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Isolated NASA Team Ends Year-Long Mars Simulation In Hawaii (bbc.com)
An anonymous Slashdot reader quotes the BBC:
A team of six people have completed a Mars simulation in Hawaii, where they lived in near isolation for a year. Since August 29th, 2015, the group lived in close quarters in a dome, without fresh air, fresh food or privacy... Having survived their year in isolation, the crew members said they were confident a mission to Mars could succeed. "I can give you my personal impression which is that a mission to Mars in the close future is realistic," Cyprien Verseux, a crew member from France, told journalists. "I think the technological and psychological obstacles can be overcome."
The team consisted of a French astro-biologist, a German physicist and four Americans -- a pilot, an architect, a journalist and a soil scientist... the six had to live with limited resources, wear a space-suit when outside the dome, and work to avoid personal conflicts. They each had a small sleeping cot and a desk inside their rooms. Provisions included powdered cheese and canned tuna.
The team consisted of a French astro-biologist, a German physicist and four Americans -- a pilot, an architect, a journalist and a soil scientist... the six had to live with limited resources, wear a space-suit when outside the dome, and work to avoid personal conflicts. They each had a small sleeping cot and a desk inside their rooms. Provisions included powdered cheese and canned tuna.
What about Antarctic Research Station 1?
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What they should have done was to inform them on day 355 that their mission was being unexpectedly extended for 26 additional months and gauge their reaction.
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
Whereas people are making valid points about the flaws in this experiment, I don't think anyone at NASA thinks that this is a perfect dress rehearsal. It's about baby steps.
You can bring in the real-life high paid astronauts, build expensive underwater, or Himalayan bases, give them less sense of security, etc later.
If you think this is the only experiment that will happen you're mistaken, they're going to run similar tests numerous times. This experiment was about watching just basic psychology- start with a few factors, add some more, see the differences. See what causes the breaking point that would lead to a failed mission and try to alleviate it.
Many people here are programmers. You don't write an entire program in its entirety and then test it. You build chunks and test them as you go along. This was step one.
"That's the way to do it" - Punch
Provisions included powdered cheese and canned tuna.
And the knowledge that if anything went wrong the "experiment" could be ended in a matter of minutes.
If you do the test with all the risks of the real mission you might just as well do the real mission.
The point of a test like this is to make sure that you didn't forget to pack something, not to do the real mission without accomplishing anything.
I don't know why entertainment would have to be that limited. A mars mission is going to have a radio link. Even at that distance, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has a connection peaking at 2Mbit/s under good conditions, and a manned ship could carry a larger receive antenna and more powerful transmitter. That's enough to send ebooks, audiobooks, music, and even TV programs and movies. They might have to wait a few days for the latest movies and TV though, as it would have to be a low-priority task when the transmitter isn't needed for more important things.