Volunteers line up for simulated mission to Mars

More than 70 people have volunteered to be confined in a mock mission to Mars - for 520 days. It would be the longest simulation of its kind.

The Institute of Medical and Biological Problems (IMBP) in Russia is undertaking the isolation study to learn more about the personal dynamics of long-duration space travel, according to Russian media reports. An actual round-trip mission to Mars could last about 30 months - about twice as long as this simulation.

Five people will be eventually be selected for the study. They will spend 250 days on a simulated space trip to Mars. Then, three of the five will leave the mock spaceship for a simulated "landing on Mars" that will last 30 days. The five participants will then embark on a 240-day journey "back to Earth". They will communicate with mission control by email.

Russia and the European Space Agency have done space isolation studies before. In these studies, researchers accurately reproduce the interior environment of a spaceship and the length of time crews would spend in space.

Sex and violence

And the outcomes have not always been pleasant. In an eight-month simulation carried out by the IMBP in 2000, a Russian man twice tried to kiss a Canadian female researcher after two other Russians had gotten into a bloody brawl. As a result, locks were subsequently installed between the Russian and international crews' compartments.

Despite such conflicts, simulations of this type can lack a sense of danger, which is critical to understanding how people respond emotionally, says David Musson, a behavioural scientist at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada.

He says working in Antarctica and in submarines may provide better models of the long-term isolation experienced in space. "An Antarctic shack doesn't look as much like a space station," Musson told New Scientist. "But the isolation is more real, and the danger is more real."

Subject selection

The simulations may also lack some of the appeal that draws people to spaceflight, so researchers may end up studying a different group of people than those who would actually fly on a space mission, he says.

The IMBP has tried to minimise this issue by using cosmonauts and astronaut candidates in the past. And they are giving preference in this simulation to applicants who are doctors, biologists and engineers between the ages of 25 and 50.

But Musson says a long-duration space mission may take a different type of astronaut than those who go on shorter trips to space. He points out that on the International Space Station and on Russia's former Mir space station, some of the go-getter astronauts with multiple academic degrees found themselves bored by some of the mundane tasks onboard.

Musson says someone with a more laidback personality might be better suited for a long-duration mission to Mars. These would be "mystery book [readers] who are quite happy not being pushed to their mental limit every day but are extremely bright and competent".

Cultural differences

When planning a study like this, Musson says psychologists tend to want to see people with conflicting personalities while the politicians and organisers of the project just want things to go smoothly.

So far, the IMBP reports it has received applications from 16 nations. An international crew should make the simulation more realistic, as it sets up an environment for potential conflict and misunderstandings due to cultural and linguistic differences.

Jack Stuster, vice president and principal scientist of Anacapa Sciences in Santa Barbara, California, US, says realistic simulations are useful for understanding the interpersonal dynamics of long-duration spaceflight. "I believe that simulations of the duration mentioned will eventually be necessary preparation for planetary exploration," he told New Scientist.

Kelly Young

New Scientist, August 16, 2006
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn9770-volunteers-line-up-for-simulated-mission-to-mars.html