Out of isolation
SCIENTISTS BACK TO EARTH AFTER YEAR-LONG MARS SIMULATION
An international group of scientists emerged on Sunday after a year of near isolation in a research station set up in Hawaii to simulate conditions on Mars.
Greeted with a cry of ‘‘welcome back to earth’’ the six scientists — three men and three women — emerged from a small white dome on Hawaii’s Mauna Loa volcano, which has a landscape resembling that found on Mars.
The dome sits at an elevation of 2500 m above sea level where no plants grow, and the six scientists who participated in the experiment were only allowed to leave the dome if they were wearing a space suit.
Part of a long-term goal to send humans to Mars, the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) experiment was designed to explore whether a crew could live together in close quarters over an extended period of time and under adverse conditions.
‘‘Bring something you can work on,’’ German scientist Christiane Heinicke said after her year-long stay atop the volcano.
‘‘One of your biggest enemies is boredom,’’ she said. ‘‘You have to be willing and able to adapt to the others and make compromises.’’
Each scientist worked on research projects during their stay and learned how to get by with limited resources while avoiding personal conflicts within the confines of the dome.
Communications with the outside world were delayed by 20 minutes, the same amount of time it would take to relay messages to and from Mars.
Putting three men and three women in a small dome for a year might sound like a crude Big Brother experiment, but it was expected to provide valuable knowledge for Mars trial over: space research.
If the dream of many space-faring countries of sending humans to the Red Planet becomes reality, the trip alone would take up to a year.
Another hurdle is co-operation among the crew while they live on Earth’s neighbouring planet, which on average is 228 million kilometres away.
They must be able to endure an inhospitable environment until the planets align favourably for the return trip.
The group became the first to complete a year-long Mars simulation in the United States.
Kim Binsted, principal investigator for the HI-SEAS, told the Hawaii Tribune Herald newspaper that the only longer Mars simulation was held in Russia and lasted 520 days.
BOGOTA: A permanent cease-fire is taking effect in Colombia, the latest step in bringing an end to 52 years of bloody combat between the government and the country’s biggest rebel group.
The commander of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia announced on Sunday that his fighters would cease hostilities beginning at 12:01 am Monday as a result of the peace accord the two sides reached last week. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos made a similar announcement Friday, saying the military would halt attacks on the FARC beginning Monday.