By RIA Novosti
Moscow : Two Europeans and four Russians have been selected to participate in an experimental Mars mission simulation, Mars-500, a medical institute spokesman said Monday.
The experiment, which is being run by the Russian Institute of Biological Problems, will sequester the six volunteers in a “Mars Expeditionary Complex” for 520 days beginning late 2008.
According to the project’s web site, the trial proposes to simulate a space flight to Mars in all of its ramifications. The mission will include a 250-day “trip” to the Red Planet, 30-day period on its surface and a 240-day return flight.
During their nearly one-and-a-half year isolation, crewmembers will experience many of the conditions likely to be encountered by astronauts on a real flight through interplanetary space.
They will adhere to a strict regime of work, rest and exercise, and will eat exactly what the crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS) consume.
The spokesman said that two preliminary “flights” would take place before the principal experiment begins, and will involve a 14-day and a 105-day version. A crew for the second practice run will be chosen by the end of the year.