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IBMP / Oleg Voloshin
Mars500 crewmembers test Russian Orlan suits before their mission started in early June 2010.
A six-man crew on a virtual 500-day trip to Mars reached "orbit" around the Red Planet yesterday after 244 days of fake interplanetary travel. The crew is scheduled to "land" on Feb. 12, and will make three trips out onto simulated Martian terrain.
The all-male crew — three from Russia, one from France, one from China and an Italian-Colombian — are really in a mock spaceship parked at the Moscow-based Institute for Medical and Biological Problems. They're part of an experiment to find out how a crew would handle the stress, claustrophobia and fatigue real astronauts would face in long-term interplanetary travel.
Yesterday, the craft "entered a circular orbit around Mars" — according to the mission scenario, which the virtual astronauts follow like a movie script.
Three of the crew members — Alexandr Smoleevskiy, Diego Urbina and Wang Yue — will enter the "lander" scheduled to reach the mock Mars on Feb. 12. The three trips onto the simulated terrain take place between Feb. 14 and 22. The crew will then head back to the mother ship on Feb. 23. The long journey home begins on Feb. 28, and the crew escapes their mock world in early November.
More stories on the Mars 500 expedition:
- Christmas on a virtual Mars trip
- Scientists begin Mars mission simulation
- 520-day flight simulation nears 'landing' on Mars
- Give the Wii credit if Russians make it to Mars
John Roach is a contributing writer for msnbc.com. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by hitting the "like" button on the Cosmic Log Facebook page or following msnbc.com's science editor, Alan Boyle, on Twitter (@b0yle).
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Cool .....about time earth spent money on things other than tanks, machine guns, and battleships
And we do: roads, bridges, harvesters, barns, skyscrapers, 747s, bulk fuel carriers, railroad cars, not to mention electric cars, wind turbines, photovoltaic arrays, diagnostic imaging devices and the like.
Meanwhile, the experiment will no doubt develop some interesting data. Combined with other data already in hand from ISS missions, we should be closer to understanding at least the psychological implications of long space voyages. The physiological implications may be tougher to quantify, because the experiment does not simulate weightlessness, which is already known to contribute to bone loss and muscle atrophy.
Like the first cave man crossing the water on a log.or the Wright brothers, if only they could see the impact of their invention
What century do you live in, who spends money on battleships (other than museum pieces).
Seriously, what must happen before a attempted Mars Expedition:
Establish a Base on the Moon to make use of the lower gravity to build a Mars Expeditionary spacecraft (think large like spacecraft Discovery in movie 2001 (1968)). There is also the possible fuel source of Helium 3 like in the movie Moon (2009) or even H2O (Hydrogen and Oxygen).
Instead of a Base on the Moon the other concept is the building of a material processing plant (solar furnaces, metal refineries, metal fabrication, etc.) between the Earth and the Moon with the eventual addition of a "Space Dock" to build the Mars Expeditionary Spacecraft. Space Tugs would gather the space junk currently in orbit around the Earth for processing into spacecraft parts. Additional materials could be sent up by "Space Elevator" (Arthur C. Clarke) or by missiles (all of missile and payload processed and used to build spacecraft) from Earth. Speculation is that metals created in zero gravity would be stronger than Earth based (personally I would still want a triple hulled spacecraft with a space of a foot between each hull (think spaced armor, in relation to micro meteorites or a possible solar flare event (radiation).)).
The concept of creating gravity artificially has been addressed in the concept of having the spacecraft attached to a "counterweight" by cables and swinging thru space. Or by having sections of the spacecraft rotate.
What really needs to come first is the process of hibernation like in the movies 2001 (1968), Alien (1979), 2010 (1984), Pandorum (2009). etc. to minimize the amount of irreplaceable resources (food, water, oxygen) used during a long mission.
You know that President Bush had set up a goal to set out to Mars. Liberals, either jealous or envious, punched fun at him. President Obama has talked about our future in space, but has also been cutting NASA. I don't know what to make of it. Liberals slammed Bush, oblige Obama. It makes me realize that liberals bleed blue because they aren't independent thinkers.
I found my evidence. Just google search Mars Mission 2004.
http://www.newsrealblog.com/2010/04/16/same-mission-to-mars-but-bush-attacked-and-obama-applauded/
Joe cutting nasa's Budget is an all party thing, what is up with the my side, your side, sorry but it happens on all sides the right and the left just take turns every four years or so. Your post was basically pointless in its objective since its applies to both the right and the left.
your just focusing on the budget. I'm talking about the fact that the media herolds Obama's aspirations, but slammed Bush for the same damn thing. It is the same thing with Social Security. Bush brought up the issue for debate and the dems just ignored it. Now the CBO is saying that social secuirty is now in crisis. They'll wait until the economy tanks to fix it im sure.
I hated Bush, I think he helped put/push our country into extreme debt leaving Obama holding the bag. I will admit the one thing Bush did do was make plans for a lunar base. I think Obama made a big, huge mistake taking that off the table and putting the goal for a mars mission (which will not happen for a hell of a long time without a lunar base)
A lunar base makes way more sense, both economically (especially if we can manufacture, oxygen, hydrogen and water from the lunar soil) It could help teach us how to live on another planet by living on the moon. Its easier to solve problems then on the way to the moon, We can test technology, radiation protection and a million other things that need to be learned before a mars mission can be possible.
As for social Security, both Republicans and Democrats have been raiding that and abusing/neglecting it for may administrations so of course its in very bad shape.
Here is a point to look at there are so many problems in our country that we cannot solve them all in just over 2 and half years. It seems everyone wants Obama to solve the problems with a magic wand.
It would be nice for Republicans to get over themselves and instead of blocking everything to try to solve the real problems. Same goes for democrats, I am sorry but the politics of We are democrats, we are republicans is what is destroying our country, its time our govt grows up and gets down to business of fixing things that are broke.
I hate elections because all they are about is, he did/or didnt do this, I am better then they are, name calling, reputation bashing. Its like kids in preschool, when are our govt leader going to get it that its not about them, its about fixing our countries issues.
It's not about Republicans getting over themselves. It's about Obama and the Prior Congress including and compromising with the Republicans. Would you say yes if all your ideas were dismissed or worse not even heard?
Not to mention Obama spent more money within his first 2 years than Bush in 8 years.
I agree social security is messed but democrats were the party of no when republicans wanted to fix it. I don't agree with raising ages or increasing contributions.
I urge you to research and read the balogna that Clinton ended his administration with a surplus. All political hype.
Make- believe science or science fiction?
How about neither. It is an experiment, which is the basis for science. It is a test on how the mind reacts to the travel conditions astronauts would experience on the trip to mars.
One might think that perhaps a better choice of wording could have been used in composing the headline.
Otherwise it tends to leave the reader believing that REAL dollars are being spent on FAKE science projects.
Agreed. "Fake" was either chosen for sensationalism, or "simulated" was too big a word for our dear writer.
I think this is great. I just hope that these astronauts can last and maybe one day the real astronauts can actually go to Mars. I wouldn't want to go but I am not as brave as some people. Good luck to them!!
Hey, I think this is an awesome thing they are doing. Look, I spent 1 year,37 days and 14 hours cumulatively on a submarine, some submariners have done so far longer. I bet the worlds submariners are best suited for this. I would gladly accept a technician spot on ANY nations Mars team,even if it were a one shot deal. I can attest to the weirdness of not seeing sunlight,the whiz and whirs of machinery keeping your atmosphere safe, living in tight quarters and 15second showers, but let me tell you,Fresh milk is priceless,fresh eggs,priceless. It is the closest thing to a Space shuttle without leaving earth, Hell,Ill go on the first submersible to explore other aqueous planets, check that out >I volunteer!!!
"FAKE" lol, just like the moon landing.
You are seriously an ignorant person. Why are you even on this site? It is obiously beyond your comprehension so just go back to Yahoo and make comments with people that you can relate with.
did nobody realize that that the shadows seen from different angles on the moon landing site were actually caused by the reflection of light from the earth as well as the sun ??
Did nobody realize that the different angle of shadows seen on the moom landing site were caused by the reflection form light from the sun and the earth ?
I saw the shows about the moon landing being faked, and it all seemed to revolve around shadows at different angles. did nobody figure out that there was two sources of light ?? The sunlite and the reflection from light bouncing off the earth...
@ Bernard - Be nice to our NASCAR friends...... They'll be on board when the speeder races on Tatooine start.
Fail, You are cut off from the conspiracy punch.
Too bad the technology is not available to simulate no gravity during the flight to and from Mars. Pretending that they are on a round trip to the Red Planet is one thing, actually having the conditions of the flight are another. Granted, some good data on how people will cope with the cramped quarters and possibly how to manage food and water will be useful but unless the realistic conditions can be simulated, not much more can be learned. Crews living on the ISS can provide more and better data.
i wonder if their communications are delayed as well. say an astronauts family has a sever medical emergency, will it take a day to get the message to them and could he get out or would they keep him in there till 'landing'?
You think the communication delay between earth and mars is a day? Try several minutes, genius.
On the other hand if they're really serious about this they need to make him wait another 500 days until he gets back to Earth. This is a good idea, really; we need to know whether a guy whose wife is sleeping with one of his mission-buddies's brother, and has to be with said adulterer-in-law for the entire trip back to Earth, can refrain from snapping and killing someone for long enough to get some terra firma back under his feet. (If he seriously has that kind of self-control then I'd say he's earned the right to one crime of passion one he returns.)
maybe i can hide in the mother ship and by the time the astronauts find me we will be well on our way to the red planet. or maybe there will be a lottery with the winner getting to go along. then something happens and im stranded on mars being an only survivor. i melt ice to make air and water but i starve to death 7 months before a rescue mission gets there. there is a cool story in here some where.
If food, water, oxygen, etc. is calculated in relation to weight (the crew) and fuel by hiding in the mothership you would cause the mission to possibly catastrophically (everyone dies) fail (additional weight (use of more fuel during liftoff and flight) and use of irreplaceable resources (food, water, oxygen)).
What are you going to use to melt ice to make air and water. You need O2 ("air") if you are going to use fire to melt ice.
For good knowledge about how the mind reacts to confined spaces and travel, just ask a truck driver!
I am a truck driver and spend much time alone in confined spaces. Being able to escape via entertainment and being able to have good food helps get past the feelings of isolation. Having green spaces, such as solar lamp beds and plants can help also.
by time they go to mars maybe they will have figured out how to make gravity when they travel so their is no effects of having no gravity to the people going awsom adventure u would think but i would need some female companionship lol
They know how to make gravity, you just place a really dense object under the ship, like say planet Earth. I guess that means you need to have more fuel to get the whole thing moving :)
And eventually we will discover "The Martians are US".
Ray Bradbury's Martian Chronicles"
This follows several experiments where groups of people were on a mock long distance space voyage....cudo's to all the scientists involved, bet this makes china feel good too!...now...I wonder if they will meet any mock aliens...like arsenic bellied 400m flatworms that can sense thier every foot print from way underground or freezing pondlike changelings that act like quicksand to boots and wheels alike or giant batlike ptyradactyls that swope down upon them from inside olymus mons or.....or, not scifi...errr...lets see eastren euroupe, yea i got it, like radioactive feral pigs and glow in the dark truffles and....ah heck....at least they are doing science......how about they make an open source type of science mission and start getting some good ole cost estimations, if nothing else surely are getting a better clue as to how much food we pak along for ride....guess they didn't work too hard on learning how to grow yogurt from cosmic radiation blasts...eh?
Those astronauts know they aren't in any real danger on a fake Mars trip and that blows the simulation. They also know they aren't really going to Mars which would be exciting and scary because of the fact they might not be able to return if there was a problem.
Therefore it just isn't a true test of the human mind because there isn't anything truly at stake.
Put yourself in a locked room with 5 other people for 17 months and see how your mind reacts . I'll just bet you would all be at each others throats after 2 or 3 weeks.
The thing is it starts when someone talks about someones wife probably with another man at home, getting it on.The perpetrator try's to get a rise out of the person,but when they plant that seed, the emotions come out, and then there's the lack of female companionship, so its not exactly smart to send a 6 man crew or more with 1 female, seriously, that would get a crew killed,have to be mutually even.This happens on earth with submariners, and this is when people get chased after with wrenches or knives,I have seen it happen, and then,the guy who's more concerned about his wife,he takes the watch and drives the submersible.Its crap like that that gets the natives restless along with crappy food.
Too bad none of these countries possess a rocket or spacecraft capable of a trip to Mars and return. only the United States has landed men on the moon. And Mars is a lot more distant than the Moon.
But they forgot to convert meters to yards and so they must now simulate splatting into the Martian terrain.
That brings back a bad memory, but since there are no Americans on board, "yards" will not be an issue. Only the U.S. is stuck with the archaic English units. Even Brittain is using Metric measurements. We need to dump our measurement system and join the 19th century now that we are in the 21st.
If anyone doesn't know it, forgive me if you do, every product in the U.S. is stamped with metric and English (American) units. Look at your gallon of milk and see what the metric equilavent is.
How does one become an astronaut in the first place? That must be a career path one 'knows' at a young age.
So exciting to even think about going to Mars. Not as easy as it seems in the SciFi books I grew up reading.
However, if they ever have budget problems, they can stuff a bunch of astronauts into my tiny home and produce similar results.........
Too bad BO cut the U.S. space program. Now we are observers instead of explorers.
I made a fake orbit around the moon last weekend....sippin' on gin and juice
Love the gin. The first drink on Mars should be a MARStini.
Hey, I think this is an awesome thing they are doing. Look, I spent 1 year,37 days and 14 hours cumulatively on a submarine, some submariners have done so far longer. I bet the worlds submariners are best suited for this. I would gladly accept a technician spot on ANY nations Mars team,even if it were a one shot deal. I can attest to the weirdness of not seeing sunlight,the whiz and whirs of machinery keeping your atmosphere safe, living in tight quarters and 15second showers, but let me tell you,Fresh milk is priceless,fresh eggs,priceless. It is the closest thing to a Space shuttle without leaving earth, Hell,Ill go on the first submersible to explore other aqueous planets, check that out >I volunteer!!!
It would seem it would be better to research ways of getting there FASTER rather than how we can survive getting there slowly. Better bang for the buck, ......
Speed kills.
Getting everything done faster is what has the world in peril now !!!
"There is more to life than increasing its' speed." - ? (author needed : )
Man cannot survive outside of safe space, the the magnetic field between the earth and moon; for the prolonged period of time as would be necessary to travel to Mars. We are living in the 21st century and if NASA thinks they are going to be able to explore the cosmos using Newtonian based physics, they are lettering the mind BS the brain. The logistical problems they are faced with alone, are far more complex than they want to admit. Their current plan on how to get to Mars, is as absurd as trying to cross the Pacific Ocean in a galley, more wishful thinking than reality.
Tell that to Thor Heyrdahl (or however his name is correctly spelled). Just like anything else humankind does, there are risks. The moon missions worked (barely) with extremely unreliable tech, but it was and probably still is good enough for the Mars thing also.
FYI, Heyrdahl only crossed the Atlantic I know, but on a boat built of reeds ...
Wizard, just to let you know, we can survive outside our magnetic field with our current tech, it's easily done.
Mitchell
Good comments all, except for that NASCAR exchange : )
I feel they will NOT have the luxury of simulated gravity by the time a Mars mission is attempted, so this simulation is very flawed. A Russian stayed in orbit well over a year already. Seems to me that should be sufficient to say the trip is a go !!!
Would be nice to clean up the space junk in orbit, but to collect it would be too expensive. Shoot it down, maybe not ...
the physiologic effects of weightlessness are well known. It is the one major hurdle to deal with.
Bone loss, muscle mass loss are huge issues for long space flight.
They will probably have to learn from a swami or someone how to go into a trance and stay like that for a day or more at a time, waking up only to eat (a little), drink and excrete. Probably be tough even for the swami master in space, though ...
Totally useless comment Thomas.
I'm just saddened and appalled that we are watching Russia and China do this while we sit here and play with our %$#@ing X-Boxes and watch &^%$#! American Idol.
"America The Lazy"
China hasn't gotten their man on the moon yet. Good luck to them if they dare do this (I bet they're using all our Apollo tech; if so, they have a good chance of success).