Mars Mission

A group of international scientists, etc., have begun a 520 day simulation of a mission to mars in preperation for a possible upcoming mission. The group consists of six males...3 Russians, 1 Frenchman, 1 Italian-Colombian, and 1 Chinese.

I wonder why no Americans???????

The crew will regularly be playing video games also.

Read more about it:

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/sp ... mars_N.htm

There are probably no Americans included because NASA doesn't want to be involved. NASA doesn't seem very interested in long term space exploration, which is what a trip to Mars would require. It takes something like 6 months to reach Mars, assuming the launch happens when Earth and Mars are closest together in their orbits. So for a Mars mission, you've got 6 months there, wait a year for the next optimum orbital positions, then 6 months on the return trip: a total of two years.

Putting a handful of people in a small area together for two years is a risky, and expensive, proposition. They have to take all their food, water, oxygen, medical supplies, entertainment, and power sources with them. That requires a lot of fuel and likely a cargo capacity beyond the existing space shuttles. Plus, even the most easy mannered of people will get short tempered after being mashed together for that long of a time.