MOSCOW. Nov 14 (Interfax) - The Sirius-23 yearlong isolation experiment simulating a long-term mission to the Moon has ended at the Russian Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medical-Biological Problems in Moscow, an Interfax correspondent reported.
The experiment ended at 1 p.m., and the crew left 'the spaceship', having spent 366 days in isolation. It included commander Yury Chebotarev, flight engineer Anzhelika Parfenova, doctor Ksenia Orlova, and researchers Ksenia Shishenina, Rustam Zaripov (all of them from Russia) and Olga Mastitskaya (from Belarus).
According to the institute, the experiment simulated a flight outside the near-Earth orbit, including long-term isolation, separation from habitual living conditions, and performing scientific and professional activities of a cosmonaut, including work "on the surface of the Moon."
"The program simulating a long-term lunar mission included tasks for remote control of robotic devices on the lunar surface (including with a time delay), a flyby of the Moon with a search for a landing site, and conducting on-planet operations by a group of four," the institute said.
The scientific, operational and technical research program was implemented fully, and the crew conducted more than 70 experiments in various fields, it said.
"Data from experiments will help identify an individual strategy for the body's adaptation to the conditions of a long-term space flight and scientifically substantiate methods for preventing negative impacts of the man-made environment," the institute said.
The 365-day Sirius-23 international experiment simulating an interplanetary space flight began at the RAS Institute of Medical-Biological Problems on November 14, 2023. According to Institute Director Oleg Orlov, the Belarusian National Academy of Sciences was the project's core partner, while international organizations and scientists from India, the United States, Turkey, Canada and some other countries took part in the experiment.
The institute's ground experimental complex models space missions through the Sirius (Scientific International Research in Unique Terrestrial Station) project.
The project aim is to enable space exploration outside the near-Earth orbit, which will reduce risks to human health and performance through a targeted program of fundamental, applied and operational research.
The project's first experiment was carried out for 17 days in November 2017, followed by a four-month experiment in March-July 2019.
The eight-month Sirius-21 experiment simulating a flight to the Moon was conducted from November 2021 to July 2022 and involved researchers from Russia, the United States and the United Arab Emirates.