The unique Mars 500 experiment simulating a manned flight to the Red Planet has been successfully completed, a RIA Novosti correspondent said on Friday.
The metal door of the spacecraft, sealed on July 3, 2010, has been opened and the six members of the crew – three Russians, a Chinese, a Frenchman, and an Italian – were ‘freed’.
The participants of the 520-day experiment were greeted with applause and cheers by their wives, children, relatives, experts of the Russian Institute of Biomedical Problems and journalists.
After the experiment, the spacemen, in accordance with the medical research program, will not give any interviews up to November 8.
The Russian scientific project Mars-500
Russian News Information Agency RIA Novosti will hold the first post-flight news conference with the members of the Mars 500 crew.
The international experiment was headed by Russia’s Alexei Sityov, while Sukhrob Kamolov, another Russian member of the experiment, was the mission’s doctor. Diego Urbina, a 27-year-old engineer, Wang Yue, a 26-year-old Chinese specialist, and Romain Charles, 31-year-old French engineer and Russia’s Alexander Smolevsky are the other members of the crew.