Hatch will be closed on 3 June

ESA PR 10-2010 The first full-duration simulation of a human mission to Mars is about to begin. After closing the hatch, the crew of six will remain in their 'spacecraft' for 520 days. The media are invited to witness the 'launch' of this historic Mars500 mission.

The 520-day simulated mission to Mars will start on 3 June, when the isolation facility is sealed and the international crew start their record-breaking experiment.

The crew will basically live and work like astronauts on the International Space Station, with maintenance work, scientific experiments and daily exercise. They will follow a seven-day week, with two days off, except when special and emergency situations are simulated.

There are six crewmembers plus a Russian backup: ESA-selected Diego Urbina (Italian/Colombian, age 27) and Romain Charles (French, 31); Sukhrob Kamolov (32), Alexey Sitev (38), Alexandr Smoleevskiy (33) and Mikhail Sinelnikov (37) from Russia; and Wang Yue (26) from China.

Housed in Russia’s Institute of Biomedical Problems (IBMP) in Moscow, the 550 m³ sealed space mockup includes an interplanetary spaceship, a Mars lander and a martian landscape.

Date:

3 June

Time:

11:00 registration of media
12:00 press conference starts

Address:

IBMP
76A, Khoroshevskoe shosse
Moscow, Russia

The crew will enter the facility after the press conference; they will not be available again for individual interviews after the plenary Q&A session.

Accreditation for the press conference is obligatory. The deadline is 31 May and the limited number of places are reserved on first-come basis. Please note the Russian visa regulations if coming from other countries.

For accreditation, please provide name, media affiliation, Russian visa number and contact information to estecpr@esa.int