Mars isolation experiment over
Los Angeles, Aug. 29: Six people who were isolated on a remote site in Hawaii for one year to help Nasa plan for a mission to Mars emerged from their dome on Sunday, happy to breathe fresh air and meet new people.
The team was based on the barren northern slope of the Mauna Loa volcano, and spent their time inside a dome 36 feet in diameter and 20 feet tall.
The experiment shows that “a mission to Mars in the close future is realistic,” said French astrobiologist Cyprien Verseux in a Periscope interview by organizers posted on Twitter. “The technical and psychological problems can be overcome,” he said.
Video footage of the team as they emerged shows the three men and three women looking a bit bewildered as they met and posed for selfies with visitors. — AFP