Mars simulation crew freed after 105 days in isolation

For the last three and a half months the six crew members of Mars500 have been confined in a simulation facility in Moscow, designed to replicate as closely as possible conditions on a long-haul mission to Mars.

The four Russians - cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev and Sergei Ryazansky, oncologist Alexei Baranov, and sports physiologist Alexei Shpakov - and two members of the European Space Agency, French civilian pilot Cyrille Fournier and German mechanical engineer Oliver Knickel, have lived in physical isolation from the outside world. Every day has comprised the same battery of medical tests, experiments and maintenance tasks.

The facility's four hermetically sealed modules let in no natural light. And culinary highlights of the mission have been snack bars, baby food and vitamin tablets. But at noon today the crew will finally be let out. How relieved are they that it's finally over? How long does 105 days feel when you're cooped up with five other men in a metal box? And what's the first thing they'll do when they get out? The answers, at least for German crew member Oliver Knickel, are surprisingly: 1) kind of disappointed, 2) not that long, and 3) not sure!

Here's an extract from his final diary entry, posted today on the ESA website:

"We have of course gone through all daily procedures one last time, a final turn on the cycle ergometer, a last electrical stimulation, worked a final nightshift and had a last stay in the sauna. And I have to say that all of us even got a little melancholic realising that next week at the same time we might never fulfil these things again which have become such familiar habits and at least right now are simply part of our every day life. Looking back on our time in the Mars simulation facility I must admit that I have absolutely lost the feeling for time on a long-term basis.

Although not having seen the Sun during the whole isolation period, I still have a sense of when it is morning and when it is evening just by how tired I am. But I absolutely have no idea about the total length of time we have spent inside the module now. It seems like three to four weeks but the calendar proves that it has been 105 days and we will leave the facility later today.

It is also remarkable that neither Cyrille [French ESA member] nor I have something in mind what we absolutely and undoubtedly want to do within the next days or weeks. We are of course looking forward to seeing our girlfriends again and also to spend time in the summer of Moscow, but no further or more detailed thoughts. By the way, if I think about the summer it is also crazy to imagine that we will leave the facility and it will be summer outside. When we entered the module in March there was still snow and ice on the streets and we were wearing warm jackets and hats in temperatures way below zero"

That Knickel appears to have maintained a clear-headed optimism, and not approached psychological breaking point - frequently cited as one of the biggest challenges for a manned Mars mission - bodes well for the next phase of the project. The name 'Mars500' wasn't picked out of the blue: the next simulation will last 500 days, approximately the time for a there-and-back mission to Mars.

Comments

[James]

They have a picture of Marx in their Mars simulator!!! But who is that next to him: William Wallace? Bonnie Prince Charlie?