Space Travel News  
Europe names crew for Mars 'mission'

by Staff Writers
Paris (AFP) Feb 26, 2009
The European Space Agency (ESA) on Friday named a Frenchman and a German who will join four Russians in an innovative 105-day isolation experiment to test whether humans can one day fly to Mars.

From March 31, the six "crew" will be locked inside a special facility in Moscow that replicates conditions of a space trip to Mars.

The simulation will be followed by a 520-day experiment, starting later this year, that would last as long as a real mission to Mars.

The two Europeans are Oliver Knickel, 28, a mechanical engineer in the German army, and Cyrille Fournier, 40, a captain with Air France who flies A320 airliners, ESA said in a press release.

The distance between Earth and Mars varies between 55 million kilometres (34 million miles) and more than 400 million kms (250 million miles).

Using current rocket technology, a there-and-back trip to the Red Planet would take at least 18 months.

Maintaining the crew's mental and physical health is deemed by space scientists to be as challenging as gathering the money and technical resources for the historic trip.

The six guinea pigs will be scrutinised for stress, mood, hormone regulation, immune defences and sleep quality.

Researchers also want to know whether dietary supplements will sustain their health.

The simulation will include all the main elements of a simulated Mars mission, including travelling to Mars, orbiting the planet, landing on its surface and returning to Earth, ESA said.

"The crew will only have personal contact with each other, plus voice contact with a simulated control centre and family and friends," it said.

"A 20-minute delay will be built into communications with the control centre to simulate an interplanetary mission and the crew will eat the same food as the astronauts on the International Space Station."

The project is a joint venture between ESA's Directorate of Human Spaceflight and the Russian Institute for Biomedical Problems (IBMP).

ESA and NASA have separately sketched dates around three decades from now for a manned flight to Mars.

Related Links
Mars News and Information at MarsDaily.com
Lunar Dreams and more



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


Fractured Lavas Suggest Floods On Mars
Flagstaff AZ (SPX) Feb 26, 2009
Unique fractures in lavas on ancient Mars suggest water occasionally flooded portions of the planet's surface. The fractures, known as "columnar joints", are the first that have been observed on a planet other than Earth.







  • NKorea under growing pressure to scrap rocket launch
  • Scientists develop new plasma thruster
  • MIT Rocket Aims For Cheaper Nudges In Space
  • India's Cryogenic Engine Set For Integration With Rocket

  • DPRK Shows Tough Stand On Satellite Launch
  • BrahMos To Sign MOU With ISRO
  • Russia Set To Put US Telecom Satellite Into Orbit
  • Goddard Deputy Director Named Chairman Of OCO Investigation

  • New Launch Date Set For Discovery
  • NASA Defers Setting Next Shuttle Launch Date
  • Shuttle Flight Readiness Review Still On Track For Feb 20
  • NASA again postpones Discovery launch

  • Second ATV Named After Johannes Kepler
  • Russian supply craft arrives at space station: agency
  • Satellite collision poses 'small' risk to ISS: NASA
  • Happy Birthday, Columbus!

  • Statement About NASA Budget Overview For FY2010
  • NASA budget request totals $18.7 billion
  • Eye Specialist With An Unusual Clientele
  • Two Japanese Picked As Candidates For Astronauts

  • China Plans To Launch Third Ocean Survey Satellite In 2010
  • Satellite Collision Not To Delay China's Space Program
  • China plans own satellite navigation system by 2015: state media
  • Fengyun-3A Weather Satellite Begins Weather Monitoring

  • U.S., Chinese scientists build nanorobot
  • NASA And Caltech Test Steep-Terrain Rover
  • NASA And Caltech Test Steep-Terrain Rover
  • ASI Chaos Small Robot To Participate In Series Of Exercises

  • A Sliver Of A Chance For Life On Mars
  • Europe names crew for Mars 'mission'
  • Orbiter Puts Itself Into Precautionary Mode
  • Fractured Lavas Suggest Floods On Mars

  • The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright Space.TV Corporation. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space.TV Corp on any Web page published or hosted by Space.TV Corp. Privacy Statement