Six Astronauts Are Tested to the Limit对6名宇航员的极限考验

Have you ever been on a long-haul flight? How did you pass the time? Perhaps you watched an in-flight movie or read a book.

Well it would have to be a very long book to keep you amused for 520 days. That's how long six men are going to be sealed awayfromhumanity in a warehouse in the suburbs of Moscow from tomorrow.

No, this isn't another weirdreality TV show, but an experiment from the European Space Agency and Russia's Institute of Biomedical Problems to test the psychological impact of a mannedmission to Mars.

The six astronauts will live in conditions approximating a real space mission. A 550-cubic-metre mock-up within the warehouse includes an interplanetary spaceship, a Mars lander and a Martian landscape.

The group of six - which includes one Chinese astronaut, Wang Yue - will work, relax and sleep in eight-hour shifts, take two days off a week and shower once every ten days.

All communication with mission control will be subject to a twenty-minute delay to reproduce the effects of distance.

After 250 days, the astronauts will divide into two groups. Three will move to the Martian surface simulator for a month while the rest will remain 'in orbit'. Then the six will be reunited for a 240-day return journey to... well, the outside world.

Throughout, the organisers of the project will use cameras to monitor everything that happens 'on board'. They will gather new information about personal stress levels, emotionalwell-being and group dynamics.

Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock, a scientist with the satellitemanufacturer EADS Astrium, believes that the experiment will be extremely valuable. However, she points out that without the glory of being the first humans to visit the Red Planet, it could be hard for these pioneers to maintain motivation.

"It's far less likely this would be a problem if you really were going to Mars", she says. "But the danger is that because you know you're really in a hangar in Moscow, you start thinking: 'I can't be bothered'."

• flight [flait]   n.逃走；飞行；班机   (初中英语单词)
• humanity [hju:´mæniti]   n.人类；人性；仁慈   (初中英语单词)
• moscow [´mɔskəu]   n.莫斯科   (初中英语单词)
• reality [ri´æliti]   n.现实(性)；真实；逼真   (初中英语单词)
• european [juərə´pi:ən]   a.欧洲的 n.欧洲人   (初中英语单词)
• agency [´eidʒənsi]   n.代理商；机构；代理   (初中英语单词)
• institute [´institju:t]   n.学院 vt.建立；设置   (初中英语单词)
• mission [´miʃən]   n.代表团；使馆vt.派遣   (初中英语单词)
• shower [´ʃauə]   n.展出者；阵雨；淋浴   (初中英语单词)
• communication [kə,mju:ni´keiʃən]   n.通信；通讯联系   (初中英语单词)
• project [prə´dʒekt, ´prɔdʒekt]   v.设计；投掷 n.计划   (初中英语单词)
• monitor [´mɔnitə]   n.班长 v.监控；检查   (初中英语单词)
• stress [stres]   n.强调；压力 vt.强调   (初中英语单词)
• emotional [i´məuʃənəl]   a.易动感情的；情感的   (初中英语单词)
• manufacturer [,mænju´fæktʃərə]   n.制造人；工厂主   (初中英语单词)
• extremely [ik´stri:mli]   ad.极端地；非常地   (初中英语单词)
• valuable [´væljuəbəl, -jubəl]   a.有价值的，贵重的   (初中英语单词)
• planet [´plænit]   n.行星   (初中英语单词)
• maintain [mein´tein]   vt.维持；保持；继续   (初中英语单词)
• reproduce [,ri:prə´dju:s]   v.繁殖；复制；翻版   (高中英语单词)
• scientist [´saiəntist]   n.(自然)科学家   (高中英语单词)
• warehouse [´weəhaus]   n.仓库 v.存入仓库   (英语四级单词)
• psychological [,saikə´lɔdʒikəl]   a.心理学(上)的   (英语四级单词)
• impact [´impækt]   n.影响，作用；冲击   (英语六级单词)
• well-being [´wel´bi:iŋ]   n.幸福；健康；福利   (英语六级单词)
• satellite [´sætəlait]   n.(人造)卫星；随从   (英语六级单词)