IAR Smart
KOROLYOV, Russia (Achieve3000, March 8, 2011). Have humans just landed on Mars? Not really. But an experiment in progress is showing space officials just what a mission to the Red Planet might be like for a crew of astronauts. After spending 257 days in a locked, windowless steel capsule, six researchers on a mock trip to Mars recently "landed" on a simulated version of the planet.
During the mock landing on February 14, 2011, some of the crewmembers came out of their cramped quarters in heavy spacesuits. They trudged into a sand-covered room that was meant to approximate the surface of Mars. After planting the flags of Russia, China, and the European Space Agency (ESA), crewmembers took "samples" from the ground and conducted artificial scientific experiments. Meanwhile, the remaining crewmembers were in a simulated orbit inside their mock spaceship.
The pretend Mars landing represented the halfway point of Mars500, an experiment that began in June 2010 and is scheduled to run until November 2011. By that time, the crew will have spent 520 days on the mock mission. Officials want to see how humans cope with the cramped, isolating conditions of space travel in preparation for a real-life trip to Mars, a mission that would take well over a year to complete.
So the crew, made up of Russians Alexey Sitev, Sukhrob Kamolov, and Alexander Smoleyevsky; Frenchman Romain Charles; Italian-Colombian Diego Urbina; and Wang Yue from China, is spending the experiment on a capsule that is similar to a spaceship—even though they are not leaving Earth. The facility is in Russia. It includes living compartments the size of a bus connected with several other modules for experiments and exercise. Crewmembers have a supply of canned food, made up of the same items given to the crew of the International Space Station.
The Mars500 crewmembers have been sealed inside their chamber, except during the mock landing. They have personal contact with one another and no one else, although they can use technology to communicate with outsiders, just as a real space crew can. The crewmembers communicate with the organizers and their families via the Internet. However, the Internet connection is delayed and occasionally interrupted to imitate the effects of space travel.
Officials have recreated the atmosphere of a spaceflight to Mars. Now they are anxious to see how the crew reacts to the isolation of it. Doctors say that the long confinement will put the team members under stress as they grow increasingly tired of one another's company. Conditions can be even more challenging on a mock mission than a real flight. That's because the crewmembers won't experience any of the joys or dangers of actual space travel. Christer Fuglesang is an ESA astronaut who took part in two shuttle missions and made five real spacewalks. He says the 18-month experiment will strongly challenge the participants.
"What they must miss, I'm sure, is [being] with their families and friends," said Fuglesang.
The organizers of Mars500 have said that the experiment could be interrupted for medical or technical reasons, or if some of the participants demand that it be stopped. So far, however, the crew has been coping.
"After a couple of weeks, they were really a team, certainly with some...ups and downs of individual crewmembers," said Martin Zell, the ESA official who is overseeing the experiment. "A big challenge is missing daylight.... They also have to live with the food [that] they have onboard and with the air [that] they have onboard."
Crewmembers are learning one another's languages, and they watch movies and play chess in their free time.
This bodes well for a real mission to Mars. A trip like that is decades away because of huge costs and massive technological challenges. One of those challenges would be sending humans far from Earth for the first time. Deep space has exploding stars, black holes, and more. All of these may give off potentially harmful radiation. Space agencies would need to create a shield that would protect humans from radiation.
In January 2010, President Barack Obama said that he foresaw sending astronauts to orbit Mars by the mid-2030s.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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QUESTION 1
QUESTION 1 OF 10
1 / 10
What is this article mainly about?
A.Researchers planted the flags of Russia, China, and the European Space Agency in a room full of sand.
B.The Mars500 crewmembers have personal contact with one another and no one else.
C.Researchers pretended to land on a surface meant to look like Mars as part of a simulated mission to Mars.
D.The mock Mars landing is an experiment by the Russian space agency that began in June 2010.
C. Researchers pretended to land on a surface meant to look like Mars as part of a simulated mission to Mars.
Based on the article, which of these had not yet happened?
A.Some people wore spacesuits in a sand-covered room where they placed various flags.
B.Some people orbited Mars after spending 257 days in a locked, windowless steel capsule.
C.Researchers made a simulated landing on a surface meant to look like Mars.
D.Researchers reached the halfway point of Mars500, a 520-day mock mission.
B. Some people orbited Mars after spending 257 days in a locked, windowless steel capsule.
The article states:
Officials have recreated the atmosphere of a spaceflight to Mars. Now they are anxious to see how the crew reacts to the isolation of it. Doctors say that the long confinement will put the team members under stress as they grow increasingly tired of one another's company.
Which would be the closest synonym for the word isolation?
A.Excitement
B.Unpredictability
C.Creativity
D.Loneliness
D. Loneliness
Based on the article, the reader can predict that __________.
A.The astronauts on a real-life mission to Mars will be advised not to get out of the spaceship when it lands.
B.The Mars500 crew members will not be interested in sharing their experiences with astronauts preparing for a mission.
C.Astronauts will be able to take friends and family on a real-life mission to Mars so they don't get lonely.
D.During a real-life mission to Mars, astronauts will leave flags on the surface of the planet.
A. The astronauts on a real-life mission to Mars will be advised not to get out of the spaceship when it lands.
no
Apologies for the incorrect response. Based on the article, the reader can predict that:
D. During a real-life mission to Mars, astronauts will leave flags on the surface of the planet.
Which question is not answered by the article?
A.Why are the Mars500 crewmembers living in a small capsule for several months?
B.Which researcher is the leader of the Mars500 crew?
C.Why do the Mars500 crewmembers have limited contact with other people?
D.What are the names of the members of the Mars500 crew?