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Mars500 Mission Begins

Posted by samzenpus on from the I-think-I-saw-this-movie dept.

krou writes "The six participants in the Mars500 project have entered their sealed facility. The project, which lasts for 18 months, is designed to try and simulate a mission to Mars, completely isolated and cut off from the outside world, with a '20-minute, one-way time-delay in communications to mirror the real lag in sending messages over the vast distance between Mars and Earth.' They also have limited consumables, with everything required being loaded onboard from the start. You can follow developments via the blog, or the Twitter feed of Diego Urbina, one of the would-be cosmonauts."

18 of 235 comments (clear)

  1. 20 minute delay ... by Chrisq · · Score: 5, Funny

    20 minute delay ... they won't be getting first post then

    1. Re:20 minute delay ... by muckracer · · Score: 3, Funny

      > Ground control operator: "Hey uh.....Steve, while you're in space and all, mind if I go over to your house and sleep with your wife? I'll give you about 19 minutes to say no"

      Steve: "Hey uh....Ground Control Operator, sure...go ahead. I killed the biatch just before take-off. I'll give you 8 months to come and get me"

    2. Re:20 minute delay ... by morgan_greywolf · · Score: 2, Funny

      Hey! First post from the Mars500 Mission!

      --
      My blog
    3. Re:20 minute delay ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      So what you're saying is that on a real mission to Mars you get to break the monotony, but in Soviet Russia the monotony breaks you?

  2. That sucks by Yvan256 · · Score: 1, Funny

    with a '20-minute, one-way time-delay in communications to mirror the real lag in sending messages over the vast distance between Mars and Earth

    That's going to suck for WoW raids.

    1. Re:That sucks by Krneki · · Score: 4, Funny

      They just need to open a realm on Mars.

      It might be an empty world tho. I hope they won't ban bots or Rover will be pissed.

      --
      Love many, trust a few, do harm to none.
    2. Re:That sucks by Wiarumas · · Score: 2, Funny

      Not so bad for Eve. Not only is it somewhat relevant to the subject matter, but by the time they get back, they would have skilled up!

      --
      I will bend like a reed in the wind.
  3. Don't we already have these? by happy_place · · Score: 2, Funny

    Aren't they called Nursing Homes? Care for the Elderly is strangely akin to this...

    --
    http://www.beanleafpress.com
  4. 20 minute delay ... by adeft · · Score: 4, Funny

    Ground control operator: "Hey uh.....Steve, while you're in space and all, mind if I go over to your house and sleep with your wife? I'll give you about 19 minutes to say no"

  5. Re:Intentionally only men? by HopefulIntern · · Score: 2, Funny

    How long til the party gets gay?

  6. Re:Russian Style by Lumpy · · Score: 2, Funny

    The problem has been fixed. They included a vodka dispenser with 24 months worth of vodka in it. It does limit consumption to only 3L per crew member a day.

    Last time they ran out of vodka, riots ensued.

    Comrade... Hand me the Stoli...

    --
    Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
  7. Rosy Palm by MrTripps · · Score: 2, Funny

    Some with one hand. Others with two.

    --
    "I'm not a quack, I'm a mad scientist! There's a difference." - Dr. Cockroach
    1. Re:Rosy Palm by 2obvious4u · · Score: 2, Funny

      So when are they going to send 6 hot women to mars with a CCTV feed on 20 min time delay. That mission might just fund itself.

  8. Re:Elephant in the room by ShadowRangerRIT · · Score: 4, Funny

    With an elephant in the cramped rooms you're likely to see on a Mars mission, the last thing on people's minds will be sex. The first thing will be "Oh shit, we're going to be crushed by an elephant," followed by "Man, that elephant stinks." I feel fairly confident that no one will be worrying about how the elephant will handle sex on such a trip.

    --
    $_ = "wftedskaebjgdpjgidbsmnjgcdwatb"; tr/a-z/oh, turtleneck Phrase Jar!/; print
  9. Re:Elephant in the room by Snarf+You · · Score: 2, Funny

    Supervised conjugal visits.

  10. 18 months in isolation by Combatso · · Score: 3, Funny

    18 months in a confined, dark space is nothing for most Slashdotters.. ofcourse, sociallizing with 5 other people would be.

  11. Re:The new Columbus by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Christopher ?

  12. Re:Intentionally only men? by zill · · Score: 2, Funny

    It might be better to test the theory first with a mixed group

    I already conducted an experiment with a limited sample size within a constrained time-frame (1 girl and 5 minutes respectively).

    Needless to say the results were highly discouraging.