Mars-500 pointless?

From NK 792. Former cosmonaut Valentin Lebedev is of the opinion that the Mars-500 experiment will not reveal anything new, and is not an effective simulation of a journey to Mars.

03/07/2009 / 00:05 – Valentin Lebedev: Mars-500 experiment “will not provide the necessary scientific data for a manned flight to Mars”

The Mars-500 scientific experiment, which is scheduled to begin next spring, will not give scientists the data needed to understand the possibility of interplanetary flight, said the member of Russian Academy of Sciences, pilot-cosmonaut, twice Hero of the Soviet Union Valentin Lebedev.

“As for the ground experiments, the similar Mars-500 experiments, which now try to mimic the conditions of the Martian mission, offer little understanding of the problems of human flight in deep space, while we have for decades made long flights on orbital stations,” said V. Lebedev, whose paper is published on the Roscosmos site.

According to him, an experiment with human habitation in an enclosed space does not provide the necessary psychological conditions, as participants at any time may leave the premises. “It's conditional, as if preparing to drift on ice floes in the Arctic held in winter on a pond near Moscow,” said the cosmonaut.

As noted by Lebedev, ground-based studies have little relevance to real interplanetary flight, adding that experiments on living people in closed spaces were conducted in the country several times, and the Mars-500 experiment is just a repeat of this.

The cosmonaut suggested that a special module be developed that would simulate a Mars mission, and attach it to the ISS. “Then it will be possible to create conditions in the module closest to interplanetary flight,” said V. Lebedev.

The beginning of the Mars-500 experiment, during which the scientists are planning to simulate a manned flight of six volunteers to Mars, is scheduled for the beginning of 2010. During the 520-day virtual flight, scheduled work will take place on the Martian surface for a month by two participants in the experiment inside the simulator constructed in the Institute of Biomedical Problems building.

He does have a valid point – the experiment also takes place in full gravity with no worries about radiation exposure from deep space. Attaching a specialized module to the ISS is a valid alternative; but it would be expensive (though perhaps not much more than the $10 million or so for the ground experiment?).

The rather graphic diagram below – “Mechanism of lumbar spine distraction fracture (Chance Fracture)” – is from a report on the STS-107 Columbia accident, showing the seatbelt of a crewperson cutting through their waist and snapping their spine. Ugh! That’s about the most gruesome image in the report – no photos of the bodies, alas. I suppose they would have looked something like the charred cosmonaut in my 30/11/2008 entry, but broken into pieces. There is another of a charred helmet, also below – temperatures it endured are given as 300-400°C, so one can imagine the state of the head inside. (If I go asking such morbid questions on forums though, I will be told off, so I will have to restrict my ghoulish curiosity about such things to my blog. Well, Dad was an Airworthiness Inspector [who saw dead bodies!] and Mum was a nurse [who saw dead bodies!], so I’ll blame this on them.)

ISS EVA-20a completed

“Phew! Spacewalkers remove explosive bolt”, MSNBC.com, 10/7. Sergei Volkov (EVA-1, Orlan #27, red stripes) and Oleg Kononenko (EV-2, Orlan #26, blue stripes) completed their first spacewalk to retrieve a suspected faulty pyro bolt from Soyuz TMA-12. The spacewalk lasted 6h 18m. More reports at NASA and this NASASpaceflight.com thread. Their next EVA is to take place on 15 July.

This blog entry regarded them as somewhat amateurish:

They fumbled and they stumbled, and wrestled with their space tools, but in the end, cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Sergei Volkov managed to cut through insulation and pull an explosive bolt from a Soyuz spacecraft parked at the International Space Station.

[…]

Nowhere near as polished as U.S.-trained spacewalkers, the Russians had problems finding their tools which were tethered to a special case and often tangled. At times the pair looked like a couple of amateur car mechanics with fishbowls on their heads, working with oven mitts, trying to change spark plugs with a spoon.

This was the first EVA for both; they also did not have extensive rehearsal training on Earth like the NASA Shuttle astronauts do. Russian EVA training tends to be more general, rather than focus on learning specific tasks like U.S. EVAs do (for Shuttle missions). The EVA was also somewhat unexpected (not initially scheduled). This item from Novosti Kosmonavtiki news №714 elaborates:

8/7/2008/09:28 – The ISS crew for the first time in the history of the Station conducted a second “general rehearsal” before going out in open space

A “general rehearsal” for the upcoming EVA will be held again today on the ISS. Sergei Volkov and Oleg Kononenko will hold a second so-called “dry run” in the Russian space suit Orlan-M for the EVA, scheduled for July 10, said Valerii Lyndin, the official representative of Moscow Mission Control Center. The first rehearsal was similar to that of June 26, he recalled.

The Russians dismantled ducts in the Pirs docking module from where they will step into space, then donned 130 kg Orlans and “take a walk” in them in the module. There is provision also for entrance to the docking compartment of the Soyuz attached to Pirs, in which the crew could return to Earth in case of emergency. In addition, the crew must test the system transition and living quarters.

On the ISS this is the first precedent of this prolonged and thorough preparation for an EVA; usually crew conducts one training session in their flight suits and one in the spacesuits. However, this time Volkov and Kononenko decided to twice practice abandoning the Station and entering the “lifeboat” in the Orlan-M spacesuits. The reasons for this are several. First, Volkov and Kononenko are novices; for them this is their first EVA. Certainly, they worked out in detail all EVA operations in the hydrolaboratory of the Zvezdni Gorodok/Star City; however, training on Earth is still not work in open space. Furthermore, this output is unplanned; the cosmonauts before the flight did not do extensive training for it. The novices have to inspect “the lifeboat” – the Soyuz spacecraft – and extract the cartridge, which the specialists consider the reason “for the disruption” to the ballistic descent of two previous expeditions – ISS-15 in October 2007 and ISS-16 in April this year. This is not a trivial task even for an experienced crew, since the Soyuz is not fitted with handrails unlike other ISS modules. And one additional difficulty: conditions are complicated by the unusual configuration of the Station, when the Soyuz spacecraft, which usually is docket to the end of the Russian segment, is “moored” to Pirs, from where cosmonauts exit into space. In the case of a contingency situation for Volkov and Kononenko, it is necessary for them to move directly into the Soyuz Orbital Module in their bulky spacesuits so they can, after removing their spacesuits, take their seats in the Descent Module of the Soyuz spacecraft vehicle, in which the third member of the ISS-17 crew – American Gregory Shamitoff – will already be waiting.

According to Lyndin, the only precedent for such operations before Volkov and Kononenko VKD are Russian Alexander Kaleri and NASA astronaut Michael Foale (ISS crew-9), but both had experience of several long-duration flights on the orbital complex Mir, and the ISS Station crew then consisted only of two people, so the cosmonauts did not have to worry about the safety of a third crew member.

After some comments (from the NASASpaceflight.com forum!), the blog author edited:

Many readers rightly point out (see the comments section) that this was the first spacewalk for these cosmonauts and that Russians don’t traditionally undergo the same level of highly choreographed EVA training as their U.S. counterparts. They also point out the spacewalk achieved its objectives and was a success. Agreed on all counts and important points. No disrespect was intended. Nevertheless, it was a markedly different experience from recent NASA spacewalks. – RB

More on cosmonaut training from NK news №214:

9/7/2008/00:09 – Russian cosmonauts will do parachute training in Siberia

The group of GCTC cosmonauts who are undergoing parachute training will be based in a separate helicopter regiment of the Siberian air force and air defense, said Lieutenant Vladimir Drik, temporarily Acting Assistant Commander of the Air Force, on Tuesday.

“The main program for the group, which will be prolonged to the middle of August, consists of jump training, which is part of a comprehensive training for the cosmonauts crews for work in space,” said Drik.

According to him, the special exercises for the training of cosmonauts, developed by domestic specialists, which are to be undertaken in just a few seconds of flight, make it possible to train for complex combined activities. During the exercises the instructors check the rapidity of reaction, the speed of decision-making of the cosmonauts and the clarity of their actions, specified the assistant Commander.

“During the jump the cosmonaut must be able to simultaneously keep track of many sources of information, and at the same time be prepared for any abnormal situations. Parachute jumping for the cosmonauts brings out the necessary qualities for spaceflight – concentration, attentiveness, courage,” said Drik.

“Will We Ever Reach Mars?”, RIAN/Space Daily, 7/7. Andrei Kislyakov opinion piece, mainly to do with the upcoming IMBP medical experiment (26/6 entry).

News tidbits

A news roundup from NK; the usual computer translations. Cosmonaut sea survival training, Russia’s space budget, another space tourist craft proposal, the new Russian Orlan-MK spacesuits, an IMBP experiment.

Novosti Kosmonavtiki news №210:

18/06/2008/00:08 – The annual training of cosmonauts began in the District of Sevastopol, with the support of the Black Sea Fleet rescuers

At the Black Sea on June 17 began the annual training exercises for the cosmonauts. According to Igor Dygalo, Assistant Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, “The training in the sea in the vicinity of Sevastopol Center is conducted by the GCTC cosmonauts in conjunction with the Office of Search and Rescue of the Black Sea Fleet of Russia.”

According to Dygalo, the purpose of exercises, which are a serious test for all participants in the upcoming flights, including backup crews and visiting crews, is “the development of the spacecraft crews’ skills of action after an unexpected splashdown of the capsule at descent.” Two Black Sea fleet vessels are provided for the cosmonauts’ training.

Weather in the area is conductive to the holding of the exercises: water temperature 21 degrees, cloudy, sea nearly completely calm.

20/06/2008/00:08 – Russia spends two times less in space than the USSR

Financing of Russian civil space has fallen more than twice since Soviet times, said Roskosmos. In 2007, the civilian space programs of Roskosmos was allocated $1.34 billion, while in 1989 the Soviet space program funding was $3.28 billion, said the report, published on the Federal Space Agency site.

From 1991 to 2004, Russia spent on space roughly the same as India. Only in 2004 did the budget of Roscosmos exceed that of the Indian Space Agency and amounted to $770 million. In 2006, funding for the Russian space program has been increased by another $100 million, the report said.

In so doing, it is still at $400 million below the cost of France for civilian space and $600 million below the cost of space in Japan. The European Space Agency is funding its space programme in the amount of $4.3 billion, that is more than three times as much as “generous” Russia. NASA’s space and aeronautics budget, the report noted, has grown from $11 billion to $17 billion since 1989. Over the past seven years, NASA costs are increasing annually by about $500 million.

Novosti Kosmonavtiki news №211:

24/06/2008/20:31 – Russian scientists began an experiment to prevent diseases requiring surgical intervention during interplanetary travel

At the Institute of Biomedical Problems (IMBP), Russian Academy of Sciences an experiment began on June 24 that will help scientists to develop a methodology for treatment of diseases requiring surgical intervention for future interplanetary expeditions, reported IMBP press secretary Pavel Morgunov.

“The experiment will last about a month, during which at least 8 healthy volunteers aged from 20 to 35 years will be required several times during the day to lie in conditions simulating the effects of microgravity (where the legs are up in the air at 15 degrees above the head),” he explained. In doing so, scientists will conduct infusion therapy (intravenous solutions introducing various drugs) and observe the redistribution of body fluids during the stay of subjects under the conditions of “weightlessness”.

In orbital flight when a disease requires an urgent operation, or is a critical condition, there is the opportunity to suspend the expedition as soon as possible and return the cosmonaut to Earth, recalled Morgunov, but this would not be possible during an interplanetary mission. Therefore, when preparing the system of medical support for an interplanetary flight, scientists are obliged to consider these principles and develop techniques for treatment of these diseases.

One of the fundamental components of surgical care and intensive therapy is infusion therapy. Modern hardware makes it possible to carry out infusion therapy even under weightlessness conditions. However, since there is no data on the impact of infusion in different environments on the parameters of the central and peripheral hemodynamics, gas exchange microcirculation and tissue in conditions of spaceflight, the scientists suggested a series of experiments modeling the effects of spaceflight to determine the impact on the effectiveness of various infusion media. According to Morgunov, “it is planned to assess the influence of some solutions on the volume of circulating blood, central and peripheral hemodynamics, the state of the microcirculation, tissue gas exchange and rheological properties of blood.”

After each day “resting”, the subject will undergo a thorough examination, because the main purpose of the experiment is “to compare the effectiveness of some infusion media in compensating for the losses of fluid in conditions simulating the effects of microgravity.”

24/06/2008/20:31 On the ISS next year crews will work in open space in the new “smart” Russian spacesuit

On the ISS, where crews are now working in open space, the complete replacement of the “Orlan-M” Russian spacesuit with the more modern “Orlan-MK” is scheduled.. The first Orlan-MK will be taken into orbit at the end of this year on a Progress Russian cargo ship, and in early 2009, to the International Space Station will receive two more, Sergei Pozdnyakov – general director of the “Zvezda” Scientific and industrial enterprise, where all domestic spacesuits are manufactured – said Tuesday.

The new spacesuits will gradually replace the ISS Orlan-M at the end of their life, which have faithfully “served” several crews.

The Orlan-MK is the fifth Orlan version and the first computerized Russian spacesuit, Pozdnyakov said. In the process of donning the suit, it prompts the cosmonaut for the sequence of system checks he must follow before going out in open space and reports on the status of these systems. If there are abnormal situations – for example, increased consumption of oxygen, etc. – relevant information is displayed on the signal panel, with a warning beep and instructions on what procedure to follow.

The new “intelligent” spacesuit would avoid situations like what happened during the exit of ISS Expedition 9 in June 2004. At the very beginning of EVA activities, the TsUP Mission Control Center specialists recorded an oxygen leak in Michael Fincke’s spacesuit, and the crew was forced to return to the station. The determination of the cause of the pressure drop in the Orlan took several hours, and the EVA was postponed for a few days. Now the spacesuit itself will “communicate” with the cosmonaut as to the reason for his “malaise”.

According to Pozdnyakov, ISS Expedition 18, which will be launched into orbit in October, has already trained to operate the Orlan-MK. If a cosmonaut forgets a procedure during an EVA, a special program will help him translate into the more simple Orlan-M management regime.

The new EVA suit weighs 120 kg and has a service life of 15 EVAs within 4 years of operation. In open space it protects the cosmonaut from the low barometric pressure, ionizing radiation, solar power, and micrometeorites. The system uses a high-performance thermal method of diverting the heat emitted by man through a water cooling garment. The intensity of heat removal is manually controlled by the cosmonaut by reallocating water flows coming in the heat exchanger for cooling.

24/06/2008/20:31 in the Black Sea near Sevastopol Russian, Canadian and Dutch astronauts are training

In the Black Sea near Sevastopol cosmonauts from Russia, Canada and the Netherlands are training. “The purpose of training is to prepare cosmonauts for a possible splashdown in the sea in the event of unexpected situations in orbit,” Yurii Gidzenko – pilot-cosmonaut, Hero of the Russian Federation, head of special training at the Cosmonaut Training Centre – told reporters .

“During one week we train two crew, which include not only Russian cosmonauts, but one astronaut each from Canada and Holland. They come to replace another two crews, who are also within seven days will be trained,” emphasized Gidzenko. In doing so, he clarified that “the technical equipment for training includes the Russian Black Sea Fleet ships and special equipment which was brought from the town of Star City.”

According Gidzenko, the sea training of cosmonauts was formerly conducted in Feodosia, Kudepste and other coastal cities. “For the past five years, cosmonauts have trained in Sevastopol. This is convenient and for us and the seamen the base is nearby with ships on the spot,” he said.

Gidzenko also noted the “close economic and scientific link” between Roscosmos and the National Space Agency of Ukraine. “We do not and never had problems with our Ukrainian colleagues,” the Russian pilot-astronaut asserted.

24/06/2008/20:31 – Russian small spacecraft “Dandelion”, designed exclusively for space tourism, to appear by 2012

A Russian small spacecraft (IAC) «Одуванчик» (Oduvanchik, “Dandelion”), designed exclusively for space tourism, will appear by 2012. This assumption was made on Tuesday at a press conference in Moscow by Igor Bulanov, Vice-Chancellor, Chairman of the department “Rocket and Space composite structures” at the Moscow State Technical University named after N.E. Bauman.

The specialized ship, which will “convey” only space tourists into orbit, is being developed by students and scientists at MSTU. According Bulanov “at the moment already started production of ship models.” “Tentatively, we expect to finish work by 2012,” he said.

According to the Vice-Chancellor, Dandelion can not be compared with any similar development in the world – it was “much cheaper and outperformed many other proposals.”

It is anticipated that Dandelion will take on board a pilot and four passengers or 600 kg of payload, and will perform a suborbital or orbital flights. It will be able to take off from a mobile automatic platform installed anywhere, and to land both with the aid of the parachutes and independently on a takeoff and landing runway.

“The Glass ceiling In Space”, Space Daily, 17/6. On the dismal state of Russia’s women cosmonauts (only 3 made it into space, and there are currently no active ones, though there is one in the training group, Elena Serova).

“Options for space tourists”, RIA Novosti, 23/6. Andrei Kislyakov opinion piece. Russia began space tourism, but has not managed it very well.

Pavel Vinogradov, a pilot-cosmonaut and deputy head of the Energiya Rocket Space Corporation, says: “Regrettably, space tourism is a big headache for us today. It does not resolve any financial problems, and undermines the foundations of our cosmonautics. We have to replace young cosmonauts with tourists… They are all good people but they are not professionals. Regrettably, we can only find room for them at the expense of professionals.”

7th International Scientific Conference reports

The Russian FKA site has a page of children’s space paintings, which are colorful and imaginative!

Some Novosti Kosmonavtiki news №666 items for 16/11; reports from the 7th International Scientific Conference “Manned Flights into Space”.

16/11/2007/00:03 – ISS operations are considerably less effective than those on Mir, says the chief of the Cosmonaut Training Center

In six years of ISS operation the volume of scientific works at the station grew threefold, reports ITAR-TASS. Such data was announced on 15 November by the chief of the Cosmonaut Training Center, Vasilii Tsibliyev, at the opening of the 7th International Scientific Conference “Manned Flights into Space”.

“Since 2001, 240 different experiments were carried out on the ISS, the main themes of the NPI applied-scientific studies being biomedical, biotechnological, geophysical and physics of the sun,” he said.

Tsibliev, however, recognized that by volume the NPI ISS operation is considerably less effective than that of the Mir orbital complex, where each crew perfomred up to 250 experiments during the flight. In his opinion, “When the construction of the Station is finished, the science portion will grow.”

The TSPK chief focused attention on the problems which decrease effectiveness of NPI on the ISS. One of the basic problems: “searching for the necessary scientific gear aboard,” because of which “sometimes an experiment is not carried out by the crew for which it was prepared, but a following crew […] There has even appeared a joke: an engineer is not one who knows, but who knows where to find things,” noted Tsibliyev. In his opinion, for increasing the return of scientific work “it is necessary to develop more efficient mechanisms for crew accountability, more actively to use incentive leverages, including material from both the cosmonauts and the specialists who prepare experiments, and to also prepare cosmonauts as specialist researchers.”

The chief of the flight-test center of the Energiya Rocket & Space corporation, ISS-14 commander Pavel Vinogradov, in turn emphasized that the colossal scientific potential in space is used very poorly, the returns from ISS crew activity is considerably lower than 10-15 years ago. “From the idea of experiment to obtaining the first concrete results there passes years, and even decades,” the cosmonaut complained. Furthermore, “There are only 1 or 2 new, bright experiments on the ISS; the rest are repeats of those performed on Mir.

One of the basic problems, in his opinion, is the absence on the ISS Russian segment of a normal communication channel with the Earth. “That that we have is the Stone Age in comparison,” said Vinogradov. To work and not to have any possibility transfering acceptable volumes of information is unacceptable.” Furthermore, the cosmonaut issued a call for the producers of the experiments to support closer contacts with the crews and to inform them about the results of the onboard studies carried out by the crews. In the opinion of Vinogradov, if scientists and cosmonauts exchanged information more often, the effectiveness of scientific studies would improve.

The cosmonaut also noted that at present, “scientific gear occupies only a small percentage of general goods traffic […] when half of the Progress cargo ship will be loaded with science, we will begin to obtain real results,” Vinogradov is convinced.

---

16/11/2007/00:03 – since 2001 the quantity of experiments conducted on the ISS has grown three times

In six years of ISS operation, the quantity of scientific experiments conducted by crews has grown threefold. The crew of the 16th ISS Expedition will conduct 48 scientific experiments in the course of their flight, while the first crew conducted only 15, reported the leader of the Cosmonaut Training Center, Vasilii Tsebliev, at the opening of the 7th International Scientific Conference “Manned Flights into Space”.

Meanwhile cosmonaut Pavel Vinogradov, coming forward after he critically answered about the experiments conducted on the Station, said: “We repeat the fact that most were done 5-10 years ago. The experiments – two or three are new but not more […] in this sense I do not agree with the opinion of our leaders that everything is good. When half of the Progress cargo ship is loaded scientific gear, then only then will I agree that everything is good,” said P. Vinogradov.

Today, he noted, in the total volume of cargo delivered to the ISS, only a small percentage is allotted to scientific equipment. Furthermore, P. Vinogradov came out with criticism of the communications system of the ISS Russian segment with the ground. Thus, because of the absence of the specialized relay satellites, video images and data for Russian Mission Control Center TsUP during the presence of the ISS beyond the zones of radio visibility not controlled by Russia are downlinked via the American satellites (TDRSS).

Cosmonaut Pavel Vinogradov had a lot of criticisms about aspects of the Russian program in an NK interview last year (see my 14/1/2007 entry) – at least someone involved is trying to draw attention to this!

A report on preparations for the “Mars-500” experiment:

16/11/2007/00:03 – crew of volunteers begins checking the systems of the “Martian ship”

At the Institute of Biomedical Problems IMBP/RAN (Russian Academy of Science), on 15 November there began the first 14-day stage of the experiment on the preparation of the manned space flight to Mars. The IMBP deputy director, Boris Morukov, announced this at the 7th International Scientific Conference “Manned Flights into Space”.

Previously the IMBP director, the RAN Academician Anatolii Grigor’ev stated that prior to the beginning of the “manned space flight to Mars”, which was planned for the end of 2008, at IMBP two preliminary experiments will be carried out: a 14-day and a 105-day. “During the 14 days we will verify technical equipment, and then in the 105-day experiment we will conduct the selection of the Russian and European scientific proposals, which then will be realized in the ‘Mars-500’ program,” he explained. According to him, the international crew of the 105-daily experiment will be formed prior to the end of this year, which will begin in the beginning of 2008.

In parallel continues the intensive selection of basic crew for the “Martian flight”, that will comprise 4 Russians and 2 Europeans. The main requirement for the candidates are possession of Russian and English languages, outstanding physical fitness and professional qualifications in several specialties is desirable.

Grigor’ev noted that among the aspirants, whom they already passed dispensary inspection, there is one woman. However, the gender composition of crew will be determined not earlier than the end of 2008, when it is planned to promulgate the list of the happy fellows, who during 520 days will completely isolated from the external world aboard the created “Martian” ship in IMBP with a volume of 550 m³ and communicate with the external world only through electronic mail. All the life-support systems of the “ship” are designed to be completely independent.

Requirements for the international crew are most serious. Preferred professions are doctors, engineers, biologists, specialists in computer technology. Moreover it is desirable that the candidates would combine several specialties. Furthermore, they must provide proof to the selection commission of the absence of serious diseases, harmful habits and problems with the law.

Future projects at Khrunichev:

16/11/2007/00:03 – the Khrunichev space center is developing rockets for manned space flights and habitable complexes for the lunar and Martian expeditions

In the State Space Scientific Production Center GKNPTS Khrunichev, work is continuing on the creation of rockets for manned space flights and habitable complexes for lunar expeditions. The division head of KB Salyut GKNPTS, Sergei Pugachenko, reported this on 14 November at the 7th International Scientific Conference “Manned Flights into Space”.

The discussion, first of all, deals with the modification of the future rocket of the RN carrier of the Angar-5 heavy class. The Angar-5P “can be used for the launch of manned ships, including the following generation.” For the delivery of cargo to Low Earth Orbit it is intended to also use the superheavy Angar-7 with a load capacity of 41 tonnes.

But to deliver a crew in orbit is only half the battle; it is necessary to create standard conditions to support human life. In GKNPTS, where the first ISS module was built – the Functional Cargo Block Zarya, and also the airtight housing of the official module Zvezda – already they are working on a new, more contemporary inhabited module. “Over the long term the creation and installing on the RN Angara “of a housing of a larger volume, which will improve the conditions of crew stay aboard,” explained Pugachenko.

Furthermore, the specialists at GKNPTS are developing their versions of a lunar orbital station and manned lunar base, which is intended to be delivered into Earth orbit with the aid of a superheavy RN with a load capacity of 100 tonnes. The lunar orbital station will be intended for the transfer and the storage of cargo and fuel, temporary crew stay, and also studies of the Moon, explained Pugachenko. But the manned lunar complex will serve as a home for the cosmonaut-trailblazers. An analogous complex is also being developed for Mars. “In GKNPTS there are all the basic technologies for the lunar missions,” said Pugachenko.

Wooden spaceship

The Accidental Russophile alerted me to these two interesting articles about the upcoming “Mars-500” long-duration simulation experiment:

“Russians Prepare to Go to Mars Without Leaving the Ground”, James Oberg, IEEE Spectrum, September 2007. He visited the simulation complex at the Institute of Medical and Biological Problems. Staying in the simulator for that length of time will be challenging! Like being imprisoned. Once the novelty wears off after about 2 months or so things will start to get “interesting”. Still, I almost wish I could volunteer – I am doing nothing with my life and it wouldn’t be too much different to being in my bedroom – but I am lacking any qualifications whatsoever. (I’d volunteer for a solo Mars mission, though, even if it resulted in my death!) Such an experiment would be bearable if there were Internet access, but unfortunately there isn’t! The crew can only send and receive emails. I’d be having Internet-deprivation withdrawal symptoms after the first week!

The interior of the simulator is constructed with wood – very nice woodwork! – which “is supposed to induce a feeling of cozy hominess”. It does add a warm feeling to the rooms, unlike metal. Couldn’t have wooden décor on a real spaceship though; a fire hazard and too heavy to carry into orbit.

One unresolved problem:

As pieces fall into place, a few unsolved problems stand out in greater relief. Dyomin confesses that one entirely ordinary Earth side process was giving him fits: “We still don’t know what to do with the garbage,” he ruefully admits. Throwing it overboard (as the Russians did on their Salyut and Mir space stations) would cost too much in terms of the air lost with each jettison, and on a real Mars mission it would fill the skies with twinkling garbage bags that would drift for months, confusing stellar navigation sensors and potentially bumping into the ship and fouling exterior mechanisms. Keeping it inside will require strict sanitary isolation. But with decades of long-term human spaceflight experience under their belts, the team will think of something.

In Stephen Baxter’s novel Titan the crew on the journey to Saturn’s moon used this device to dispose of garbage:

She checked the SCWO reactor, the Supercritical Wet Oxidation system. The SCWO was a remarkable piece of gear. Inside, slurry was heated to 480°C and 240 atmospheres, conditions where water went supercritical. It was like liquid steam. If you jetted in oxygen, you could get an open flame, under water. The SCWO would burn anything, any waste they threw into it: crap, urine, food scraps, garbage, mixed up with organic wastes and water. Out came steam, carbon dioxide and a whole bunch of nitrates – compounds of nitrogen they could use in the [hydroponic] farm.

It looked to Benacerraf as if the temperature control inside the reactor had been a little variable. That was a worry; not everything that happened inside that reactor was well understood. The SCWO was a relatively new technology – the reactor and its backup fitted in Discovery were actually upgrades of breadboard prototypes. There were safety concerns around the high temperatures and pressures in the reactor, and corrosion of the pressure chamber. That corrosion could leak metals into the liquid effluent, which could then end up in the food chain.

The cylindrical chambers at IMBP, used for 40 years:

Habitation module hallway; side doorways lead to small cabins:

Closet-sized personal cabin:

“Russia Prepares for Mars Mission with ‘Big Brother’ Experiment”, Spiegel Online, 14/9. Here is revealed that one of the participants is cosmonaut Sergei Ryazanskii!

Sergei Ryazanskii has already passed all the necessary medical and psychological tests. The athletic, blue-eyed, 32-year-old Russian is testing one of the wooden cots in the mock spacecraft’s sleeping module. His grandfather helped build one of the very first Soviet rockets and two years ago he managed to graduate from Russia’s cosmonaut training program. A romantic attraction to outer space simply runs in the family blood. “My wife was the only one who couldn’t understand that,” Sergei sighs. She divorced him.

From his training, Ryazanskii knows how extreme conditions can affect a person’s psychological well-being. “In total isolation with five people, you’re burdened by five times as many problems, and so are the others,” he says. It’s exactly that sort of group dynamic that the IBMP wants to examine.

Divorced! (They had one child.) That must have been recent. He is only 4 years younger than me. (He had a Livejournal, but seems to have deleted it. His website is still online. Hopefully he will keep an online journal for the experiment?)