6 Men To Pretend To Go To Mars For 520 Days

June 5th, 2010

If you could think of anything you would never volunteer for would this rank up there in the top 5? I think it would for me. These 6 men are going to be isolated for 520 days while they act as if they are on a trip to Mars.

Unlike a real trip to the Red Planet, the crew on the record-breaking Mars500 simulated flight, housed in Moscow’s Institute of Biomedical Problems, will have gravity and no exposure to radiation.

But as on a true Mars mission, there is an alcohol ban (ouch), no fresh air, vegetables must be grown on board and the only contact with Earth will be via e-mail, with a 40-minute delay.

Oh yeah…there are no women on this flight either so no need for these gents to worry about adult acne.

“When I was a little boy I asked if I could go to Mars and I am now proud that I am part of making this one day happen,” said Frenchman Romain Charles, who added he will bring along his guitar for entertainment.

Wang Yue, who had trained to be an astronaut in China, said he would learn Russian during the 520 days spent closeted away to communicate with the rest of the crew.

Though both English and Russian are official languages on the simulated trip, not everyone has a common tongue.

Led by Russian commander Alexei Sitev, the crew will live and work like astronauts from the $100-billion, 16-nation International Space Station (ISS), and they will split their time between experiments and exercise.

You want Sexism?

While I’m sure this wasn’t intended, and it may be removed at some point I feel it should be shared.

“HARDER FOR WOMEN IN ISOLATION”

Though over a thousand women applied for the venture — which dictates “astronauts” must be under 185cm (6ft 1in) — females are notably absent from the mission.

“It is harder for a woman to be taken out of life and put in isolation,” said Mars500 project director Boris Morukov.

“The most important thing here is motivation, and limitations would upset women. You’re not allowed to talk on a telephone,” he added.

The crewmembers said they would miss women terribly during the simulated trip but that the sacrifice was worth it.

“It will be hard but I just try to recall all the great travelers who found the New World and who were also without their families,” Sitev said.

Last year four Russians, one German and a Frenchman successfully completed a 105-day simulated space trip at the same institute.