Simulated Mars mission 'lands' back on Earth

[The Straight Story]

Simulated Mars mission 'lands' back on Earth

Six men locked away in steel tubes for a year-and-a-half to simulate a mission to Mars have emerged from isolation.

The Mars500 project, undertaken at a Moscow institute, was intended to find out how the human mind and body would cope on a long-duration spaceflight.

It is a venture that has fascinated all who have followed it around the globe.

The study even saw three of the men carry out a pretend landing on Mars, donning real spacesuits and walking across an enclosed sandy yard.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15574646