Photo: Xinhua via Space.com
For the past year, eight Chinese volunteers, all of them students, have spent their time enclosed in a 160 square meters (1,722 square feet) research facility called Yuegong-1, or loosely translated Lunar Palace 1.
They did this as part of humanity’s attempt to experiment the longest running stay in an enclosed cabin. The goal of the project was to see how would a human presence in similar conditions on the Moon or in outer space unfold.
The construction, located in Beijing, is the third of the so-called Bioregenerative life support system (BLSS). The experiment ended on May 15, five days later than the date set when the project began because scientists wanted to simulate an emergency.
The eight students were divided into two groups and occupied the BLSS. They had to live their lives for 370 days in a space that comprises one common room, four bedrooms, one bathroom with a waste disposal system and an agricultural bedroom.
China has not yet released any details on how the experiment went for the past year, but judging by the fact that the same number of people that went in also came out is a sign all went well.
Scientists will try now to see how all the living things inside the BLSS, starting with humans and ending with microorganisms, have performed during this time. The mental and physical condition of the humans would also be scrutinized.
China has big plans for the Moon. At the end of April, the first images showing the planned Moon base, targeted for completion sometime before 2040. That’s nearly 15 years behind the Americans who plan to have a space station in orbit around the Moon by the middle of the next decade.
The base is to be made up of modular cylinders, which can be attached to one another as the station expands.
The construction, located in Beijing, is the third of the so-called Bioregenerative life support system (BLSS). The experiment ended on May 15, five days later than the date set when the project began because scientists wanted to simulate an emergency.
The eight students were divided into two groups and occupied the BLSS. They had to live their lives for 370 days in a space that comprises one common room, four bedrooms, one bathroom with a waste disposal system and an agricultural bedroom.
China has not yet released any details on how the experiment went for the past year, but judging by the fact that the same number of people that went in also came out is a sign all went well.
Scientists will try now to see how all the living things inside the BLSS, starting with humans and ending with microorganisms, have performed during this time. The mental and physical condition of the humans would also be scrutinized.
China has big plans for the Moon. At the end of April, the first images showing the planned Moon base, targeted for completion sometime before 2040. That’s nearly 15 years behind the Americans who plan to have a space station in orbit around the Moon by the middle of the next decade.
The base is to be made up of modular cylinders, which can be attached to one another as the station expands.
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