ACEIZE Tracking the current state of Science and Technology

The European Space Agency (ESA) will be conducting a 500 day isolation experiment to test the psychological effects of a manned mission to Mars. 6 people will sit and live in a space about 2,150 sq ft. for 500 days without outside interaction. The experiment is expected to take place in the spring of 2008. They will be looking for some information on the following, the influence of confinement on sleep, mood and mental health, and the effect of differences in personality, cultural background and motivation. But also on the medical side — physiological adaptation to an isolated environment, stress effects on health and well-being, changes in the immune system.