THE six cosmonauts who spent 520 days cooped up in a metal tube emerged blinking into the daylight last week – and claimed never again would they travel by Virgin Trains.
In anticipation of a real mission to the Red Planet, the idea was to study the effects of long-haul space flight on humans.
The cosmonauts found it difficult to stave off boredom on the simulated mission to Mars but found it easy to work, rest and play.
The spacemen (right) spent a full 17 months in isolation without a female in sight, but it wasn’t all a bed of roses.
To make the experiment as authentic as possible, the crew were allowed to communicate with their loved ones via email, but with a 30-minute delay.
This was either to simulate the conditions in deep space or they were using BT Broadband.
It’s claimed that despite the experiment, a real-life mission to Mars is a long way off.
Don’t ask me why – it’s not exactly rocket science. As the six prepare to speak publicly today about their experiences, Hills offer 20-1 that a manned mission lands on Mars before 2020 and 50-1 that the first trip there comes after 2030.
By which time a theme park and a Starbucks will already have been built there.
Where next if Mars is conquered? The Sun could even be an option, but because of the intense heat any mission would surely have to travel at night.
Article source: http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/columnists/mcgovern/2011/11/08/you-will-feel-disney-on-a-mars-voyage-115875-23545621/
Tags: intense heat, bt broadband, deep space, virgin trains, mission to mars, space flight <BR/>
