We know the Gothard tunnel well for its summer traffic jams, but now of its galleries turns into a lunar habitat. Nine Students and Students Astronauts settled there for two weeks of isolation and experiences.
Astronaut students will stay for two weeks, until August 8, in a gallery of the Gothard massif to train in isolation in the most real conditions possible.
After four successful missions, the Asclepios program launched its fifth mission of this type with students aged 21 to 26 from the United States, Brazil, Portugal and Germany, but none of Switzerland for this new experience.
Test psychological resistance
The objective of this mission is to plan and prepare a spatial mission, but also that students rub the hostile environments and test their psychological resistance.
“There are things that we cannot simulate. The most important is undoubtedly the terrestrial gravity, which is omnipresent”, notes Thursday in 12:45 Ella Ganzer, aerospace student at the University of Munich. “But we have a lot of trouble so that it is as close to the moon as possible. For two weeks, we can only communicate by radio with the control center.”
And the challenge is size, continues the student: “Without daylight, we quickly lose the concept of time. The experience promises to be interesting. For meals, we will only receive lyophilized food. It will also be necessary to get used to and adapt to other members of the group. Up to this new environment will therefore be demanding.”
TV subject: Daniel Bachmann and Angélique Boulagnon
Web text: Frédéric Boillat
