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SIRIUS year-long simulated Moon flight experiment to kick off in Moscow in early 2023

Many countries have applied for their participation in the experiment and some contracts have already been signed, SIRIUS Project Chief Manager Mark Belakovsky noted

© Anton Kuznetsov/TASS

MOSCOW, November 9. /TASS/. The SIRIUS international year-long isolation experiment simulating a manned flight to Earth’s natural satellite is set to kick off on the premises of the Institute of Biomedical Problems in Moscow at the beginning of 2023, SIRIUS Project Chief Manager, Institute Section Head Mark Belakovsky told TASS on Tuesday.

"As of now, we have a verbal agreement on conducting three more year-long experiments. I believe that we can begin this experiment in the first quarter of 2023," he said.

Many countries have applied to the Russian Institute of Biomedical Problems for their participation in the year-long experiment and some contracts have already been signed, the project chief manager said.

On November 4, the SIRIUS-2021 eight-month isolation experiment kicked off on the premises of the Institute of Biomedical Problems within the Russian Academy of Sciences to simulate a crewed expedition to the Moon. The crew comprised of three Russians, two US nationals and a UAE representative embarked on a 240-day simulated space journey to travel to the Earth’s natural satellite, fly around the Moon to search for a landing site, land on the lunar surface and come back to Earth.

Throughout the expedition, the crew will stay in the autonomous ground compound and communicate only with the experiment control center through audio systems and maintain communications with their relatives by email.

About the project

The SIRIUS (Scientific International Research In Unique Terrestrial Station) international project is a series of joint isolation experiments carried out by Russia’s Institute of Biomedical Problems and the NASA Human Research Program with the participation of the Russian, German and Canadian space agencies and specialists from Russia, the United States, Germany, France, Italy and other countries.

The first experiment was held in November 2017 when the crew spent 17 days in isolation. The isolation experiments conducted in 2018-2019 lasted four months. Three year-long isolation experiments are planned before 2028.

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