

Google - Mars 500 - Ghost_Noname
http://www.google.com/intl/eng/landing/mars500/

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fuzzmeister
While this will provide interesting insight into group dynamics on such a long
trip, I don't think it will necessarily tell us how astronauts will feel and
act on an actual Mars trip. On Earth, you could theoretically "get off" at any
point, even if it is highly, highly discouraged. You would know, no matter
what, that there is breathable air outside your simulated spacecraft. On a
real Mars trip, there is no way to give up and stop the trip. I don't know
whether this would be better or worse than the feeling in the simulation, but
it would certainly be different.

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pigbucket
If the question is, Can they meet the challenge?, I'd bet there's enough in
the history of imprisonment to answer it. Some go nuts, some write great
literature. I think they're trying to stack the odds in favor of the latter.
An interesting literary experiment, and the first collaborative novel, they
say, using Google Docs (woohoo! hopefully not also the first to use Google
Translate).

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fluxcapacitor
> Each week, a renowned Russian Science Fiction writer like Sergey Lukyanenko
> [...]

Wow. That's the guy who wrote Night Watch, one of the best sci-fi/fantasy
movies I've watched in the last 10 years:
<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0403358/>

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markbnine
I guess Mars _doesn't_ need women...

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ThomPete
That sure gives a whole new dimension to streetview

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nhnifong
That big juicy Go button made me expect some interactive applet. I am
disappointed.

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Roridge
I am literally in awe.

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mattmaroon
Isn't weightlessness one of the major factors involved?

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matthavener
I think they're just studying the isolation and group dynamics

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melling
How much hard science can be done in this experiment?

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TallGuyShort
My guess is that it would primarily focus on the mental health and social
interaction - as that becomes a bigger concern for longer missions. So I guess
it depends on your definition of 'hard science'.

