No. 113/2021

31 HUMBOLDT KOSMOS 113/2021 This mission also taught Verseux more about mental hygiene: “When you’re so isolated, it really is important to plan well – including time for relaxation so that you get enough of it. During these phases, I read, worked on my book about the experiment and learned a new instru- ment – the ukulele.” Will he ever be able to use his experience for the real thing? If NASA does manage to set off for Mars as planned, Verseux will be in his late forties – an ideal age for astro- nauts. And there will certainly be an astrobiologist on board. Would he join the mission? “Like a shot!” answers Verseux without hesitation. Does he have no fear? After all, the journey would last two and a half years: six months out, 18 months on a planet that, despite all our research, we know very little about, and six months back, six months back. Respect, yes, fear, no, he says. Journeys of discovery had always been risky, but they had been crucial in taking humanity forward. “It’s a risk worth taking.” One of the questions addressed by the simulation was how a crew would manage without additional supplies. “Every test tube is a valuable treasure because you can’t replace it if it breaks,” says Verseux. Above all, however, HI-SEAS was designed to test the psychological dynamics in such an isolated group. How can you live in harmony and stop con- flicts from escalating? Consequently, psychological state and compatibility were just as important in selecting the crew as their specialist qualifications. AT THE BEGINNING HE WAS A BIT THE “ABSENT-MINDED PROFESSOR” And what about Verseux? “He’s a really nice guy, you can get on with him on a long-term basis,” says Christi- ane Heinicke who develops living and working modules for Mars missions at ZARM. She took part in HI-SEAS together with Verseux. What she found particularly spe- cial about him were his focus and organisational skills. “At the beginning he was a bit ‘the absent-minded profes- sor’: when he got his teeth into a problem, he didn’t budge until he had solved it.” As time went by, he himself realised that a daily routine, sufficient sleep and time for relaxa- tion were important if you wanted to go on being produc- tive, Verseux explains. “And he sticks to that,” says his col- league Heinicke. In 2018, Cyprien Verseux had another opportunity to practise being productive under extreme conditions: He spent a year at the French-Italian Concordia Research Sta- tion in the middle of the Antarctic, which space agencies also use for their research. The life challenges at the station are similar to those during a long-term mission in space. “For several hundred kilometres round about Concordia you will not encounter a single person, not a single plant,” Verseux says. “In the winter, when it’s dark for months on end, the temperature outside drops to below minus 80 degrees Celsius with an icy wind. For weeks, you are holed up with a dozen people at extremely close quarters. You really do feel as though you are on another planet.” Photos: ZARM/University of Bremen LIKE A GREENHOUSE ON EARTH Bacteria growing in the bioreactor under similar conditions to those on Mars EVERY TEST TUBE IS A VALUABLE TREASURE BECAUSE YOU CAN’T REPLACE IT IF IT BREAKS.” „