Exclusive: Countdown Begins for Simulated Mars Mission; An Iranian Scientist is Part of the Team

NASA has announced that a group of four scientists and astronauts will embark on a simulated journey to Mars starting Friday, January 26. According to Voice of America, Kamak Abadi, an Iranian scientist and astronaut, is one of the four members of this team, which also includes Abhishek Bagat, Susan Hilbig, and Ariana Loutsich. They will enter the ground facilities on January 26 to live and work for 45 days as if they were astronauts on Mars. In an exclusive interview with Voice of America, Kamak Abadi stated, "This journey is very similar to a real trip to Mars. NASA's goal with this experiment is to ensure that by the end of the 2020s, human travel to the Moon and by the end of the 2030s, human travel to Mars can be achieved without any issues." This Iranian researcher and student of the late NASA scientist Dr. Firooz Naderi added, "Since scientists aim to make human travel to the Moon and Mars definitive and to establish a human presence on these two celestial bodies, NASA is working to conduct multiple and precise ground tests to examine fundamental changes in human life, temperament, and physical and mental behaviors during a virtual and simulated journey, reducing the risks of future interplanetary travel to nearly zero." Kamak Abadi, son of Mohammad Abadi, a pioneer in the field of dubbing films and cartoons in Iran, also mentioned the over one billion kilometers distance of the round trip to Mars, saying, "The one-way trip from Earth to Mars takes eight months, so during the 45-day period, while simulating the travel environment, we will be completely cut off from access to the real world and, in addition to virtual walks on the surface of Mars, we will undergo sensitive and precise NASA tests every day from 7 AM to 11 PM so that the results of this mission can be practically applied in real trips to Mars and the Moon." This mission is the first of four simulated Mars missions to be conducted in 2024. Each mission will involve different crews consisting of four research volunteers, and the final mission is scheduled to conclude on December 16 of this year. The Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre of the United Arab Emirates and the European Space Agency are collaborating with NASA on this study.