The Russian Mission to Mars (simulated)

A strange, wood-paneled, Soviet era "spaceship"

An international crew, stationed in Moscow, is preparing for a mission to Mars—starting Tuesday.

The six, led by a cosmonaut trainee, Sergei N. Ryazansky, will spend more than 100 days eating dehydrated food, breathing recycled air…and living in isolation from the rest of the human race. Only they won’t be going anywhere.

Simulated mission

It’s all part of an ongoing project to study and prepare astronauts for a future mission to Mars. This first mission will last 105 days, but a future one will last more than 500—the amount of time necessary for a real mission to Mars.

Strange “spaceship”

The “vehicle” used for the “voyage” will be an old, wood-paneled Soviet structure created in the 1970s and used to train cosmonauts for space station missions. It presents an odd appearance unlike what any future Mars spaceship is likely to look like.

Is this trip really necessary?

The idea strikes me as fun—but ultimately silly. Valery V. Polyakov spent 438 days in space (from January 1994 to March 1995) without any serious side effects. This, to me, demonstrates that people can survive long space flights without any severe physical or psychological damage.

Maybe I’m wrong, but I think that people are resiliant. Properly selected astronauts can, I believe, easily deal with the psychological and physical challenges of such a trip. But, getting to Mars will be very, very difficult.