I found an interesting article recently about an unusual study project called Mars 500. Mars 500 is an international study into interplanetary spaceflights and during 2010-11, the project is conducting the first full duration simulation of a manned flight to Mars.
A crew of six will spend 500 days in a simulated habitat module, and a simulated ‘Martian surface’. The crew consists of three Russians, one Italian, one Frenchman and one Chinese.
The total volume of the environment is only 550 square metres. The crew will live and work as if they are on an extended spaceflight. During the ‘trip’, communications connections may be disrupted and are simulated with a realistic delay. Medical and emergencies will also be simulated. At 250 days, three will leave the module to move to the ‘Martian surface’ and the other three will remain in the ‘spacecraft module’.
The project is being conducted by the Russian Institute of Biometrical Problems with extensive participation by EASA. This is all part of preparations for future human missions to Mars.
Although not the prime purpose of the project, much will be learnt about how people communicate, co-operate and collaborate in the context of interplanetary space flight and, I suspect that the project will contribute immensely to the science of human factors. Human factors are important in aviation and many accidents and safety incidents are caused by what is broadly classified as human factors failures.
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