Fly to Mars right above ... the ground

On Wednesday, in Russia began practicing the ground a flight simulated manned journey to Mars. This experiment was carried out by the Moscow Institute of Medical and Biological Problems Research (RAN).

Mars, the second goal after the Moon that people want to set foot on (Photo: urania) Participants will have to be in an experimental complex of 5 modules linked together for a total of 520 days. One of the modules is designed to simulate activities on "Mars surfaces".

The " crew " participants will be observed by a group of researchers, but will not receive any outside help. If something goes wrong, the 6-person test team can only rely on themselves.

The test team will be separated from the outside world like on a real spaceship.

Main thing: Can you stand it?

The key question concerns scientists that the 6-person crew can withstand more than 500 days without any outside help. How will they overcome monotony, boring and unpredictable situations in a long-term space flight?

In the opinion of scientists, the experience accumulated in manned space flights will not be enough for an interplanetary flight until now. In the event of an incident on the international space station, there is always a chance to immediately send help from the Earth. In the flight to Mars, the crew can only rely on themselves.

The trial will begin in the fourth quarter of this year, but those who wish to participate can register now. At the first stage, the requirement is not very high: Need healthy people, aged 25 to 50, with a university degree.

Registrants will be given a thorough physical and psychological examination. The problem is that the test participants need not only survive but also keep the spirit to handle situations that occur during the long test.

Thuy Vi