Testing live on Mars for a year

Today has just rounded a five-day six astronauts into a real-life model of the Moscow space ship simulating a continuous flight in 520 days to Mars.

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The European Space Agency (ESA) trial and the Russian Biomedical Institute called Mars 500, are designed to test how people deal with stress during a nearly two-year journey to the planet. red.

The astronaut consisted of 3 Russians, a Chinese, a Frenchman and an Italian who were living and working under a very strict timetable since they entered the narrow space of the model. The spacecraft is located in Moscow from June 2010.

Astronaut performs Mars 500 project. Photo: Rianovosty

With limited contact outside, not being exposed to natural light, the health and psychological status of astronauts is checked regularly. The crew went through 250 days of testing before performing the task on a simulated Mars surface for a 30-day period. They are currently on the "return" to the Earth.

Astronaut, Professor Boris Morukov, who is leading this project from "ground control station" said: " The boys are working together and feeling very comfortable. Most importantly they do not have any external intervention , "he said.

"The astronauts are controlling their own complex support systems. It could be said that they are making a flight of their own, " Riavonosty quoted Morukov as saying.

This is not the first time astronauts test a long task like this. In 1999, a similar test was carried out in a Moscow warehouse that failed after a Russian captain kissed a Canadian woman and two other astronauts caused a scuffle.