By Girish Linganna
Last Monday, Russia began a second project initiative under the Scientific International Research In Unique Terrestrial Station (SIRIUS) project: Six Russian volunteers have begun a year-long simulated space trip as part of the SIRIUS project, which aims to investigate the effects of long-term isolation on human health and performance.
SIRIUS-23 is the name of the mission. The renowned Institute for Bio-Medical Problems (IBMP) inside the Russian Academy of Sciences provides funding for the six-person crew’s nearly year-long assignment. IBMP commemorated last month 60 years of study on problems pertaining to long-term human space travel since the organization’s founding.
The SIRIUS project contains four stages, each with increasing duration and complexity. In 2017, the first stage, SIRIUS-17, lasted 17 days. SIRIUS-19, the second stage, lasted 120 days in 2019. SIRIUS-21, the third stage, lasted 240 days in 2021. SIRIUS-23, the fourth and final stage, is the longest and most difficult, lasting 360 days in 2023.
On November 14, the SIRIUS-23 crew arrived at their home-away-from-home isolation unit. This group of people will mimic a lunar mission, which will include a flyover of the moon to determine a landing site, repeated simulated landings of four crew members for surface operations, orbiting the moon, and tele-operating a rover on the lunar surface.In addition, the crew will confront a number of technical and psychological problems, including as equipment breakdowns, communication delays, and interpersonal conflicts.
Sirius-23 differs significantly from the preceding SIRIUS-17, 19, and 21 simulations,”NASA, a long-time collaborator, was unable to participate in 2023. There is no need for the crew to communicate English and Russian because, for the first time in IBMP isolation experiments history, all crew members speak Russian.”
The IBMP isolation experiments created history by employing mixed gender with four women and two men.
The team consists of highly skilled individuals.
- Yuri Sergeevich Chebotarev (Russia) – crew commander
- Anzhelika Anatolyevna Parfyonova (Russia) – flight engineer
- Ksenia Dmitrievna Orlova (Russia, resident of the state of Asgardia) – crew doctor
- Olga Sergeevna Mastitskaya (Belarus) – researcher
- Ksenia Sergeevna Shishenina (Russia) – researcher
- Rustam Nazimovich Zaripov (Russia) — researcher
The SIRIUS-23 mission provides a fantastic opportunity to explore space and gather data for future missions. The crew will push the boundaries of science and technology while also displaying humanity’s power and resilience.
(The author of this article is a Defence, Aerospace & Political Analyst based in Bengaluru. He is also Director of ADD Engineering Components, India, Pvt. Ltd, a subsidiary of ADD Engineering GmbH, Germany. You can reach out to him at: girishlinganna@gmail.com)
