Photos: Mars500 project preps for spaceflight
In a Russian research facility, six men are closed into spacecraft-like quarters for 105 days to see how a crew might fare on a trip to the Red Planet. And that's the short trial run.
Mars500
Mars visualization
IBMP hatch
IBMP facility
Entering the simulation facility
Cyrille Fournier and greenhouse
Oliver Knickel and phone
Mars500 bedroom
In ESA's public journal for the Mars500 project, Knickel wrote on April 7: "We all slept very well during our first nights, not waking up for anything, although in the crew quarters you can actually hear all sounds from anywhere in the module, even if the doors are closed. I realised that in order to fit in the bed I have to open the door of the wardrobe behind my bed since both the bed and me are exactly 1.85 m long. But while sleeping you need a little more space than your usual body height because of the feet not being in a 90 degree angle to the legs, as when standing, so I would need 1.95 m, which is only possible if I open the wardrobe behind the bed and sleep with my head between my books and folders."
Wired up via skullcap
Pilot experiment
Breath test
For keeping up muscle tone, Knickel wrote: "Cyrille and I are both using a device that stimulates the muscles by sending electricity through them with a regular frequency. This is new for us and quite a funny feeling, especially since we are wearing our devices for three hours in a row."