NASA started its one-year long isolation experiment on Friday to simulate life on Mars. Six recruits have agreed to lock themselves in a dome located on a barren volcano in Hawaii wherein they will have to eat, communicate, and live like how they would in Mars.
A French astrobiologist, a German physicist, a pilot, an architect, a journalist and a soil scientist entered the tiny dome measuring 36-feet wide and 20-feet tall at 3 p.m. on Friday. The dome is equipped with cameras and body movement trackers so that researchers could monitor how the isolation would affect the volunteers, according to The Independent.
The volunteers must wear a spacesuit if they would like to go outside the dome. During the 12-month Mars isolation experiment, the volunteers will feed on powdered and canned food and will have limited Internet access.
The experiment is twice the length of a typical mission on the International Space Station. More than the technical and scientific difficulties, NASA is aiming to gather more data on the human element. The actual Mars mission is estimated to take between one and three years.
"I think one of the lessons is that you really can't prevent interpersonal conflicts. It is going to happen over these long-duration missions, even with the very best people," NASA investigator Kim Binsted told BBC News.
NASA has allocated only $1.2 million for the Mars isolation experiment, Deutsche Well reported. The agency plans to conduct three more experiments in the near future. Prior to this 12-month experiment, NASA has conducted similar simulations that lasted for four to eight months.
