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Crew Ends 100 Day Mars Simulation in Arctic
Paul server guy writes "According to Wired Science the seven person F-XI LDM crew that has been stationed at the Mars Society's FMARS station has completed their unprecedented 100 day simulation. (Actually 101 days, because for 37 they lived on 'Mars time' adding 39 minutes to each day) According to the mission's remote science principal investigator Chris McKay, of NASA Ames. 'Their pioneering simulation of crew operations on Mars time is by far the best work on this topic ever done. It sets the standard for future Mars mission simulations.'"
"It sets the standard for future Mars mission simulations." The fact that it says "for future Mars mission simulations" instead of just "for Mars missions" shows how far away we really are.
Think of it more as a psychology experiment than a real space experiment. Maybe you won't be so testy then.
Of course, if it were a real psychology experiment, they should have at least lived on Mars time the whole time, and not just for a third of it. Makes you wonder why they stopped using Mars time...
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TFA said they used Mars time during the 24-hour sunlight, they simply covered their windows from 8am to 8pm. If they used Mars time continuously sunset/sunrise would slowly shift around and would probably really mess up their circadian rhythm.
On a side not you are correct that it was more of a psychology experiment, though that wasn't the extent of their goals. They did things like try to figure out ways to minimize their water usage, etc. Basically anything they could simulate and figure out here on earth they did. Now when NASA says "Ok, how are we going to decrease water usage by 10%" they actually have a very well documented simulation to review through and see what works and what doesn't. Basically before this everything was open to conjecture, now we have tangible information to work with, though not 100% accurate to a real mars mission it is better than nothing.
If you are about to mod me down, keep in mind that this post was most likely sarcastic.
You're completely missing the point. It's not about whittling down a pile of celebrities or game show contestants, it's about making sure a group of intelligent people with a common goal of research can exist in the psychological environment they would need to on Mars. Once you've got that major factor nailed down as much as possible, then you can go to the trouble and expense of simulating the other physical variables.
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I can't believe how many people seem to think this was a pointless waste of time. Sure, it's a very limited simulation, but it's a very good proof-of-concept study, and hopefully provided additional data on the psychological stresses that would be placed on a team of astronauts trying to establish an extraterrestrial base. By all means, they should incorporate more variables (true self-sufficiency, extended duration, etc) in future studies, but let's applaud an effort to study the human factors involved in space exploration.
Where are we going, and why are we in this handbasket?