Volunteers Simulate Mission To Mars

Hugh Pickens writes "Six volunteers have climbed into a small metal capsule in Moscow as part of a three-month experiment meant to simulate a voyage to Mars. The crew — a German engineer, a French airline pilot, and four Russians — will spend the next 105 days living in a minimally furnished facility erected in a hangar on the outskirts of the Russian capital. The German said, 'I think we are going to learn a lot about each other.' A cosmonaut-in-training who will lead the mission was quoted: 'On the inside, we will have a lack of incoming information, so it's the science of sensory deprivation.' A similar experiment in Moscow virtually collapsed when a multinational team of men and women were allowed to drink alcohol on the eve of the millennium, and simmering tensions between Russian and non-Russian volunteers exploded in a fight for the affections of a female Canadian scientist. Only men are involved this time, and no alcohol. Scientists will keep a constant vigil on the team via cameras erected in each of the facility's three modules. Those who survive more than 100 days will earn a $20,000 reward. The current project is a warm-up for a much more ambitious experiment, scheduled for December, which will see another group of volunteers spending over 500 days in the same conditions. With current technology it is estimated that a return trip to Mars will take at least 18 months." The amazing thing is that 5,600 people applied to be part of the experiment.

Comments

Reminds me of a bad joke....[NSFW]

[rts008]

'A Russian, a German, and a Frenchman' enter a Mars Bar...

1. Oh, wait, this is going to get digusting.
2. ????
3. Let's just skip to the punch line.[NSFW}

a German engineer, a French airline pilot, and four Russians -- will spend the next 105 days living in a minimally furnished facility erected in a hanger on the outskirts of the Russian capital. The German said, 'I think we are going to learn a lot about each other.'

My vote would be for the Frog to be goatse'd.

Re:Adequate Reward? Please...

[iamacat]

By all means, don't sign up. Sailors on Christopher Columbus ships probably didn't make enough money to justify the added risks, crappy food and many month of boredom and backbreaking labor. Builders of great cathedrals probably made just a little more money than surfs. None of the actual cosmonauts/astronauts or even Barack Obama or Putin made as much money in their years in power as recent AIG executive bonuses.

For some people, living a meaningful life is priceless. For everyone else, there is a mastercard and our money-centered consumer culture. I don't think one group can really succeed in their goals without another. Just take a pick and don't ridicule others too quickly.

Re:What happened to the Canadian scientist

[Max_W]

It can be a part of the organized effort. I am Russian, I worked in many Russian teams, and I never saw that people were trying to harass women.

But if one reads western media the impression would be opposite. Every day in western cities, like in any large city, happen thousands and thousands rape crimes, but what we see in media, - that Russians raped women during the end of WW2, this case, ans so on and so forth.

Russia has got a lot of territory, a lot of resources, and there is an organized mass Machiavellian effort to destabilize Russian federation, it became already well known secret. I think this French chick is just part of it.