of the current European candidates, Arc'hanmael Gaillard, was a member of the backup crew for that 105-day study.

During the long-duration experiment, the crew will be hermetically isolated in a confined habitat with limited consumables and communication only via the internet, occasionally disrupted and with a 20-minute delay, as for a real Mars mission owing to the distance between the spacecraft and Earth. The crew will be monitored and their psychological, medical and physical signs recorded throughout the mission. This will benefit the technical development and operational planning of long-duration human exploration missions in the future.

The Mars500 experiment is being conducted by Russia's Institute of Biomedical Problems (IBMP) with extensive participation by ESA. ESA's Directorate of Human Spaceflight is undertaking Mars500 as part of its European Programme for Life and Physical Sciences (ELIPS) to prepare for future human missions to the Moon and Mars.

The facility is located on the IBMP site in Moscow, in a special building that houses the isolation unit and the operations control centre, technical services and offices. The isolation facility comprises four hermetically sealed interconnected habitat modules, along with an external module for simulating the martian surface. The total interior volume of the modules is 550 cubic metres.

Living like astronauts on the ISS

The European candidates started their training in Moscow for the isolation experiment on 25 February with their Russian and Chinese counterparts. Finally, six of them, two from Europe, three from Russia and potentially also one from China, will form a crew that will spend about 520 days (possibly even up to 700) in a mockup. The candidates have been selected like astronauts on criteria such as education, professional experience, medical fitness and social habits. They all speak Russian and English and have experience in medicine, engineering, biology and information technology.

During the simulated Mars 'surface operations' after 250 days, the crew will be divided up: three will move to the martian surface simulator and three will remain in the orbiting 'spacecraft'. The external hatch will be closed for a month. The crewmembers on the 'surface' will also do spacewalks wearing modified Russian Orlan spacesuits.

The crew will have all the food stored inside the habitat needed for the whole duration of the experiment, so they will have to ration their supplies for the entire time. The diet will be identical to that of the crews on the International Space Station (ISS). Tasks performed by the crew are identical to those of the ISS astronauts: operations, maintenance, scientific experiments and daily exercise. They will work shifts within a seven-day week with two days off, except when special and emergency situations are simulated.

This mission might lack some of the glory and feeling of the real flight, but it is just as tough and will yield a lot of experience for the future. The first humans to walk on Mars will surely remember these pioneers.
« Last Edit: 03/12/2010 03:52 pm by jacqmans »
Jacques :-)

Offline simonbp

  • Science Guy
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 7138
  • Liked: 314
  • Likes Given: 183
Re: 520-day simulated mission to Mars updates
« Reply #1 on: 03/13/2010 12:04 am »
It's a lot easier to lock a few people in a room for a year and a half than it is to do meaningful research. Leave the lockups to the prisons and the submarine corps...

Offline robertross

  • Canadian Member
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 17939
  • Westphal, Nova Scotia
  • Liked: 659
  • Likes Given: 7688
Re: 520-day simulated mission to Mars updates
« Reply #2 on: 03/13/2010 12:14 am »
It's a lot easier to lock a few people in a room for a year and a half than it is to do meaningful research. Leave the lockups to the prisons and the submarine corps...

Well to be fair, much of the research done during the Gemini flights would be considered 'basic' by today's standards.

This is called baseline data. You need to start somewhere. Although I must agree I do feel sorry for those being stuck on the ground for a study like this that does not fully convey the risks/hazards/genuine environmental challenges like a 500-day study in a Bigelow module attached to the station.

Offline jacqmans

  • Moderator
  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 21707
  • Houten, The Netherlands
  • Liked: 8560
  • Likes Given: 320
Re: 520-day simulated mission to Mars updates
« Reply #3 on: 03/22/2010 02:35 pm »
Photos from todays press event...
Jacques :-)

Offline jacqmans

  • Moderator
  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 21707
  • Houten, The Netherlands
  • Liked: 8560
  • Likes Given: 320
Re: 520-day simulated mission to Mars updates
« Reply #4 on: 03/22/2010 02:36 pm »
Jacques :-)

Offline jacqmans

  • Moderator
  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 21707
  • Houten, The Netherlands
  • Liked: 8560
  • Likes Given: 320
Re: 520-day simulated mission to Mars updates
« Reply #5 on: 03/22/2010 02:38 pm »
Jacques :-)

Offline smith5se

Re: 520-day simulated mission to Mars updates
« Reply #6 on: 03/22/2010 03:02 pm »
Interesting to note that Diego Urbina was part of an MDRS crew this season. Crew 88 to be exact.
My views are mine, and mine alone and DO NOT reflect that of my employer nor my place of employment.

Offline jacqmans

  • Moderator
  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 21707
  • Houten, The Netherlands
  • Liked: 8560
  • Likes Given: 320
Re: 520-day simulated mission to Mars updates
« Reply #7 on: 03/22/2010 03:29 pm »
The ESA patch for this mission:
Jacques :-)

Offline anik

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 7776
  • Liked: 955
  • Likes Given: 368
Re: 520-day simulated mission to Mars updates
« Reply #8 on: 03/22/2010 04:35 pm »
Diego Urbina in Orlan-E spacesuit for Mars-500 program at NPP Zvezda on March 17.

Offline bolun

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3557
  • Europe
  • Liked: 970
  • Likes Given: 110
Re: 520-day simulated mission to Mars updates
« Reply #9 on: 03/22/2010 06:29 pm »

There has been other recent study of DLR, about the effects of weightlessness in the human body.

Lying in bed to serve science

http://www.dlr.de/en/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-1/86_read-22878/


Offline tva

  • Member
  • Posts: 77
  • Civil servant in the field of geomatics
  • Norway
  • Liked: 2
  • Likes Given: 0
Rocky enthusiast
after Christer Fuglesang's mission
on STS-116

Offline Nascent Ascent

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 739
  • Liked: 124
  • Likes Given: 106
Re: 520-day simulated mission to Mars updates
« Reply #11 on: 03/24/2010 12:49 pm »
A waste of time and money.

Participants will not be in zero-g.

Participants know that they're still on Earth and can be "saved" in a moment's notice, so psychological testing is useless.

I would think that the long-term stays that we've already done in MIR and ISS provide a much more accurate study.

I guess if you're not really going to do the real thing, then playing dress-up is the only alternative.  ::)
« Last Edit: 03/24/2010 12:51 pm by Nascent Ascent »

Offline gomorrha

  • Full Member
  • *
  • Posts: 176
  • Liked: 0
  • Likes Given: 0
Re: 520-day simulated mission to Mars updates
« Reply #12 on: 03/24/2010 01:01 pm »
A waste of time and money.

Participants will not be in zero-g.

Participants know that they're still on Earth and can be "saved" in a moment's notice, so psychological testing is useless.

I would think that the long-term stays that we've already done in MIR and ISS provide a much more accurate study.

I guess if you're not really going to do the real thing, then playing dress-up is the only alternative.  ::)

I disagree.

1. There has never been a real mission or a simulation where the same 6 persons where stuck together for 520 days.

2. It´s not said that a 500+ days mission will be carried out in zero-g. Perhaps they do a Zubrin-like rotating habitat.

3. IMHO it´s important to see what psychological and social problems can arise an how got get over them.

4. AFAIK an "unlocking" is only done, when a life-threatening situation arises.

Offline Nascent Ascent

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 739
  • Liked: 124
  • Likes Given: 106
Re: 520-day simulated mission to Mars updates
« Reply #13 on: 03/24/2010 01:29 pm »
A waste of time and money.

Participants will not be in zero-g.

Participants know that they're still on Earth and can be "saved" in a moment's notice, so psychological testing is useless.

I would think that the long-term stays that we've already done in MIR and ISS provide a much more accurate study.

I guess if you're not really going to do the real thing, then playing dress-up is the only alternative.  ::)

I disagree.

1. There has never been a real mission or a simulation where the same 6 persons where stuck together for 520 days.

2. It´s not said that a 500+ days mission will be carried out in zero-g. Perhaps they do a Zubrin-like rotating habitat.

3. IMHO it´s important to see what psychological and social problems can arise an how got get over them.

4. AFAIK an "unlocking" is only done, when a life-threatening situation arises.

2.  Then they should have done a rotating hab.  That would have at least provided some new and useful data.  It would be useful to know for example what minimum radius could be used without deleterious Coriolis effects.

3.  On psych effects, It's just not the same thing.  Unless you can somehow trick the crew in believing they're actually on a Mars flight, it's not useful.  Being locked up in a trailer vs being trapped in a Mars rocket are vastly different and trust me, knowing you REALLY can't get back home if needed, is a HUGE difference.
« Last Edit: 03/24/2010 01:30 pm by Nascent Ascent »

Offline gomorrha

  • Full Member
  • *
  • Posts: 176
  • Liked: 0
  • Likes Given: 0
Re: 520-day simulated mission to Mars updates
« Reply #14 on: 03/24/2010 02:06 pm »
A waste of time and money.

Participants will not be in zero-g.

Participants know that they're still on Earth and can be "saved" in a moment's notice, so psychological testing is useless.

I would think that the long-term stays that we've already done in MIR and ISS provide a much more accurate study.

I guess if you're not really going to do the real thing, then playing dress-up is the only alternative.  ::)

I disagree.

1. There has never been a real mission or a simulation where the same 6 persons where stuck together for 520 days.

2. It´s not said that a 500+ days mission will be carried out in zero-g. Perhaps they do a Zubrin-like rotating habitat.

3. IMHO it´s important to see what psychological and social problems can arise an how got get over them.

4. AFAIK an "unlocking" is only done, when a life-threatening situation arises.

2.  Then they should have done a rotating hab.  That would have at least provided some new and useful data.  It would be useful to know for example what minimum radius could be used without deleterious Coriolis effects.

3.  On psych effects, It's just not the same thing.  Unless you can somehow trick the crew in believing they're actually on a Mars flight, it's not useful.  Being locked up in a trailer vs being trapped in a Mars rocket are vastly different and trust me, knowing you REALLY can't get back home if needed, is a HUGE difference.

- A rotating hab on earth in 1 G??? That would mean more than 1 G.

- I´d say if you know, and you signed that, that you won´t get out unless you´re seriously about to die comes quite close to a mission scenario. On a Mars mission you´re doomed because of a mission failure, here you have to bring yourself into a situation that could result into your death (e.g. attempted suicide) to get out.

Basically I´d say that everything that is done for a possible Mars mission gives useful knowledge. Some more, some less.

Offline Nascent Ascent

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 739
  • Liked: 124
  • Likes Given: 106
Re: 520-day simulated mission to Mars updates
« Reply #15 on: 03/24/2010 02:15 pm »
Quote
- A rotating hab on earth in 1 G??? That would mean more than 1 G.

Well, yes.  Just like other centrifuge testing here on Earth.  It wouldn't be perfect but there's lot of unknowns regarding the size requirements for a rotating hab, and such a R&D effort would be useful.  Yes, ideally it should have been done on the ISS, but that got cancelled.

Quote
- I´d say if you know, and you signed that, that you won´t get out unless you´re seriously about to die comes quite close to a mission scenario. On a Mars mission you´re doomed because of a mission failure, here you have to bring yourself into a situation that could result into your death (e.g. attempted suicide) to get out.

Well, I disagree. I think no matter what you sign you'll still know you're on Earth with the relative safety that provides.  For example, you know that in the case of an equipment malfunction you're not going to die. You know you're not going to die from a micrometeorite.  You know you're protected from radiation, and so on.

I think the psychological differences would be significant.
« Last Edit: 03/24/2010 02:16 pm by Nascent Ascent »

Offline ChrisSpaceCH

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 303
  • Bern, Switzerland
  • Liked: 0
  • Likes Given: 0
Re: 520-day simulated mission to Mars updates
« Reply #16 on: 03/24/2010 02:23 pm »

I think the psychological differences would be significant.

It doesn't matter. This experiment is still significant and interesting simply because it's never been done before. Even if it brings little use for a future Mars mission, it'll be interesting for psychologists. It might even become another classic reference study on human psyche to be quoted for decades, like the Milgram and Stanford Prison experiments.

Offline eeergo

Re: 520-day simulated mission to Mars updates
« Reply #17 on: 03/24/2010 02:44 pm »
Quote
- A rotating hab on earth in 1 G??? That would mean more than 1 G.

Well, yes.  Just like other centrifuge testing here on Earth.  It wouldn't be perfect but there's lot of unknowns regarding the size requirements for a rotating hab, and such a R&D effort would be useful.  Yes, ideally it should have been done on the ISS, but that got cancelled.


Never was a human-sized rotating habitat planned for ISS. And I'm not sure how feasible it is to try to build a trailer sized habitat hanging from a centrifuge at several Gs for around a year in continuous operation. In any case it would blow any budget this project is working on.
-DaviD-

Offline Nascent Ascent

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 739
  • Liked: 124
  • Likes Given: 106
Re: 520-day simulated mission to Mars updates
« Reply #18 on: 03/24/2010 02:50 pm »
Quote
- A rotating hab on earth in 1 G??? That would mean more than 1 G.

Well, yes.  Just like other centrifuge testing here on Earth.  It wouldn't be perfect but there's lot of unknowns regarding the size requirements for a rotating hab, and such a R&D effort would be useful.  Yes, ideally it should have been done on the ISS, but that got cancelled.


Never was a human-sized rotating habitat planned for ISS. And I'm not sure how feasible it is to try to build a trailer sized habitat hanging from a centrifuge at several Gs for around a year in continuous operation. In any case it would blow any budget this project is working on.

Yes, you're correct. I worded that poorly.  The CAM module for the ISS would have only worked on animals and was about 8 feet (approx) in diameter.

Look, relatively speaking locking a bunch of guys up in trailer is relatively inexpensive but don't expect any groundbreaking science or any answers that would affect the design of a Mars ship.

Offline simonbp

  • Science Guy
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 7138
  • Liked: 314
  • Likes Given: 183
Re: 520-day simulated mission to Mars updates
« Reply #19 on: 03/27/2010 03:12 pm »
Well to be fair, much of the research done during the Gemini flights would be considered 'basic' by today's standards.

Yeah, but Gemini was actually in space. These guys are playing dress-up because they have no hope of ever actually participating in a real Mars mission. Heck, the Mars Society's analogues are better than this...

Tags:
 

Advertisement NovaTech
Advertisement Northrop Grumman
Advertisement
Advertisement Margaritaville Beach Resort South Padre Island
Advertisement Brady Kenniston
Advertisement NextSpaceflight
Advertisement Nathan Barker Photography
0