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Russian Scientists Plan Simulated Mission to Mars

Posted by michael on from the stop-elbowing-me dept.

EzRag writes "According to this article in New Scientist, Russian scientists are preparing for a simulated mission to Mars, with six cosmonauts crammed into approx. 400 sq. meters for the length of the (simulated) journey. They'll bring with them all the food they'd need, and will recycle air and water. They will not, however, be exposed to simulated solar radition."

16 of 32 comments (clear)

  1. I hope they remember... by MarvinMouse · · Score: 3, Insightful

    to delay the communications by the amount of time that the distance between the ship and earth would be simulated to be.

    I know it would be frustrating as hell to the people on the outside to do that (when they know they don't have to.) But it could have significant effects psychologically to have the astronauts able to communicate with earth, but only incredibly slowly. If they had a mechanical problem that they needed to msg home for help on how to fix for example, they'd have to wait many minutes before they got the info.

    As well, learning more about how to handle the delay will lead to more efficient, better written requests and reports since the "astronauts" wouldn't be able to chat in realtime with earth. It would be almost like a return to the days of communicating with the pony express.

    --
    ~ kjrose
    1. Re:I hope they remember... by Andy_R · · Score: 4, Informative

      well, if you bothered to RTFA, you would know that the experiment is being run by the Institute of Biological and Medical Problems in Moscow, and whole point of the it is to investigate the psychological effects of isolation, communication delays and medical self-reliance.

      --
      A pizza of radius z and thickness a has a volume of pi z z a
    2. Re:I hope they remember... by aridhol · · Score: 2, Interesting
      I don't know if this is how it's actually working, but if I were setting it up, I'd institute the delay in the communication systems themselves. Remember, this is simulating a round trip. The software can progressively increase the delay, then decrease it again. Operators outside don't have to worry about replying too soon - they can reply as soon as they get the message. Their reply will then go through the delay system.

      Of course, they've probably already thought of this, or something like it. But then again, maybe not.

      --
      I can't say that I don't give a fuck. I've just run out of fuck to give.
    3. Re:I hope they remember... by barakn · · Score: 4, Funny
      If they had a mechanical problem that they needed to msg home for help on how to fix for example, they'd have to wait many minutes before they got the info.

      That's what happens when you call up just about any hardware or software support/customer-service department on the planet. You could save a lot of money by just interviewing Microsoft customers.

      --
      "I'm so moist I'm sticking to the leather." -Kermit the Frog on The Late Late Show
  2. Simulated Budget by egoff · · Score: 3, Funny

    No word yet if they'll have a simulated Duma suddenly cut the simulated exploration budget half way through the simulated mission.

  3. been done by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Crammed into a windowless room with no contact with humans other than by a video screen and other communications devices.

    Where have I heard about this before.

    Oh yeah, my job.

  4. No radiation, no (no gravity).... by wowbagger · · Score: 3, Informative

    No solar radiation.

    No absense of gravity.

    No micrometeorite punctures.

    Let's see, what else won't be an accurate simulation?

    This sounds to me like it might be good for psychological research, and possible some life support systems work, but as for really simulating a trip....

    I'd rather see somebody, anybody, start working on a real, permanently manned lunar base. You can at least BEGIN to simulate a trip then, while still being only a few days away from home if things go wrong.

    But the Moon is no longer considered "sexy" by The Powers That Be.

    --
    www.eFax.com are spammers
    1. Re:No radiation, no (no gravity).... by skwirlmaster · · Score: 3, Informative

      Well it may not be exactly accurate in a physical sense, but it will be a start. These people will be off of the Earth for at least 1.5 yrs (9 months each way). That, and the communications problems are the only really _NEW_ aspect to going to Mars. There is one person who was in space for close to that long, but He is an individual not a group, and he was close to the Earth. In that respect it will be valuable research. I think it may also help narrow down what things that have slipped or have been forgotten.

      --
      My inner self is ineffable, so don't eff with me.
  5. Re:I've ran this same simulation many times. by L.+VeGas · · Score: 2, Funny

    Me too. One year I stayed in my room all summer. I only left when Mom made me massage her feet.

    --
    Best Windows Freeware
  6. 400 square meters? by Andy_R · · Score: 5, Funny

    Experts say that once they have found a crack team of 2 dimensional cosmonauts able to live in the 400 square meters provided, they will have solved one of the major problems of space travel, namely the cumbersome insistence of previous space travellers on 3 the provision of dimensional living spaces.

    --
    A pizza of radius z and thickness a has a volume of pi z z a
  7. Bones and gravity by Red_Winestain · · Score: 4, Interesting
    They also won't get the effects of extended periods of weightlessness. One of the major problems of prolonged absence of gravity is a loss of bone density. Women lose bone density faster than men. In neither group does this effect reverse much. When the first people to Mars return, they won't be able to function on earth again: none of their bones will be strong enough.

    If you don't think this is a problem, check out the recent findings of bone density loss, especially in women, in peer-reviewed journals.

    1. Re:Bones and gravity by sigep_ohio · · Score: 2, Insightful

      But if their craft created an artificial gravity(say through rotation), then most of their time away from earth would not be in the absence of gravity. While artificial gravity probably would not be 1g, even say .5g would be imo sufficient to sustain a reasonable bone density.

      --
      Beer Die is the game of champions Learning To walk my own path.
    2. Re:Bones and gravity by drudd · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The real problem is we only have data for long-term effects of standard gravity, and of microgravity.

      We need to keep people on the moon for a couple of years to understand how 1/6 gravity will affect bone density.

      Doug

      --
      Venn ist das nurnstuck git und Slotermeyer? Ya! Beigerhund das oder die Flipperwaldt gersput!
  8. Wow, hard not to admrie that.... by OwnerOfWhinyCat · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It's neat to see any country doing the research that has little practical appliation and doesn't get them any "Firstness! (or on the moon, or in orbit) notoriety." It leaves me with hope that the days when the space program was a thinly veiled military weapons development program (in many countries), are behind us, and that the research that continues, is work toward the more noble goal of exploring a little more of the universe than an 8000 mile across ball of mud has to offer.

  9. In response by eap · · Score: 2, Funny

    Angry Russian citizens have planned simulated protests over the need to spend more money on domestic issues.

  10. 400 sq. meters? by AlgebraicSpore · · Score: 2, Insightful

    This may be overly semantic but isn't one of the benefirs of space travel that you can talk in volume instead of area. With the zero gravity environment you can effectivle get almost two rooms out of one since the roof can be used as another floor, as well as the walls since you can not really orient yourself up or down. Wouldn't this make quite a bit of difference in the mock situation? I mean it would give more room for both people and supplies. Perhaps they have found a way to get past this, but I do not see it.