posted 03-31-2009 12:51 PM               

Russian-European crew starts 'Mars mission'

Earlier today, a crew of six, including two ESA-selected participants and four Russians, embarked on a simulated mission to Mars. Although they will not leave the confines of a dedicated isolation facility in Moscow for 105 days, their mission will help prepare for a real human mission to Mars in the future.

At 12:00 CEST (14:00 local time), once all six crewmembers had entered the special habitat at the Institute of Biomedical Problems (IBMP), the hatch was firmly closed for the last time in 105 days.

Accompanying ESA-selected participants Oliver Knickel and Cyrille Fournier on their simulated journey are four Russian crewmembers: cosmonauts Oleg Artemyez and Sergei Ryazansky, Alexei Baranov, a doctor, and Alexei Shpakov, a sports physiologist.

During their stay in the facility, the crew will experience all aspects of a mission to the Red Planet, including launch, the outward journey, arrival at Mars and, after an excursion to the surface, the long journey home.

Their tasks will be similar to those on a real space mission. They will have to cope with simulated emergencies, maybe even real emergencies. Communication delays of as much as 20 minutes each way will not make life any easier.

The crewmembers will act as subjects in scientific investigations to assess the effect that isolation has on various psychological and physiological aspects, such as stress, hormone regulation and immunity, sleep quality, mood and the effectiveness of dietary supplements.

"A crew travelling to Mars will face major challenges, not least, how to cope with being confined to a small space and seeing the same faces for one and a half years," explains Martin Zell, Head of the ISS Utilisation Department in ESA's Directorate of Human Spaceflight. "It is of paramount importance to understand the psychological and physiological effects of long-duration confinement, to be able to prepare the crews in the best way possible and to learn about important aspects of the vehicle design. To contribute to their psychological wellbeing and long-term performance, we need to learn how to support the crew with optimum nutrition, artificial light, appropriate medical countermeasures and also planned and off-nominal task management."

The 105-day study precedes a full simulation of a mission to Mars, due to start late in 2009. This will see another six-member crew sealed in the same chamber to experience a complete 520-day Mars mission simulation.

Both studies are part of the Mars500 programme conducted by ESA and the Russian IBMP, with Roscosmos funding. ESA's Directorate of Human Spaceflight is undertaking Mars500 within its European Programme for Life and Physical Sciences (ELIPS) to prepare for future missions to the Moon and Mars.

"Mars500 is the proof that we are preparing for the future," says Simonetta di Pippo, ESA's Director of Human Spaceflight. "The International Space Station is about to reach full operational capability with a crew of six and the international partners are considering how to maximise the investment made in the Station by working towards a possible extension of its lifetime, so it can be used increasingly to prepare for future exploration undertakings. In parallel, we are intensifying our activities in preparation for the next steps in human spaceflight and exploration as part of the Global Exploration Strategy together with the space agencies worldwide who endorsed it. Mars500 is an important part of this global endeavour as it provides us with the knowledge of how to keep a small crew psychologically and physiologically healthy, and ultimately, to succeed in the big challenge to bring humankind to Mars and safely back to Earth."

Follow the crew throughout their simulated mission, including regular diary updates from the ESA participants, on the ESA website.

posted 07-14-2009 09:11 AM               

Mission accomplished: 105-day Mars mission simulation ends in Moscow

A crew of six today completed their simulated Mars mission after leaving a special isolation facility in Moscow, Russia, for the first time in 105 days. Their mission is part of the Mars500 programme that will help us to understand the psychological and medical aspects of long spaceflights.

Their simulated Mars mission ended at 12:00 CEST (14:00 local time) when the hatch was opened and the crew disembarked for the first time since 31 March. They had been inside the isolation facility at the Institute of Biomedical Problems (IBMP) for a total of 105 days, living and working in close quarters.

Six crewmembers

The six-strong crew includes two ESA crewmembers: Oliver Knickel, a mechanical engineer in the German army, and Cyrille Fournier, an airline pilot from France. The remaining four are Russians: cosmonauts Sergei Ryazansky (commander) and Oleg Artemyev, Alexei Baranov, a medical doctor, and Alexei Shpakov, a sports physiologist.

"We have successfully completed our mission," said Oliver Knickel. "This is a big accomplishment that I am very proud of. I hope that the scientific data we have provided over the last months will help to make a mission to Mars possible."

Inside the isolation facility, the crew has been put through a range of scenarios as if they really were travelling to the Red Planet - including launch, the outward journey, arrival, transfer to and from the martian surface and finally the long journey home.

Their tasks have been similar to those they would have on a real space mission. They have had to deal with simulated emergencies and cope with a communication delay of up to 20 minutes each way.

Science

The participants have also been subjected to scientific experiments to assess the psychological and physiological effects of isolation. The experiments were proposed by research institutes in countries throughout Europe, including Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Austria and the Netherlands, as well as in Russia and the United States.

The crew has grown some of their own food, such as salad leaves, radishes and cabbage, to supplement the astronaut-style pre-packaged meals. Any spare time has been spent reading, watching films and playing music and games together.

"We had an outstanding team spirit throughout the entire 105 days," said Cyrille Fournier. "Living for that long in a confined environment can only work if the crew is really getting along with each other. The crew is the crucial key to mission success, which became very evident to me during the 105 days."

Simonetta Di Pippo, ESA's Director of Human Spaceflight, was present at the hatch opening and greeted the crew as they stepped out of the module. "The crew have done an excellent job," said Di Pippo. "I would particularly like to congratulate Oliver and Cyrille - I am proud of their personal and professional contributions to make this 105-day simulation such a success. I am looking forward to the full fledged simulation next year that will run for 520 days. These studies, like many other activities we carry out on Earth in space exploration analogue facilities, will help Europe to move forward in human exploration - making use of the ISS to go back the Moon and one day also beyond."

520-day study

This initial 105-day study is the precursor to a complete simulation of a fully-fledged mission to Mars and back due to start in early 2010. That exercise will see another six-member crew sealed in the same chamber to experience a complete 520-day Mars mission.

Both studies are part of the Mars500 programme that is being conducted by ESA and its Russian partner IBMP. ESA's Directorate of Human Spaceflight is undertaking Mars500 as part of its European Programme for Life and Physical Sciences (ELIPS) to prepare for future missions to the Moon and Mars.

posted 10-22-2009 11:33 AM               

Volunteers wanted for simulated 520-day Mars mission

Starting in 2010, an international crew of six will simulate a 520-day round-trip to Mars, including a 30-day stay on the martian surface. In reality, they will live and work in a sealed facility in Moscow, Russia, to investigate the psychological and medical aspects of a long-duration space mission. ESA is looking for European volunteers to take part.

The ‘mission’ is part of the Mars500 programme being conducted by ESA and Russia’s Institute of Biomedical Problems (IBMP) to study human psychological, medical and physical capabilities and limitations in space through fundamental and operational research. ESA’s Directorate of Human Spaceflight is undertaking Mars500 as part of its European Programme for Life and Physical Sciences (ELIPS) to prepare for future human missions to the Moon and Mars.

Following on from the successful 105-day precursor study completed in July, ESA is now looking for two candidates and two backups for the full 520-day study, which is due to get underway before mid-2010 after four months of training.

The crew will follow a programme designed to simulate a 250-day journey to Mars, a 30-day surface exploration phase and 240 days travelling back to Earth. For the ‘surface exploration’, half of the crew will move to the facility’s martian simulation module and the hatch to the rest of the facility will be closed.

Candidates should be aged 20–50, motivated, in good health and no taller than 185 cm. They should speak one of the working languages: English and Russian. Candidates must have a background and work experience in medicine, biology, life support systems engineering, computer engineering, electronic engineering or mechanical engineering.

Selection will be based on education, professional experience, medical fitness and social habits. Following an initial assessment, potential candidates will have to submit results from medical tests and will then be invited for interview, to be screened in a process similar to that used in astronaut selection.

The candidates’ nationality and residence is restricted to ESA Member States participating in ELIPS (Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Spain, France, Greece, Italy, Ireland, Norway, The Netherlands, Sweden and Canada).

The Call for Candidates and related documents are available here. Completed and signed application forms should be sent to Mars500@esa.int. The deadline for applications is 5 November 2009.

posted 01-19-2011 01:34 AM               

Third landing crew member Wang Yue will get a chance to walk Mars together with Smoleevsky four days later. A third and final outing will again be made by the Russian-Italian duo.

posted 02-02-2011 01:10 PM               

Mars500 'arrives' in orbit around Mars

The first full-duration simulation of a manned voyage to Mars has reached a major milestone: the 'spacecraft' yesterday 'arrived' at Mars after 244 days of virtual interplanetary flight. Three crewmembers will 'land' on Mars on 12 February and make three sorties onto simulated martian terrain.

Mars500, a pioneering international study of the complex psychological and technical issues that must be tackled for long spaceflights, has been running for more than eight months in hermetically sealed modules imitating a Mars spacecraft at the Institute of Biomedical Problems (IBMP) in Moscow.

The crew of three Russians, two Europeans and one Chinese has been living and working in the facility like a real expedition to Mars. They are following a similar seven-day week, with two days off duty, to the astronauts on the International Space Station. Their work time during the 'flight' is filled with maintenance jobs, experiments and daily exercise.

"Mars500 is a visionary experiment," notes Simonetta Di Pippo, ESA Director for Human Spaceflight. "Europe is getting ready to make a step further in space exploration: our technology and our science grow stronger every day.

"Mars 500 today is only an enriching simulation, but we are working to make it real."

Mars now - but virtually

Yesterday, the craft 'entered a circular orbit around Mars' - as the mission scenario says.

The final approach began on 24 December by shifting their imagined trajectory from interplanetary space to a spiral orbit leading down to the vicinity of the Red Planet.

The crew opened the hatch between the mothership and the mockup of a lander that, according to script, was launched separately to Mars.

In the coming days, the cargo inside the 'lander' will be transferred into the habitat and the lander will be prepared for 'undocking' and 'landing'.

The crew will then divide: Russian Alexandr Smoleevskiy, Italian Diego Urbina and Chinese Wang Yue will enter the lander, while the rest of the crew, Romain Charles from France and Sukhrob Kamolov and Alexey Sitev from Russia 'remain in orbit'.

The hatch between the interplanetary spacecraft and lander will be closed on 8 February. The lander will undock and 'touch down' on Mars on 12 February.

Going out

The first sortie onto the simulated martian surface, housed in a large hall alongside the Mars500 modules, will happen on 14 February: Alexandr Smoleevskiy and Diego Urbina will don the modified Russian Orlan spacesuits and exit the lander's airlock.

The next sortie - by Smoleevskiy and Wang Yue - will take place on 18 February, and the last one - by Smoleevskiy and Urbina - is scheduled for 22 February.

On 23 February, the lander will be launched to 'orbit' and dock with the mothership on following day.

The lander crew will stay in quarantine for three days before the hatch is opened on 27 February and the astronauts are reunited.

Still more than 200 days to go

On 28 February the lander will be loaded with rubbish and unwanted items and the vehicle will be 'abandoned'. This will happen 1 March, just before the spacecraft spirals away from Mars by virtually firing its engines.

After that, the crew is faced with another monotonous 'interplanetary cruise' before arriving home in early November 2011.

posted 02-14-2011 07:11 AM               

Walking on 'Mars'

Three crewmembers of the virtual flight to Mars have 'landed' on their destination planet and two of them today took their first steps on the simulated martian terrain. The highlight of the Mars500 mission lasted for one hour and 12 minutes, starting at 13:00 Moscow time.

This Mars is housed in the Institute of Biomedical Problems in Moscow, on the next storey up the cylindrical modules housing the Mars500 crew. Six men have been already been isolated for more than eight months during the first full-duration simulated flight to Mars.

Three of the crew, Russian Alexandr Smoleevskiy, Italian Diego Urbina and Chinese Wang Yue, entered the lander on 8 February and they 'landed' on Mars four days later.

After this first sortie, they will venture twice more onto the surface simulator wearing Russian Orlan spacesuits.

"Europe has for centuries explored Earth, led by people like Columbus and Magellan," said Diego at the beginning of his three-hour 'Marswalk' with Alexandr.

"Today, looking at this red landscape, I can feel how inspiring it will be to look through the eyes of the first human to step foot on Mars.

"I salute all the explorers of tomorrow and wish them godspeed."

The next sortie, by Alexandr and Yue, will be on 18 February, followed by the last, again by Alexandr and Diego, on 22 February.

Gusev crater

The terrain, about 10 m long and 6 m wide, is covered with reddish sand and is built to resemble the surface at Gusev crater.

Gusev, an old lakebed filled with sediments, is one of the most interesting targets for investigation by robotic explorers and humans. NASA's Spirit rover landed there in 2004 and has shown the crater holds many clues to the planet's wet history.

Soyuz-like living for 16 days

The three Marswalkers will live in their 6.3 x 6.17 m lander for 16 days, eating the type of food carried on Russia's Soyuz spacecraft and enjoying only limited exercise.

The lander will return to orbit on 23 February and dock with the mothership the following day. The hatch between the modules will be opened on 27 February for them to rejoin Romain Charles, Alexey Sitev and Sukhrob Kamolov, who have continued to 'orbit' Mars.

Already a successful mission

"The crew is highly motivated and performing very well," said Jennifer Ngo-Anh, ESA's Mars500 manager.

"The science community is very pleased with the quality of the material but, as this is a long experiment, we have to wait for the results until their 'arrival' at Earth.

"At this point, everything looks very good."

The most difficult but the most interesting part of this psychological study of long flights is still ahead: the crew is now faced with another monotonous 'interplanetary cruise' without a highlight like the Mars landing to look forward to.

They will start their eight month journey back home on 1 March, after loading the lander with rubbish and discarding it, as will likely happen during the first real Mars flight.

posted 02-15-2011 02:21 AM               

First Mars500 'Marswalk' raw video

The first 'Marswalk' by Diego Urbina and Alexandr Smoleevskiy on 14 February started at 13:00 Moscow time and lasted one hour and 12 minutes.

posted 11-04-2011 03:09 PM               

Welcome back and thank you, Mars500

The record-breaking simulated mission to Mars has ended with smiling faces after 17 months. Mars500's six brave volunteers stepped out of their 'spacecraft' today to be welcomed by the waiting scientists — happy that the venture had worked even better than expected.

Mars500, the first full-length, high-fidelity simulation of a human mission to our neighbouring planet, started 520 days ago, on 3 June 2010, at the Institute of Biomedical Problems in Moscow.

The international crew were isolated in their interplanetary spacecraft mock-up, faithfully following the phases of a real mission: a long flight to Mars, insertion into orbit around the planet, landing, surface exploration, return to orbit, a monotonous return flight and arrival at Earth.

During the 'flight', the crew performed more than 100 experiments, all linked to the problems of long-duration missions in deep space.

To add to their isolation, communications with mission control were artificially delayed to mimic the natural delays over the great distances on a real Mars flight.

The crew of three Russians, one Chinese and two Europeans have performed exceptionally well. They have kept together and showed that motivation and team spirit can keep humans going under very difficult conditions. Scientists are pleased at their exceptional discipline.

"Thank you very much for your outstanding effort," said ESA's Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain in his greeting from Paris after the crew stepped from their module.

"I welcome the courage, determination and generosity of these young people who have devoted almost two years of their lives to this project, for the progress of human space exploration."

Touching reunions

The hatch was opened at 14:00 local time (11:00 CET, 10:00 GMT) and the six 'marsonauts' walked out from their modules led by Alexey Sitev, mission commander.

After their first taste of freedom and greetings from mission directors, they were led to meet doctors and their families and close friends.

"It is great to see you all again," said Diego Urbina, ESA's Italian crewmember, after emerging.

"On the Mars500 mission we have accomplished on Earth the longest space voyage ever so that humankind can one day greet a new dawn on a distant but reachable planet.

"And, as a European Space Agency crewmember, I am honoured to have been part of this remarkable challenge together with five of the most professional, friendly and resilient individuals I have ever worked with.

"I'll be forever thankful to those who, even from a distance, always stood close to me during this space odyssey."

Romain Charles, ESA's French crewmember, continued: "One year and a half ago, I was selected by the European Space Agency to be part of the Mars500 crew. Today, after a motionless trip of 520 days, I'm proud to prove, with my international crewmates, that a human journey to the Red Planet is feasible.

"We have all acquired a lot of valuable experience that will help in designing and planning future missions to Mars.

"We're ready to embark on the next spaceship going there!"

During their first few days of liberty, the crew will undergo extensive medical checks and psychological evaluation. They will also enjoy some private time and relaxation before talking to the media on 8 November in Moscow.

Their mission continues into early December, as they go through an exhaustive series of debriefings, tests and evaluations to collect the mission's final data.