Mars500: Information for the media
Mars500 is an international study about the possible interplanetary spaceflights and will conduct in 2010-2011 the first ever full duration simulation of a possible manned flight to Mars.
The 520-day simulation is the last and core part of the Mars500 experiment that began back in 2007. The first phase was a 14-day simulation that mainly tested the facilities and operational procedures. The second phase followed in 2009, when four Russian and two European crewmembers were shut into the facility for 105 days.
Mars500 is being conducted by Russia’s Institute of Biomedical Problems (IBMP), with extensive participation by ESA.
Download the latest Information kit here. Also a Russian version is available here.
Replay of the hatch opening and crew egress November 2011
The Mars500 hatch was opened on 4 November at 14:00 local time in Moscow (10:00 GMT, 11:00 CET). A video file from the event will be available momentarily.
A press conference involving the crew will be held on 8 November. Accreditation for the press conference is obligatory and the deadline was 20 October.
Multimedia resources:
European crewmembers:
Photos:
Mars500 photo galleries:
- Training and activities until closing the hatch on 3 June 2010
- 'Cruise to Mars', June 2010 - January 2011
- 'Orbiting Mars and landing', January and February 2011
- 'Return to Earth', from February to November 2011
- Greenhouse in Space experiment on Mars500
All older photos related to Mars500 experiment (including the previous isolation periods) are easily available in ESA Multimedia gallery.
Videos:
- Mars 500 : The ultimate challenge at ESA Euronews
- '520 days of solitude' at ESA-TV
- B-roll material from the facility
- ESA videos at You Tube
New: Sounds and movies of isolation
European crewmembers Romain Charles and Diego Urbina have recorded their answers to some of the frequently asked questions for use on radio. The files (mp3 format) can be downloaded from here:
– Diego: English – Italian – Spanish
– Romain, "Laugh": English – French
– Romain, "Surprise": English – French
– Romain, "Looking forward to hatch opening": English – French
Some of the videos published on ESA's Mars500 YouTube playlist are also available for downloading on ESA Online videos.
Higher resolution versions for TV stations are available on request.
Contact person:
Rosita Suenson
Human Spaceflight Communication Programme Officer,
Communication Department, ESA
Tel. +31 71 565 3009
Mobile: +31 652 062 158
Email: rosita.suenson@esa.int
