MOSCOW, July 14. /TASS/. Crew members of the SIRIUS-2021 experiment, who walked out of the ground-based station after spending eight months in isolation, are currently undergoing various medical examinations, Russian scientists said on Thursday.
"In the first 24 hours after the isolation period was over, ophthalmologists studied their ocular systems and the effects that eight-month deprivation of natural light might have had on them. This included visual perception parameters like color vision and light sensitivity," the press service of the Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences said.
Doctors have also made "first assessments regarding the density of eye layers, since sunlight in combination with vitamin D has well-known properties of maintaining the supportive functions of the eye and the body in general."
Also, scientists are currently evaulating the crew members’ neurophysiological and psychophysiological qualities and assessing their emotional reactions, mental stress and perception of time.
Other areas of research include skeletal, cardiovascular and respiratory systems of the participants.
The crew of the international isolation mission SIRIUS-2021 completed the third phase of the SIRIUS project of long-term isolation experiment on July 3, spending 240 days in isolation. The mission simulated a space flight to a lunar orbital station and the surface of the Moon. Crew members from Russia, the US and the UAE conducted more than 70 experiments during the mission, simulated landing on the Moon and driving a rover.
The SIRIUS (Scientific International Research In Unique Terrestrial Station) international project has been organized by Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences and NASA’s Human Research Program and is held at a location provided by the Russian institute. The European Space Agency and national space agencies of France and Germany, as well as Russian and foreign research institutions and private companies, are also taking part in the project.
The project consists of a series of isolation experiments. The next project will simulate a flight to the far space, beginning in the period of July-November 2023 and lasting one year. Three year-long experiments are planned to be held until 2028.