SIRIUS isolation experiment has ended in Moscow

The SIRIUS-23 international ground isolation experiment, simulating an annual flight to the Moon, has ended, a TASS correspondent from the Institute of Biomedical Problems (IBMP) of the Russian Academy of Sciences reports.

The experiment started on November 14, 2023 - since then, six crew members from Russia and Belarus have spent 366 days in conditions simulating the work of a real space expedition on the lunar orbital station and on the surface of the Moon.

The project simulated flight conditions beyond low Earth orbit, including prolonged isolation, separation from familiar conditions, limited communication and expeditionary resources. Conditions were also created that were as close as possible to the complex professional activities of astronauts, which involves extravehicular activity, significant physical exertion and night work.

The crew included commander Yuri Chebotarev, flight engineer Angelika Parfenova, crew doctor Ksenia Orlova, researcher Ksenia Shishenina, researcher Rustam Zaripov (all - Russia), as well as researcher Olga Mastitskaya from Belarus. During the year, they performed more than 70 scientific studies, including three experiments on working out joint operations of a human and an anthropomorphic robot, performed a flyby of the Moon in search of a landing site and made five simulated exits to the surface of a natural satellite. Four transport ships were also docked and unloaded.

The experimental data obtained, we are confident in the IBMP, will allow us to identify an individual strategy for adapting the body to the conditions of a long-term flight into space and scientifically substantiate methods for preventing the negative effects of such an environment.

ABOUT SIRIUS

The SIRIUS experiment (Scientific International Research In Unique Terrestrial Station, "international scientific research in a unique terrestrial complex") is an international project that is being implemented within the framework of the concept of the International Center for the Development of a System of Biomedical Support for Interplanetary Flights and is being conducted in Moscow on the basis of the IBMP RAS.

It is organized by the IBMP and the NASA Human Research Program ("human Research Program") with the participation of specialists from Russia, Germany, Canada, the USA, France, Italy, the UAE and other countries.

The SIRIUS project provides for a series of isolation experiments. The first one took place in November 2017 - then the crew spent 17 days in isolation. Until 2028, it is planned to conduct three annual experiments, during which deep space flights are simulated.

Source: Rambler