With plans to send humans in Mars by 2030, selected crew of researchers are set to stay inside a dome for eight months to simulate a possible way of life in the red planet.
The mission, which aims to gauge through a human-behavior experiment the capability of sending humans on the red planet in the next 20 years, is funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
Six scientists, four men and two women, will be crammed inside a man-made geodesic dome called Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation, or HI-SEAS that is situated on the world's largest active volcano in Hawaii, Mauna Loa.
The $2 million-project to be operated by the University of Hawaii will study the psychological challenges a human could be prone to when subjected in a confined and isolated conditions for a long period of time.
It was set up in the middle of a barren and reddish landscape akin to the red planet.
Covered with vinyl, the shelter is about 1,200 square feet, the size of a small two-bedroom house.
Behind its futuristic walls are small sleeping quarters in an elevated platform, a kitchen, laboratory and a bathroom.
The experiment is a preparation to plans of the space agency to send humans in an asteroid by 2020s and in Mars by 2030s.
The six scientists were chosen out of 700 applicants that were subjected to personality tests, background check and intensive interviews.
The team, that will wear space suits, devices that could gauge their mood and proximity to others and virtual reality devices to simulate different conditions, is composed of engineers, a computer scientist, a doctoral candidate and a biomedical expert.
Within the length of their stay, they couldn't have communication to the outside world, except to a robot that will deliver their food and their support crew with 20-minute delay in communication, just as on how an email could be transferred between the two planets.
On January 19, the team entered the geodesic dome to start their 8-month isolation:
Source: University of Hawaii
Image: The Ring Of Fire
Video: World News
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