Voice

A simulated mission named Mars500 ended on Nov. 4， 2011. Six volunteer astronauts from Russia， Europe and China had been living inside steel tubes for 520 days， meant to mirror the confinement and stress that a real voyage to Mars would entail.

One year and a half ago， I was selected to be part of the Mars500 crew. Today， I’m proud to prove， with my international crewmates， that a human journey to the Red Planet is feasible.

—The volunteer astronaut Romain Charles said.

August was the mental low point: our friends and families were on vacation and didn’t send so many messages， and there was also little variation in food.

—The volunteer astronaut Diego Urbina said， in recalling the “voyage”.

simulate 模擬，模仿

confinement 限制

entail承受

feasible可行的

variation變異