Ends rehearsal mission to Mars, which lasted a whole year – Moskovsky Komsomolets

Six volunteers lived in conditions close to Mars

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In the US state of Hawaii ended held throughout the year a scientific experiment to simulate a flight to Mars. Six scientists from three countries took part in it, which held in complete isolation, and against the background of “Martian” landscape of 366 days.

Photo: pixabay.com

Simulation conducted on the volcano Mauna Loa in Hawaii. This place was sometimes becomes a testing ground for the “Martian” experiments of this kind due to the fact that it is located quite far away from civilization, and its landscape vaguely reminiscent of the Red Planet – including the fact that it is very difficult to find traces of life. In the past, these “expeditions” in the territory lasted from four to eight months, but experts have decided to extend this

Among the participants in the experiment included French astrobiologist, German physicist, and four Americans:. Pilot, architect, doctor (part-time is a journalist) and soil scientist. Three of the participants were men, and three of them – women. They all spent a year under a closed dome, leave that they had the right to exclusively suit and for a short period of time. During the experiment, participants were required to carry out certain research and the maximum to avoid conflict with each other.

After the end of the simulation specialists will analyze the results and use them in the preparation of further experiments of this kind. As for the participants, they successfully returned to normal life, although some of them joke that “Mars” they returned, not being aware of the political, cultural and other events in a year.

The American experiment was the second for the duration of the history of the “rehearsal” flight to Mars, but the record with an impressive margin continues to hold Russia – from 2010 to 2011, “Roskosmos” and the Russian Academy of Sciences, a similar experiment titled “Mars-organized with the assistance of the European space agency 500 “, in which imitation of the flight to the Red planet lasted for 520 days.

According to some statements, the first” real “human flight to Mars could take place as early as 2028, although some experts and consider a similar outlook overly optimistic. However, it is in any case is a question of entering the orbit of the Red Planet, while landing of people on its surface is expected to be somewhat more distant future – in 2030-ies. Representatives of the government and the space agencies of various countries in the past have repeatedly expressed their willingness to implement the project of the flight to Mars as an international.