Posted: Sun, Nov 6, 2011, 9:39 AM ET (1439 GMT)
Six men completed on Friday a 520-day simulated Mars mission conducted in a Moscow laboratory. The six men, three from Russia and one each from China, France, and Italy, had been locked inside a simulated Mars spacecraft since June 2010 to test how they would respond physically and psychologically to a mission of the same duration as an actual crewed Mars mission. The six completed the simulation in good health and spirits. Some have been critical of the simulation, saying it lacked the real risks and isolation that a Mars mission would entail, and thus its utility is limited. Russian officials have suggested they would like to perform a similar long-term mission on the ISS later this decade.

Related Links:

•  The Guardian article
•  Reuters article
•  SPACE.com article
•  RIA Novosti article
•  ESA press release