Spending a Year and a Half in Martian Isolation Looks Kind of Fun
Shenanigans on a 520-day-long pretend trip to Mars
Have you been wondering what it’s like to spend 520 days in a little sealed facility in Russia? The Mars500 project has cooped up 6 volunteers with no access to the outside world in an experimental isolation facility in Moscow, measuring just 550 cubic meters, to simulate a trip to Mars.
The experiment started June 3, and already we have some fascinating snapshots of what the volunteers are getting up to. In this gallery, the men play Wii, do chores, play-fight, study Chinese, and even man the “spaceship” controls once in a while.
That Wang Yue in particular seems like quite a card.
All Geared Up to Take On Hostile Martians
The Crew Shows Off Their Drug Collection
Clowning Around With Vital Medical Supplies
The Red Glasses Really Make It Look Like Mars
Wang Yue Teaches Romain Charles to Write Chinese
The Crew Rocks Out
Enjoying Some Down-Time
We Are Not Sure What This Face Scanner Is For
Vacuuming Out the Passage Between Two Modules
Crewman Yue Seems to Be Functioning Correctly
One Day’s Rations for One Crewman
Pretending to Fly the Spaceship