Losing internet access was a bigger problem than personality clashes for six “astronauts” confined for eight months on a remote simulated Mars base, a British member of the team has said.

Not a single personal insult was uttered by any member of the crew during the whole of the “mission”, which ended on 17 September, claimed the astrobiologist Sam Payler, 28, a PhD student at the University of Edinburgh.

Being without the internet created more difficulty than social conflict, since it meant problems took days instead of minutes to solve.

The Hi-Seas (Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation) mission was the fifth in a series of similar experiments funded by Nasa. The missions have studied the food that explorers would eat away from Earth, the social interaction of crew members in a claustrophobic environment, and the psychological and biological impact.

Speaking from Hawaii, where the four men and two women had lived in a 1,200 sq ft dome situated on a barren active volcano, Payler told the Press Association: “I was very lucky to have a great crew. No isolated group can be immune to any arguments, but everyone did an amazing job of working through any issues we had.



Crew members, left, sit for a news conference after emerging from their habitat on Sunday. Photograph: Hi-Seas Mission V Crew/AP

“We spent a lot of time talking about how to avoid conflict. Incredibly, not once did anyone use a personal insult.

“The group was very carefully selected to try to get a group that would work well together and get along, and we seem to have achieved that.”

Browsing the internet was impossible because of a 20-minute communication delay intended to mimic the time it takes for radio signals to travel between Earth and Mars. This departure from modern life on Earth proved to be one of the crew’s greatest challenges, said Payler.

“The lack of internet and long delay meant problem solving was often very difficult, with issues that might normally take five minutes to solve taking two to three days,” he said.

“We also couldn’t use social media or speak live to anyone back on Earth, and so communicated only through pre-recorded messages and emails. The crew were the only people we saw and spoke to for eight months.”

Space suits had to be worn on excursions outside the dome. Photograph: University of Hawaii/AP

Reports from the University of Hawaii on the project have been positive – at least those carried on the university’s news service. However, previous research has shown that problems among crew are as likely to arise on the journey to Mars as during the time the explorers spend there.



In one previous simulation of the 17-month round trip, via a windowless pretend spaceship at a Moscow industrial estate, the activity levels of the all-male multinational crew plummeted as time wore on. Scientists judged that only two of the six men adapted to the mission, with the others developing sleep disorders.

Various other studies of the impact of Mars missions are planned around the world. China has unveiled plans to build a 400m yuan (£47m) replica of Mars on a spectacular, sandswept corner of the Tibetan plateau – the latest leg of its multibillion-dollar race for space.

The “simulated Mars station” – a 95,000 sq km tribute to the solar system’s second-smallest planet – will be built in Qinghai province’s Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan autonomous prefecture, not far from the westernmost tip of the Great Wall.



Hawaii’s Hi-Seas missions take place on an 8,200ft high rocky plain below the summit of Mauna Loa, where the crew members lived and worked as if they were on Mars, carrying out maintenance, conducting scientific studies and exercising.

They relied on “shelf-stable” food and were denied all fresh fruit, meat or vegetables. Space suits had to be worn on excursions outside the dome, which were carried out in teams.

“Our days were packed with the types of task work which helped us not go stir crazy,” Payler said. “Keeping focused and busy is key to keeping physiological health up. We also worked out a lot (six times a week for me) to keep spirits high and help us deal with the physical EVA work (going out on the volcano in space suits).

“The habitat never felt small to me, partly because I got on so well with my crewmates. We always found fun things to do such as watch movies together or play board games. Had we not got along so well, I’m sure it would have felt a lot more claustrophobic.”

Payler said he especially missed fresh fruit, juice, ice-cream, steak, fresh seafood and beer. “The morning we ‘landed’ we were brought fresh fruit, doughnuts and a few items a few people had requested from McDonalds (Sausage and Egg McMuffins),” he said.

“Later, the mission support folks barbecued us some steak and prawns which was amazing. We also went to a bar for some local Hawaiian beer and cocktails.”

