Last week a six man crew (comprised of Russian, French, Italian and Chinese engineers, doctors, and one astronaut) embarked on a simulated journey to Mars.  The team will be locked up in a contained space for 520 days to “simulate the psycological stress of a real space mission” to Mars.  The simulation includes a 250-day flight to the Mars, a 30-day exploration period, and a 230-day return to planet Earth.  Though the crew will not experience weightlessness, the jouney will be as close to the real thing as possible.  In fact, crew members will only shower once every ten days and communications to the “outside world” will be delayed by up to forty minutes.  All in the name of research!  Watch the the video above to learn more about the mission to Mars in Moscow.  Godspeed, friends!

[Via Engadget]