Sleep disorder in Mars mission

On June 3, 2010, a group of 6 international volunteers began to confine themselves in a room like the 550m ³ spacecraft at the Russian Academy of Science, in a mission to simulate a left-round flight. land - Mars in 520 days. There has been mild depression and sleep problems for the "astronauts".

Joining the 17-month simulation flight of the Mars500 project were three Russian members, two from Europe and one Chinese. Scientists say not all astronauts fit into interplanetary flights. Sleep research in simulation tasks indicates that astronauts need to be thoroughly tested for their ability to cope with changes in the natural day-night cycle.

According to Mathias Basner of the University of Pennsylvania, participants in sleep studies have made a huge difference between individuals, so it is necessary to choose a crew of people with similar health backgrounds. According to UPI news agency, in the Mars500 project, a member has completely lost the natural day-night rhythm, falling into a one-day state of 25 hours. It took 12 days for this member to return to normal to synchronize with teammates. The crew member who had a sleep disorder had isolated himself when he found himself the only one still awake while others slept.