Cosmonauts to stay awake for 38 hours during flight simulation

The isolation experiment Sirius (International Scientific Research in Unique terrestrial Station) starts in Moscow on Nov. 7. Six crewmembers on board the spaceship, which simulates a flight to the Moon, will be in complete isolation for 17 days.

The main crew consists of three men and three women. One of the fundamental tasks of the Sirius experiment is to see how gender parity will affect the relationships and interactions in the group, TASS reports. 

Researchers will also look at whether the crew can independently develop a plan of action without communication back home, and will examine the efficiency of use of the spacecraft and equipment’s facilities. In addition, the crewmembers will work under the NASA program with a robotic arm, which they will use to "grab satellites."

The experiment includes an abnormal situation involving sleep deprivation: the crew will have to stay awake and work continuously for 38 hours, reacting to the difficulties and dangers associated with docking and undocking. Experts will study not only the reactions of the subjects, but also the state of their body.

The experiment will take place in the Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences. It opens a series of joint Russian-American experiments on isolation, which will last until 2021.

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