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 virtual 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 constricted, 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, which is in Russia, 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.
Having recreated the atmosphere of a space flight to Mars, officials are anxious to see how the crew reacts to the isolation of it. Psychologists say that the long period of confinement will put the team members under stress as they grow increasingly tired of one another's company. Psychological conditions can be even more challenging on a mock mission than a real flight because the crewmembers won't experience any of the joys or dangers of actual space travel. Christer Fuglesang, an ESA astronaut who took part in two shuttle missions and made five real spacewalks, says the 18-month duration of the experiment will strongly challenge the participants.
"What they must miss, I'm sure, is the interaction 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 temporary 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, watching movies, and playing 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 comes from the notion of 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.The Mars500 crewmembers have personal contact with one another and no one else, just like a real space crew.
B.The Mars500 crew's menu consists of a supply of canned food that includes the same items given to the crew of the International Space Station.
C.Researchers planted the flags of Russia, China, and the European Space Agency (ESA) on a surface meant to look like another planet.
D.Researchers pretended to land on a surface meant to look like Mars as part of an experiment to see whether humans could handle a mission to Mars.
The correct answer is D. Researchers pretended to land on a surface meant to look like Mars as part of an experiment to see whether humans could handle a mission to Mars.
Based on the article, which of these had not yet happened?
A.Researchers reached the halfway point of Mars500, a 520-day mock mission designed to see if astronauts could handle a voyage to Mars.
B.Some people trudged into a sand-covered room and planted the flags of Russia, China, and the European Space Agency (ESA).
C.Researchers pretended to land on a surface meant to look like Mars, which some call the Red Planet.
D.Some people orbited and then landed on Mars after spending 257 days in a locked, windowless steel capsule.
The correct answer is C. Researchers pretended to land on a surface meant to look like Mars, which some call the Red Planet.
no
The correct answer is D. Some people orbited and then landed on Mars after spending 257 days in a locked, windowless steel capsule.
The article states:
Officials want to see how humans cope with the constricted, 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.
Which would be the closest synonym for the word cope?
A.Abolish
B.Remain
C.Precede
D.Deal
The closest synonym for the word "cope" in this context would be D. Deal.
Based on the article, the reader can predict that __________.
A.During a real-life mission to Mars, astronauts will plant the flags of their own countries on the surface of the planet.
B.Astronauts will have extended personal contact with friends and family during a real-life mission to Mars.
C.The Mars500 experiment will end abruptly as soon as crewmembers realize that they are not on an actual space mission.
D.The Mars500 experiment will not help researchers know how to prepare astronauts for real-life space missions.