Mars-500

Mars -500 was a project carried out on June 3, 2010 to November 4, 2011 experiment, the Russian space agency Roscosmos and the European ESA. The project simulated a manned flight to Mars, six volunteers were enrolled for 520 days in a complex. The resulting work days and structures were chosen so that it comes close to a round-trip flight to Mars. The project was conducted (Institute of Biomedical Problems ) near Moscow on IBMP. Its cost was estimated at 15 million U.S. dollars.

Aim of the project

Still in the first half of the 21st century is to take place a manned flight to Mars. Such a mission is fraught with extremely high costs and many technical problems, especially as they because of the distance (depending on the planets of 55-400 million kilometers ) for several weeks, with today's drives could even take more than a year. During the whole journey, a team of about half a dozen astronauts must live together in a confined space. This can quickly lead to tension, particularly during the return flight usually only arises routine work and therefore boredom can be a serious problem.

You try doing to find an answer to the following questions: Which group dynamics evolve over time? Which personality types are best suited for a long-term mission? As the crew helps with problems when external assistance are excluded?

But the following medical issues is hoped that answers: What medications and instruments necessary for the medical care of the crew? How does the team if the doctor of the crew fails to illness?

Previous project

Between July 1999 and April 2000, during 263 days at the same institute, the project Simulation of a Flight of International Crew on Space Station - '99 ( SFINCSS -99) performed with similar goals. A Russian group of four stayed the first 240 days over in the plant. After three weeks, was joined by a second group of four, a German commander and three Russians added. Since the German spoke fluent English and Russian, there were no communication problems. After 110 days, the second group left the plant. About three weeks later, the third group went into the experiment, which included the addition to the Austrian commander, a Japanese, a Russian and a Canadian. During the first month there were no interpersonal difficulties.

During the New Year holidays, there was a fight between a Russian of the first group and the Russians in the third group. In addition, a Russian of the first group tried to kiss the Canadian the third group by force. The assessment of such incidents is a cultural rift opened up. The Russians pointed out that it was normal in Russia when guys beat at a party and that they had expected the Canadian would retaliate with a slap in the face and the incident abtäte with a laugh. The three non-Russians rejected this excuse trials and demanded that the Russians would question banished from the plant. One reason for this incident was that the project manager had provided a bottle of champagne for the New Year celebration.

In addition, there were communication problems between the crew. Although English was the official language of the project, only the commander could speak English fluently in the first group. One of the three other Russians from the first group was jealous to interact with the time on the good English speaking Russians from the third group, as this was in a position with the three non Russians. This rivalry then erupted during the celebration in a bloody brawl. Complicating the situation for the third group was the fact that the project management only limited English and the three non-Russians were dependent on the skills of the interpreter Russians in their group. Its integration into the group suffered, however, from the fact that his wife worked as a doctor in project management, so that he could call her every day, which meant that the other group members did not regard him as an equal, but as a kind of watchdog from the outside. Since the Russian project management in evaluating the two incidents be joined assessing their countrymen and not banished from the plant, the mood deteriorated further in the non-Russians. A month later, after 60 days, the Japanese left the plant prematurely. The remaining participants brought the experiment to an end as planned.

Structure of the Station

In the Mars -500 experiment, the station consists of four modules that serve different purposes of:

The total usable area is 243 m² with a capacity of 550 m³. This corresponds to an average room height of 2.26 m. The graph gives an overview of the arrangement of the modules.

Candidates

The success of Mars -500 depended critically on the choice of suitable candidates. In the job description candidates were searched with the following properties:

• Age: 25 to 50 years
• Healthy and physically fit
• University education
• Training in one of the following areas was intended: Medicine or first aid, physics, biology and engineering to one of the following areas: life support systems, computer technology, electronics or mechanics
• Language proficiency of the English and Russian language

ESA has two of the six crew members as a project partner for a preliminary study. In this study, the crew members completed a 105 -day simulated mission to Mars. After vacancy ESA on 19 June 2007, applied for 5600 people. On 11 December 2008, the names of the four ESA candidates were in a press release of the ESA announced: Cedric Mabilotte, Oliver Knickel (one for the duration of the project 29 -year-old German army captain ), Cyrille Fournier and Arc'hanmael Gaillard. The wage was 120 euros a day, equivalent to an annual salary of 43,800 euros. The simulation was successfully completed on July 14, 2009.

On 23 March 2010, the names of the candidates were announced, which will be prepared for the 520 -day main simulation: Jerome Clevers (Belgium ), Arc'hanmael Gaillard (France), Romain Charles ( France) and Diego Urbina (Italy / Colombia). The ESA was allowed to send two of them in the simulation.

Roskosmos announced on 18 May 2010, the participants of the Mars mission simulation known: Since June 3, 2010 constituted Romain Charles (France, Age 31 years, engineer), Sukhrob Kamolow (Russia, 32 years, surgeon ), Mikhail Sinjelnikow (replacement, Russia, 37 years, engineer), Alexei Sitjew (Russia, 38 years, engineer ), Alexander Smolejewski (Russia, 33 years, Doctor ), Diego Urbina (Italy, 27 years, engineer) and Wang Yue (China, 27 years, Taikonautenausbilder ) the occupation. The remuneration was around 99,000 U.S. dollars.

Expiration

The six-member crew was hermetically isolated from the June 3, 2010 for 520 days in a complex of different room modules, a contact with the fictitious ground station was only possible via a simulated radio link and e-mail. Radio contact was increased by up to 20 minutes (depending on direction ) is delayed depending on the time of the mission, as it is also occur due to the large distance on a journey to Mars or back. The food was at the beginning of the project included with and was strictly rationed. In addition, the crew had to cope with simulated emergencies.

The mission was divided into three main parts:

• Way to Mars: 250 days.
• Stay of 3 crew members in the Mars module: 30 days.
• Return to Earth: 240 days.

During the isolation period similar work as on the ISS space station were carried out. These were mainly: medical examinations, physical training, as well as repair and maintenance of the station. By the way were also normal household chores and personal care. Unless special situations forced a deviation, a working rhythm of 5 working days and 2 days off was observed.

On 14 February 2011 "reached " the team the surface of Mars after 250 days.

On 4 November 2011, the project was terminated.

Criticism and discourse

The project was also under criticism. There following points in particular were criticized:

• Non - transferability of results: Since the project in several important respects from a real Mars mission differed (lack of weightlessness and radiation exposure, any time possible access to the modules from the outside, lower gravity ), there was no guarantee that the findings on a can be transferred to Mars.
• "Big Brother": In the modules many cameras were installed, creating an almost complete monitoring of the crew was possible.
• All-male team: The social behavior of a trapped mixed group was not explored.

The extent to which the findings can be transferred to a future Mars mission can be answered only after completion of a real Mars mission, of course. Supporters of the Mars -500 project, argued, however, that the simulated Mars mission should be made as realistic as possible - as far as is technically possible and financially viable. In the video footage, great emphasis was placed on privacy. The monitoring was only the more precise evaluation of the mission.