As part of future Mars missions of NASA, six scientists lived in a dome of less than 100 m2 for 365 days in Hawaii. Their mission has just ended.
Today ended the mission of 1 year scientists who were locked in a dome on the island of Hawaii, as part of a mission for NASA to prepare the first trips to Mars, the red planet. A French, Cyprien Verseux, was part of the team that found itself virtually cut off from the world for 365 days.
End of the mission of 1 year life on Mars simulation
There is 1 year six scientific entered a dome of 92 m2, placed at 2400 meters above sea level on a volcano in Hawaii. They were going to live so isolated from the world for 365 days to simulate the conditions of life on Mars for Nasa. This mission ended today and the French Cyprien Verseux, astrobiologist and doctoral student, was among the team members.
In the "Huffington Post" Cyprien told that this unprecedented experience left him "many pleasant memories to mind, like the first day, Christmas, explorations of lava tunnels. There were difficult moments, those where something happened to relatives on Earth and I could not be there for them, or even call them. " For 1 year scientists were isolated from the outside world, they could not use the Internet for their work and could not access social networks. The few authorized outlets (4 times per week) were made in diving, one that would bear the first men on Mars.
Days punctuated by the work, discussions and exercise
The purpose of this experiment for NASA was to analyze the physical impact but also of such a psychological isolation. The six scientists have worked hard in their fields. "I wanted to see especially if they could use cyanobacteria (green microbes that make photosynthesis) to convert the elements present on Mars in plant nutrients, to grow past from local resources," explained Mr. Verseux.
This mission was not the first of its kind for the US space agency had already made three but it was the longest.
Source : huffingtonpost.fr
