520-day simulated mission to Mars underway in Russia
![](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/Dw98JkgyfU63GijcswULFQ--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY1MQ--/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/f08fE0fYTop_5V8RTBLcdQ--~B/aD00MjE7dz02MjE7YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b24-/https://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2010/06/14923large62110158469910-1.jpg)
Last Thursday, a six person mission to Mars began in Russia -- except that the crew isn't going anywhere. The would-be astronauts (including Russian, French, Italian and Chinese members) have agreed to undergo a 520-day long simulation trip to Mars, which includes a 250-day flight to the planet, a 30-day exploration, and a 230-day return trip, all in the name of preparation and research. This is not the first time that Russia's undertaken long-term simulations -- last year six hopefuls participated in a 105-day long experiment -- hoping to gain insight into the long-term effects such isolation can be expected to produce. They won't be weightless, but many of the other conditions will be as realistic as possible -- including communications time delays, wonky internet, and one shower every ten days. Sounds a lot like blogging to us. We wish them luck -- check out the video below.