Stages and course of the 520-day isolation

Beside technical problems, one of the key challenges of the human flight to Mars will also be the safety and health of the crew: will humans be able to mentally and physically endure a flight which lasts 18 months (and perhaps even longer) in an enclosed environment, with the same people, under permanent stress and isolation from family and friends on Earth?

It is the job of a 6-member international crew (Russia, France, Italy and China) to find the answer to this question: the journey to Mars was launched on 3^rd June, 2010. The crew will spend 520 days in the NEK simulator.

This sojourn will be divided into three stages, copying the presumed course of a real flight to Mars:

• 250 days – Flight to Mars: the crew will be occupied by the routine life in the simulator: its maintenance, scientific experiments and monitoring of their own state of health

• 13 days – “Landing Party” to Mars: half the crew will move over to the landing module (module EU-50) and spend a few days flying to the surface of Mars inside the module, being isolated from the second half of the crew. Two members from this “landing team” in an Orlan spacesuit will for a short time work in the Martian surface simulator (module SMS). After 16 days (including quarantine after modules connection), the “landing team” will return to join the rest of the crew.Basic stages of works on Mars here
  

• 253 days - Simulation of the return flight to Earth: there is a high probability of breakdowns and defects on the spaceship due to the decline of performance and attention of the crew. These breakdowns and defects will also be simulated.

Expected course of the “flight to Mars”

• Start: 3^rd June, 2010
• Arrival at Mars and beginning of the landing operations: 1^st February, 2011 ("landing": 12^th February, 2011)
  
• Start of returning to Earth: 2^nd March, 2011
  
• End of isolation, landing on Earth: 4^th November, 2011

DAY                                      ACTIVITY
1-11 days – a period of a flight along the spiral path in the gravitational field of Earth.
51-204 days - a period of a flight on the heliocentric orbit up to the Martian vicinity.
205-243 days - a period of a flight along the spiral path in the gravitational field of Mars("twist").
244-272 days - a period of a flight on Martian orbit with descent of the takeoff and landing module on the planet surface and returning to the Martian expeditionary facility. In this period we plan a simulation of three appearances of the group of 2 subjects on the Martian surface. At this time 3 crew members rested in the model of the Martian orbital facility perform an observation and communication with the crew of the takeoff and landing module.
273-309 days - a period of a flight along the spiral path in the gravitational field of Mars ("spinup")
310-467 days - a period of a flight on the heliocentric orbit up to the Earth vicinity.
468-520 days - a period of a flight along the spiral path in the gravitational field of Earth.

Dates of the basic stages of works on Mars here

Information about the course of 520-day isolation:

• Experiments of first 15 days
• Experiments of first 22 days
• Experiments of first month
• Report about the results of the first month of simulation
• 40th day - experiments
• 44th day - experiments
• 51st day - experiments
• 65th day - experiments
• 75th day - experiments
• 79th day - experiments
• 93rd day - experiments 
• 117th day - experiments
• 124th day - experiments
• 233rd day - experiments
• 327th day - Off-nominal situation - Crew autonomy
• 352nd day - experiments
• 365th day - A year in NEK: questionnaire among crew members
• 429th day - experiments
• 436th day - experiments
• 492nd day - experiments

Information about particular experiments of MARS 500 project:

• BIORASKAN
• Verification of general principles of prophylaxis system for Martian mission
• Long-term control of total body Na+ and K+ content and body fluid homeostasis in humans
• Influence of environment and conditions on health of the crew members

Summary information on Mars 500 project

8. 11. 2011 - You can download official press-kit concerning end of the Mars 500 project in English and Russian

February 2011 - Here you can dowload (in PDF) Mars 500 Information Kit (European space agency), where you can find study overview, information about isolation facility, candidates selection and training, as well as scientific protocols. UPDATED KIT FROM FEBRUARY 2011 AVAILABLE HERE

Updated information from Russian Mission Control Centre from February 2011 available here in Russian

Here is available new IMBP press-kit from February 2011, which contains detailed information on virtaul landing on Mars