520 Days in a Tube: Moscow Team Begins Simulated Flight to Mars

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In Russia, the Mars500 project has had a lot of attention. The conquest of the Red Planet is considered a prestigious undertaking there and, contrary to Western attitudes, in Russia the majority of the population supports the nation's expensive space ambitions -- 65 percent believe that a mission to Mars is necessary. "But the Russians know that this mega-project can only be achieved as an international effort," notes René Pischel, head of the ESA office in Moscow. The Mars500 project is also a dress rehearsal for international cooperation in outer space.

Even this dry run, though, almost failed. The start of Mars500 had to be postponed several times. Russian customs officials delayed the clearance of important equipment from Germany for five months -- the tight schedules calculated by the Europeans did not allow any time for the payment of bribes. Finally, German Chancellor Angela Merkel became personally involved. Merkel, who is a qualified physicist, spoke to Moscow scientists about the project, in Russian (as a German who grew up in communist East Germany, Merkel learned Russian at school). The next delivery from Germany went through Russian customs within 20 minutes.

The choice of participants was also a source of international tension. As a member of ESA, Germany wanted to send one of its nationals to participate in the Mars500 study, but they were stymied by the Italians. The influential director of human spaceflight at ESA, Simonetta Di Pippo, managed to push through an Italian candidate, Diego Urbina, instead. The Russian participants in the project were surprised by the move, with one person describing it as "a 100 percent political decision."

Human Behavior An Unknown Quantity

Of course, the mission cannot simulate every aspect of space flight. The men of the Mars500 mission will not be exposed to cosmic rays, nor will they experience the long-term effects of zero gravity. The experiment is really just meant to look into how human beings react to the extreme effects of a long space flight, and above all how they deal with such a long period of isolation.

When it comes to long space missions, human beings pose an incalculable risk factor. For instance during the 1967 Apollo 7 mission, instead of following orders from his base in Houston, the US commander began arguing with mission control because the crew had "not eaten at this point" and he had a head cold. The rebellious crew on that flight even removed sensors that were supposed to measure their physical well-being.

In 1988, after more than a year aboard the space station "Mir" (the name is Russian for "peace"), the Soviet cosmonauts Musa Manarov and Vladimir Titov set a new record for time spent in outer space. However their interaction with one another became unfriendly. Worried mission control personnel back on Earth diagnosed "personality changes" in the men in orbit. It was only after a detailed discussion with their wives via radio that the cosmonauts became more reasonable.

And on New Year's Eve in 1999, participants in an isolation experiment at the IBMP, where the Mars500 simulation will also take place, came to blows. Two Russians started hitting one another and third person was also involved. One of the men wanted to kiss a Canadian woman against her will and then sought to justify the encroachment with what he called "intercultural differences."

Researchers hope to avoid fisticuffs with the Mars500 crew. From out of around 6,000 applicants, those candidates with peaceful hobbies like fishing were more likely to be chosen than those who were passionate about boxing. And for this experiment, ESA and Roscosmos decided not to have any female participants.

Learning Chinese to Pass the Time

Interpersonal conflict is one reason why the men in the Mars500 project will be under constant surveillance. More than 40 cameras will oversee all aspects of life in the spaceship simulator, with the exception of the personal cabins, toilet and the shower. A team of Russian psychologists will be standing by around the clock, and can also intervene if the need arises. The experiment would only be interrupted, however, if it becomes absolutely necessary. And should a crew member be hurt or get ill, then the spaceship's doctor Smoleyevsky will take care of them, with the help of medical advice from "Earth."

The crew will also try to simulate the muscular atrophy that would occur during a long voyage in zero gravity. Before the crew "land" on Mars, Smoleyevsky and two other participants will stay in bed -- or rather, in special tubs placed on a slight angle -- for 30 days so that more blood goes to their heads than would normally happen under Earth's gravity.

"I have been involved in space medicine for 12 years," Smoleyevsky says. "For me this is an opportunity to experience a lot of what I have learned in my own body."

He doesn't think he will be bored. His new roommate Wang Yue will help him pass the time. Wang "has already promised us that he will use the time on board well," Smoleyevsky explains. "He wants to teach us all Chinese."

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• Part 1: Moscow Team Begins Simulated Flight to Mars
• Part 2: International Effort to Get to Mars