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Russian Simulated Mars Mission Close To 'Landing'

Posted by Soulskill on from the can't-wait-for-the-simulated-martian-attack dept.

Dthief writes with this quote from an Associated Press report: "After 233 days in a locked steel capsule, six researchers on a 520-day mock flight to Mars are all feeling strong and ready to 'land' on the Red Planet, the mission director said Friday. The all-male crew of three Russians, a Chinese, a Frenchman and an Italian-Colombian has been inside windowless capsules at a Moscow research center since June. Their mission aims to help real space crews in the future cope with the confinement and stress of interplanetary travel. The researchers communicate with the outside world via emails and video messages — occasionally delayed to give them the feel of being farther than a few yards away from mission control. The crew members eat canned food similar to that eaten on the International Space Station and shower only once a week. None of the men has considered abandoning the mission, although they are free to walk out at any time, mission director and former cosmonaut Boris Morukov told reporters on Friday."

17 of 170 comments (clear)

  1. Start of a bad, racist joke? by yeshuawatso · · Score: 4, Funny

    Why does the line "three Russians, a Chinese, a Frenchman and an Italian-Colombian" sound like a bad and racist "walk in a bar" joke?

    1. Re:Start of a bad, racist joke? by euyis · · Score: 3, Funny

      Three Russians, a Chinese, a Frenchman and an Italian-Colombian walk into a Mars capsule and can't get out.

    2. Re:Start of a bad, racist joke? by MaskedSlacker · · Score: 3, Funny

      Stop calling your mother that. It's really starting to creep the rest of us out.

  2. A Frenchman showering once a week? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    I call bullshit on this one.

    1. Re:A Frenchman showering once a week? by somersault · · Score: 3, Funny

      Seems like you washed away your sense of mildly racist humour. I don't get offended when people makes jokes about kilts and sheep... mmmm... those sexy fluffy beasties...

      --
      which is totally what she said
  3. Not a true experience then. by garcia · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I think knowing you can walk out at any time makes the reality of this experiment far less stressful on those inside the test capsule than if they were actually traveling through space and had no opportunity to leave.

    1. Re:Not a true experience then. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      I think knowing you can walk out and not die at any time makes the reality of this experiment far less stressful on those inside the test capsule than if they were actually traveling through space and had no opportunity to leave.

      FTFY

    2. Re:Not a true experience then. by vadim_t · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I think it's the reverse, really.

      Since they can walk out at any time, aborting is easy, and the mission can fail due to quite minor disagreements. Nobody needs to put up with anything, they just can go "screw it" and leave. That it's been working so far seems to mean it's working amazingly well.

      On the other hand, if you're in space, and don't like it, what are you going to do? Throw a gigantic tantrum and beat people up? Things like that will bite you in the ass sooner or later, and are likely to result in your death. I think one's self-preservation instinct should provide some motivation.

      Maybe somebody who's been in the military or similar positions can comment: What's it like to be in a life and death situation with a team member you really hate? Do people put aside the personal conflicts until the task gets done?

    3. Re:Not a true experience then. by dargaud · · Score: 5, Interesting

      You are right on the money. I've spent a year in Antarctica twice for a winterover, meaning 9 months when you have no way out, 13 people sitting in a building with -80C temperatures outside. You HAVE to cope with minor issues. And indeed the only fight broke out on the day before the arrival of the first airplane of the summer. Also you have the feeling of doing something important [research] while there, which is not something you'd get from sitting in a tuna can with nothing to do for 500 days... I'm amazed they've made it so far.

      --
      Non-Linux Penguins ?
  4. one really big psychological difference by PJ6 · · Score: 3, Funny

    None of the men has considered abandoning the mission, although they are free to walk out at any time, mission director and former cosmonaut Boris Morukov told reporters on Friday.

    If they wanted more realism (and since it's Russia), they should have told the crew that death in space would be "simulated" if any tried to leave.

  5. Not that I know the specifics of this test by Semptimilius · · Score: 3, Insightful

    From what I've read, they're looking at monitoring mental and physical health of a crew simulating a mission to Mars. The fundamental psychology is different, as pointed out by others, as they can leave at any time. Confinement and isolation are not properly simulated at the fundamental level. The physical side of the test is also not simulated properly, as they are under the influence of Earth's gravity and this has effects on the health of the crew.
     
    Perhaps a first step. A better test would be one at the ISS.

    1. Re:Not that I know the specifics of this test by sznupi · · Score: 3, Insightful

      What I see being pointed out by others, is false belief that people doing this research are morons...

      While they are, in fact, closely associated with a space agency most experienced, by far, in long duration orbital stays. Being in a prime position to determine which effects don't depend much on microgravity (etc.), so can as well be tested in the discussed test.

      --
      One that hath name thou can not otter
  6. Not much of a test by paiute · · Score: 4, Funny

    Yeah, it's a trip to Mars - minus the lack of gravity, minus the cosmic radiation, minus the occasional pebble whizzing by at thousands of miles per hour, minus the constant knowledge that a few millimeters of metal alloy separates you from pretty much instant death at all times.

    It's the take home test of space travel.

    --
    If Slashdot were chemistry it would look like this:Cadaverine
    1. Re:Not much of a test by MattskEE · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Yeah, it's a trip to Mars - minus the lack of gravity, minus the cosmic radiation, minus the occasional pebble whizzing by at thousands of miles per hour, minus the constant knowledge that a few millimeters of metal alloy separates you from pretty much instant death at all times.

      Surprisingly enough death isn't actually very quick in the vacuum of space (ref). You would maintain consciousness for about 15 seconds and be able to take actions which may save your life, and even after unconsciousness you would most likely survive without significant injury if returned to an atmospheric environment within about 90 seconds.

  7. So many questions... by gklinger · · Score: 3, Interesting

    If they are free to walk out at any time, why is the capsule locked? (No, seriously.) The other thing that jumps out at me is the duration of the trips but the relatively short amount of time (two days) spent on 'Mars'. Surely a mission to Mars would include more time on the planet? The time spent on the planet would be more intellectually stimulating than the spaceflight (one presumes) and might offer relief/reward from the journey to Mars and better prepare the crew psychologically for the return mission. I wonder why that wasn't factored in. The difficulty of simulating the on-planet experience perhaps?

    Bonus question: Would an actual mission to Mars pay astronauts more than $70,000 per year?

  8. What's special about it? by Opportunist · · Score: 3, Funny

    We've had that experiment a while ago. A bunch of unemployed freaks locked together into a can for a year, televised daily.

    They called it Big Brother.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  9. People in a group + "out" button = greater chance by theblondebrunette · · Score: 4, Informative

    I do not agree. First, working in a team increases human pain threshold twice.
    Second, when you're a given a "stop" button, you can endure more pain and actually finish the given exercise. I cannot find the study that showed this, but can give you a short description - a control group of people were given electric shock (or other form of pain) until a certain threshold. Another group of people were going through the same exercise, but were given a button that could make the pain stop right away.
    The group that did not have the button, gave up much earlier than the group that had that button. The latter group actually went through the end of the exercise.

    So, if you're working in a group (first study above) and you're given a way out, I'd say it's much easier to endure the trip.
    Thus I disagree with the parent post.

    As for this study, I really think the test subjects should've been told they wouldn't be able to make it out, even if they wanted to..
    This, however, could very well be the next test.