500 Days
More like 520 days. Six guys, locked up in a box for about a year and a half, starting 3 June 2010.
Why? To simulate a manned mission to Mars! Behold, the objectives of Mars 500…
- Investigation of the influence of conditions, simulating peculiarities of a manned Martian expedition on health and working capacity of the crew;
- Organization of the activity of the crew and its interaction with the ground-based control center taking into account peculiarities typical for the Martian flight;
- Verification of the principles, methods and means of control and monitoring of the habitat during over-long staying of the crew in conditions of confined pressurized facility;
- Simulation of the activity of the crew on the surface of Mars and dynamic operations during the flight;
- Verification of the principles, methods and means of control, diagnostics and forecast of the state of health and working capacity, improvement of means of providing of medical help and prophylaxis;
- Improvement of the means of collection, processing and analysis of medical and physiological information;
- Creation and approbation of reference-information system, providing activity of the crew, keeping and transfer of electronic information;
- Verification of means and methods of telemedicine for distant control over the state of human health;
- Approbation of methods and autonomous means of psychological support;
- Assessment of modern technologies, systems and means of support of life and activity and protection of humans.
Let’s see if Letterman picks up on this "top 10" list for his show. More on this mission from the ESA…
