Pictures: Mock Mars Mission "Returns" to Earth

Mars Mission Returns
Photograph courtesy Oleg Voloshin, IBMP
After nearly a year and a half, the crew of a European mission to "Mars"—including these two, pictured testing Russian space suits last summer—returned home this morning, stepping out of their capsule to much fanfare in Moscow.
In reality, the six men never left Earth. They've spent the last 520 days in a mock spaceship in the Russian capital as part of an experiment to study the psychological effects of deep-space voyages.
The Mars500 crew members were physically cut off from the rest of the world and faced with a simulated 20-minute communications delay, to mimic the expected conditions of a real human trip to Mars.
(Related: "Why Did 400 People Volunteer for a One-Way Trip to Mars?")
The "astronauts" had plenty to do during their voyage: In addition to reading and playing video games, the crew had to conduct experiments on their minds and bodies, repair equipment, and even respond to simulated emergencies-including performing CPR on a mannequin.
Halfway through the mission, the crew touched down on "Mars" and tromped around in a sand-filled room, collecting samples and deploying sensors.
—Rachel Kaufman
Published November 4, 2011
"Mars" Module
Photograph courtesy Stephane Corvaja, ESA
The module that contained the Mars500 mock spaceship and simulated Martian landing site, seen above from the outside, was set up at the Russian Institute for Biomedical Problems (IMBP) in Moscow.
IMBP and the European Space Agency partnered on the Mars500 project, which aimed to simulate a real mission to Mars as closely as possible. One possible difference: The Mars500 ship was spacious, with a private room for each astronaut and a sit-down kitchen.
Still, the 520-day isolation experiment is the longest simulated space mission so far. NASA's longest, for example, lasted about a hundred days.
IMBP and ESA "kind of jumped in and did the 500-day study," said Joe Kosmo, a senior project engineer who's worked on NASA's Desert RATS project. The U.S. program tests equipment-but not human psychology-during simulated space missions in Arizona.
Kosmo argues that, before testing human resilience on isolated missions, space programs should first test and perfect the technology that will get astronauts into deep space.
Published November 4, 2011
Right at Home?
Photograph courtesy IBMP
The all-male Mars500 crew included three Russians, an Italian-Colombian, a Chinese, and a French citizen—Romain Charles, pictured in the module's kitchen.
Charles, an engineer and quality specialist for the French company Sotira, was the second crew member to exit the ship upon the conclusion of the mock Mars mission.
"We hope that we can help in designing the future missions to Mars," Charles told the officials and reporters gathered to greet the exiting crew, according to the Associated Press. (Related: "Astronauts Could Ride Asteroids to Mars, Study Says.")
Published November 4, 2011
Lab Rats
Photograph courtesy IBMP
The Mars500 mission was packed with experiments for the crew, with researchers curious about what was happening to the men's saliva, digestive systems, and muscles, among other things.
Crew member Diego Urbina tweeted regularly—with a delay, to simulate relaying messages from a traveling ship to a command center on Earth—about drawing blood, running on treadmills, and sleeping while hooked up to various devices. (Related: "Human Guinea Pig to Blast Off With Space Shuttle.")
Although they weren't actually in a microgravity environment, the Mars500 crew also performed the types of strength and aerobics training that might help prevent atrophy in space.
Published November 4, 2011
Say "Ahh"
Photograph courtesy IBMP
The Mars500 crew members took part in a Chinese-designed experiment to test the effects of a closed environment on the body, as measured by traditional Chinese medical techniques.
Above, one man uses a device for photographing crew members' faces and tongues, so that researchers will be able to analyze characteristics such as the color and quality of his natural "tongue fur," or coating.
(Related: "'Electronic Tongue' Mimics Human Taste Organ.")
Published November 4, 2011
Space Crops
Photograph courtesy IBMP
Romain Charles stands near edible plants growing inside the Mars500 module.
Current research suggests that a journey to Mars would require more than canned and freeze-dried food. For one thing, most food taken to the International Space Station either spoils or loses its taste after a year.
With a round-trip Mars mission taking nearly a year and a half, a new option—such as growing fresh food during the trip—is necessary. (Related: "Space Beer Ready for Taste Testing.")
In addition to using a small greenhouse, the Mars500 crew tested a "salad machine" (not pictured) that simulated the effects of zero gravity on plants by slowly spinning them as they grew.
Published November 4, 2011
Night Cap
Photograph courtesy IBMP
Even the boss had to be a lab rat: Alexey Sitev, commander of the Mars500 mission, is seen sleeping with an electrode wired to his head.
Researchers worry that human circadian rhythms—deprived of natural cycles of darkness and light—would be disrupted, leading to stress and psychological dysfunction. The Mars500 crew therefore had to "collect" data even while asleep.
(Related: "Is Your Brain Sleeping While You're Awake?")
Published November 4, 2011
Paper Decorations
Photograph courtesy IBMP
Crew member Alexandr Smoleevskiy celebrates New Year 2011 with a paper Christmas tree and a picture of a fireplace.
With few other ways to be festive, the Mars500 crew made elaborate paper decorations for nearly every holiday—including Halloween, Christmas, birthdays, and Chinese New Year.
(Related: "Scots Mark New Year With Fiery Ancient Rites.")
Published November 4, 2011
Docking Procedures
Photograph courtesy IBMP
During the mission's Martian landing, three crew members entered a separate capsule meant to represent a lander, then simulated travel to the surface of the red planet.
Crew members Diego Urbina and Alexandr Smoleevskiy donned space suits and explored a sandy room designed to look like Mars. The men planted flags and studied and retrieved mock Mars rocks before returning to the lander and rejoining the main ship.
Above, a laptop screen shows the simulated docking of the Mars500 lander with the mother ship. (Related: "Robot Arm to Grab Robotic Ship-A Space Station First.")
Published November 4, 2011
Red Planet Rover
Photograph courtesy Oleg Voloshin, IBMP
A Mars rover, driven by remote control, explores the sandy surface of the Mars500 "landing site."
The room was designed to resemble Gusev Crater, the real-life landing site of NASA's Mars rover Spirit. When the crew explored the room, they wore space suits that are about two-thirds lighter than real suits, to preserve the illusion of a weaker gravitational pull on the red planet.
(Related: "Astronauts' Fingernails Falling Off Due to Glove Design.")
Published November 4, 2011
Space Gamers
Photograph courtesy IBMP
The Mars500 crew relaxes with a video game last Halloween.
Such distractions, as well as the spaciousness of the ship, mean that the experiment hasn't really proven humans are ready for a trip to Mars, according to the science blog io9. A real-life mission would mean much smaller living quarters and no big home theater setups.
(Related: "Mutant Diseases May Cripple Missions to Mars, Beyond.")
But the crew and mission managers call Mars500 a success: "I am convinced," ESA director Jean-Jacques Dordain said in a statement, "that this experience is the starting point of much bigger adventures."
Published November 4, 2011