Mars-500 simulated mission to begin June 3

MOSCOW. May 18 (Interfax) - A 520-day simulated mission to Mars based in Russia's Institute of Biomedical Problems will launch in two weeks' time.

"The experiment begins on June 3," the project's deputy director Mark Belakovsky told Interfax-AVN.

The Mars-500 experiment will last until November 2011 and involves three Russian citizens, two Europeans and one Chinese.