Human colonies on the moon have become more than just ideas in sci-fi pages or a "mission impossible". Roscosmos, the Russian Space Agency recently announced the "lunar program", which consists of building a manned station on the moon surface by 2030.
According to official statements, the technical work is ongoing without obstacles, but determining "human capacity to survive" in such missions stays a critical issue that scientists and experts are trying to deal with within the available conditions.
For this purpose, Roscosmos had to create a station that resembles to the planned lunar manned colony, with harsh conditions that mimic the mental factors lived by astronomers during their work on the station. The experiments are ongoing to test the limits of human endurance in those circumstances.
The Russian space agency has selected the Antarctica-based station "Vostok" for the experiment. The team will study the human capacity to endure working in a completely isolated area for a long period, amid very hard conditions, and without any assistance from Earth.
In the prototype station, the astronauts will be trained on surviving in "little motion" conditions and staying long in a closed area inside the station, as astronomers will rarely be able to leave the lunar station; and in case they left, they will find themselves in an open space with no connection with Earth.
Scientists say that these experiments will determine the human endurance and will help them select qualified people to partake in this mission and become the "first settlers" on the Moon.
