Six volunteers spent 105 days in an isolation module as part of an international experiment in preparation for a manned space mission to Mars. Under constant surveillance, the all-male crew carried out 72 different experiments to gather data in readyness for a mission to Mars. All the key aspects of a long spaceship flight were simulated – barring of course the effects of weightlessness and solar radiation, which are more easily researched on the international space station. The participants found the experiments very interesting and commented that they felt it was important to give the volunteers feedback about the progress of the experiments. Monotony was the main difficulty encountered by the volunteers. Samples for analysis were delivered to researchers through a hatch in the isolation module, and researchers also monitored medical data, including exhalation bags as part of on-going research to find efficient non-invasive methods of diagnosing diseases at an early stage. This is important for astranauts but can also help people on earth. Scientists across Europe are calling this mission a success, although the findings have not yet been disclosed. The analysis of the data will primarily be used to prepare the next stage of the Mars-500 experiment, planned to begin in 2010 with another crew of participants. The experiments during the 105 days were primarily on the medical effects on the men – that is, in the psychological and physiological fields. Stress linked with …
One hundred days of solitude
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