One hundred five days locked in a cramped warren eating food from the menu for residents of the Int’l Space Station can’t be any picnic. Neither would a flight to Mars – but at least that would provide a spangly starry view to remind the inmates that something rather glorious should follow. But it IS cheaper. Half a dozen volunteers are, by now presumably, already ensconced in Moscow in their new digs – what Russia Today describes as “locked up in a tube.” At the AP, Vladimir Isachenkov calls it a “claustrophic metal module” at the Mocow-based Institute for Medical and Biological Problems. All are men (four Russian, plus one German and one French). Isachenkov notes that a similar test ten years ago left a woman volunteer furious over an entirely too kissy kissy Russian’s advances, and that he and another man then punched each other so hard the blood flew. The NYTimes‘s science section put this news, reported there by Michael Schwirtz, on its front page and points out this is just a warm-up. If it goes well, the institute will do a 520-day dry run that simulates a trip to, a visit of, and the return from Mars. He also finds a Houston space medicine man arguing that, barring extreme advances in robotics, people are still the most productive explorers in space. (Hmm. Probably so per hour of work. Per dollar, euro, ruble, etc., maybe not).The test is sponsored by Russian and European space agencies, with a mind to the real thing at least 20 years off.
The Tracker is of the mind that human expeditions to other worlds, asteroids, etc. are a bad way to spend the necessary huge piles of government money. If it’s to happen, let the travel industry and rocket entrepreneurs find profitable ways to extend our society into zero-g. Scientists could then buy tickets. Nonetheless, the results of this test are likely to be interesting. Few if any of the stories provide much analysis of the larger, space-race evoking context of the test. Some from the Brit press do have a cynical edge.
One would think they could at least twitter from in there. But, it appears, not so.
Other Stories:
- Reuters – Dmitry Solovyov : Six embark on 105-day simulated trip to Mars ;
- BBC: Mars ‘journey’ experiment begins ;
- Guardian (UK) Tom Parfitt: Sitting in a tin can, not far from central Moscow: Russian scientists prepare for Mars mission ; The volunteers, he writes are “apparently fearless.”
- Scientific American – John Matson : Volunteers set to spend 105 days in isolation module, trial for Mars mission ; He asks, “could reality TV be far behind?” ;
- Telegraph (UK) – Adrian Blomfield: Volunteers simulate mission to Mars in Moscow capsule;
Grist for the Mill: European Space Agency Press Release;
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