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Mars-500 experiment

In the fourth quarter of 2008, six volunteers will partake in the Mars-500 experiment at the IMBP, where they will spend approximately 520 days (possibly up to 700!) in a mockup of a spaceship to simulate a Mars mission. The crew have not yet been named. ESA is also participating in the study, mainly to research the psychology of such a mission; they will also propose two of the volunteers.

The cost of the experiment is expected to exceed 15 million dollars.

Prior to the main mission, up to two 100-day studies will be undertaken in preparation, to test the facilities and operational procedures. The first 14-day test mission took place in November 2007 (see below), its main purpose being to verify technical equipment. A 105-day is to follow in 2008, which will see Russian and European scientific proposals selected.

The crew will have experience in medicine, engineering, biology and computer, and speak Russian and English. They will need to be capable of self-organization and self-management.

The timeline of the Mars mission consists of:

  • Interplanetary flight Earth-Mars: 250 days
  • Mars surface operations: 30 days
  • Interplanetary flight Mars-Earth: 240 days.

Communications between the crew and Mission Control will be delayed by up to 20 minutes each way, reflecting the time lag of radio signals transmitting between Mars and Earth.

The crew will be supplied with all the food required at the start of the mission, and have to regulate the supplies so they last for the duration. The crew’s diet will be identical to that of the crews on the International Space Station, and they will perform maintenance, experiments and exercise activities in the same manner, following a daily timeline. Off-nominal and emergency situations will also be simulated. The crew will follow a seven-day week with two days off.

For Mars surface operations, the crew will be divided into two groups of three.

Layout of the experiment modules (from a PDF document, “AO-07-Mars500”, here):

Facility overview

The Ground-based Experimental Facility (NEK – Nazemnom Eksperimental’nom Komplekse, НЭК – Наземном Экспериментальном Комплексе) in which the experiment will be carried out is located in a special building on the IBMP site in Moscow. This building comprises the isolation facility itself, as well as the operations room, technical facilities and offices. The current lay-out of the isolation facility comprises four hermetically sealed interconnected habitat modules, in addition to one external module, which will be used to imitate a stay on the “Martian surface”. The total volume of the habitat modules is 550 m³. A technical drawing of the architecture of the facility is given in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Layout of NEK facilities at IBMP in Moscow Module

Module 1: Technical-medical module

Module 1 (3.2m × 11.9m) will house two medical berths, a toilet and equipment for routine medical examinations and telemedical, laboratory and diagnostic investigations. Should a crewmember become ill, he/she can be isolated and treated here.

Module 2: Living quarters

Module 2 (3.6m × 20m) will be the main living quarters for the crew. It comprises six individual compartments for the crewmembers, a kitchen-dining room, a living room, the main control room and a toilet. The individual compartments (2.8-3.2m²) will have a bed, a desk, chair and shelves for personal belongings.

Module 3: Mars landing module

Module 3 (6.3m × 6.17m) will simulate the Mars landing module and will only be used during the 30-day “Mars orbiting” phase. It accommodates up to three crewmembers and will have three bunk beds, two workstations, a toilet, a control and data collection system, a video control and communications system, gas analysis system, air-conditioning and ventilation system, sewage system and water supply and a fire alarm and suppression system.

Module 4: Storage module

Module 4 (3.9m × 24m) is divided into four compartments: – compartment 1 will house a fridge for storage of food – compartment 2 will be used for storage of non-perishable food – compartment 3 will house the experimental greenhouse – compartment 4 will house the bathroom, sauna and gym. The technical installations include all necessary equipment for running the study (communications and control, ventilation and air supply, water supply, electrical installations, sewerage, air and water quality monitoring and partial recycling, medical equipment, fire and other safety monitoring systems, emergency equipment, etc.). The crew will stay in those modules under conditions of artificial atmospheric environment at normal barometric pressure.

A diagram on the TsUP Mars-500 page:

Mars-500 diagram, TsUP
  1. This module will descend to the surface of Mars. It is calculated that 3 people will stay in it for 2-3 months.
  2. All experiments will be carried out here.
  3. The “habitable” module consists of the personal cabins of the crew members, wardroom, kitchen and main control panel.
  4. Here will be located a greenhouse, depository of food reserves, storage of dishes, clothing and so forth, etc.
  5. This module simulates the surface of Mars. From it is the exit to the red planet.

Short-duration experiments

15-29 November 2007

In November 2007 a short-duration 14-day stay in the Mars-500 facility was conducted, beginning 15/11 at 11:00 and finishing on 29/11 at 14:00. The crew were all Russian, 5 men and 1 woman:

  • Artamonov, Anton Anatol’evich/Артамонов Антон Анатольевич (born 1982). Engineer physicist, and IMBP engineer-programmer.
  • Artem’ev, Oleg Germanovich/Артемьев Олег Германович (1970). Mechanical engineer.
  • Kovalev, Aleksandr Sergeevich/Ковалев Александр Сергеевич (1982). Engineer, works in the telemedicine laboratory at IMBP.
  • Perfilov, Dmitrii Vladimirovich/Перфилов Дмитрий Владимирович (1975). Doctor, works in the IMBP telemedicine laboratory.
  • Ryazanskii, Sergei Nikolaevich/Рязанский Сергей Николаевич (1974), expedition commander. He partook in the SFINCSS-99 experiment as part of the 7th crew.
  • Tugusheva, Marina Petrovna/Тугушева Марина Петровна (1983). Biologist, Researcher IMBP. The woman in the crew.

The experiment was conducted in two modules of the IMBP medical-technical complex: EU-150/ЭУ-150 (habitable module with a volume of 150 m³) and EU-100/ЭУ-100 (medical module with a volume of 100 m³). Newly-developed life-support systems, monitoring and control, information management and the local tele-medical network were tested for the duration of the experiment.

The crew did not have Internet access or TV, but could talk to those outside via Internet Phone (Skype). Smoking and alcohol were forbidden.

The female presence in the crew did not prove disruptive as all knew that they had to behave professionally. Women in future crews are now a possibility – previously they were not to be included.

2008

“Russia continues flight simulation experiments for Mars-500”, RIA Novosti, 15 April. Four volunteers will spend ten days in a compression chamber with a reduced oxygen level as preparation for Mars-500; this will provide information on the physiological impact of a flight to Mars and back. No date for the experiment given in the article.

24 May 2008 was the last day of a week of interviews at the ESA’s European Astronaut Center at Cologne (32 candidates were called, 8 will be selected). The results (final ESA choice) will be communicated to the candidates by the end of this month. Training for the 105-day mission will begin in August/September 2008.

“Mars500 – European candidates selected”, ESA news, 27 May 2008.

~ Page last updated: 29 May 2008

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