Survival training in the winter forest usually falls on the harshest month of the year - February.
"The temperature at night reached minus 25 degrees, but it was dry. We had the opportunity to sit by the campfire in the open air and not be afraid that it would rain," Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev shared his impressions a year ago.
This year, neither cold nor rain should be feared, at least for the first conditional crew. On the thermometer - just below zero. However, it turns out that such weather cannot be called comfortable for the training participants.
"It's still relatively warm outside. Physical labor leads to the loss of moisture by the body. The guys will have to spend time and effort drying their equipment. In addition, they will have difficulties with kindling a fire, the wood is not dry enough. And it will not be quite easy to keep the fire going. It is easiest to cope with the tasks at a temperature of 10 to 15 degrees below zero. These are optimal weather conditions," said Anatoly Zabruskov, head of the Department of Extreme Types of Cosmonaut Training at the CPC.
Candidates for cosmonauts Harutyun Kiviryan, Alexander Kolyabin and Sergey Teteryatnikov were the first to start training on the actions of the crew when landing in a wooded and swampy area in winter. They will spend almost two days in the forest. While waiting for rescuers, it is necessary to find a suitable place for an improvised camp, clear the territory, collect firewood, light a fire, build two types of shelter: a hut and a "wigwam". Cosmonaut candidates should keep in touch with rescuers: report their location, give signals. A mandatory part of the tests is first aid to victims.
Following the candidates for cosmonauts, two more conditional crews should demonstrate their "survival" skills in the forest, where they plan to include Roscosmos cosmonauts and NASA astronauts. The training cycle will end on February 10, the press service of Roscosmos reports.
They are conducted in order to prepare astronauts for a possible emergency situation associated with the landing of the lander in a similar area under similar weather conditions.
