Moscow. November 4th. INTERFAX - Participation in the scientific work of the SIRIUS-21 experiment will allow the European Space Agency (ESA) to prepare its astronaut for a flight to the Moon, head of the ESA representative office in Russia Rene Pichel told Interfax.
"The scientific component itself and the international nature of the experiment are important to us. It is also a step for us to send our astronaut to the moon," Pishel said.
Earlier on Thursday in Moscow at the site of the Institute of Biomedical Problems (IMBP) The Russian Academy of Sciences has launched the SIRIUS-21 international experiment to simulate the flight of astronauts to the Moon.
Six people take part in the experiment: three from Russia, two from the USA and one from the UAE. According to the plan of the experiment, they will "fly" to the Moon, "land", "stay in lunar orbit", "receive" a transport ship and "build" a base by remote methods, and then "return" home. The crew will spend 240 days in isolation.
As part of the SIRIUS (Scientific International Research In Unique terrestrial Station) project, space flights are simulated on the basis of the Ground-based Experimental Complex of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
The objective of the project is to ensure the possibility of space exploration beyond low Earth orbit, which will reduce the risks to human health and performance through a targeted program of fundamental, applied and operational research.
