Episode 75: Learning the Risks of Long-Duration Human Space Flight

How does NASA help prepare for astronauts to remain in isolation and confinement for long-duration space flight to Mars?  Enter SIRIUS-21 – an 8 month analogue mission that will conduct physiological and psychological experiments with an international crew from the US, Russia and the United Arab Emirates.  The Scientific International Research in Unique Terrestrial Station (SIRIUS) project will use virtual reality in an environment of sensory deprivation and limited resources; the team will live just like astronauts while performing a number of behavioral and performance experiments.