THE ISS AS A PLATFORM FOR A FULLY SIMULATED MARS VOYAGE

Abstract

The ISS can mimic the impact of microgravity, radiation, living and psychological conditions that astronauts will face during a deep space cruise, for example to Mars. This suggests the ISS as the most valuable \analogue" for deep space exploration. NASA has indeed suggested a `full-up deep space simulation on last available ISS Mission: 6/7 crew for one year duration; full simulation of time delays autonomous operations'. This idea should be pushed further. It is indeed conceivable to use the ISS as the final \analogue", performing a real `dry-run' of a deep space mission (such as a mission to Mars), as close as reasonably possible to what will be the real voyage.