Recently, Ukrainian engineer Sergiy Yakimov became the head of the Mars Research Station in the San Rafael Desert in the US state of Utah. This was reported by The Voice of America.
It conducts geological and social research, simulating the possible life of astronauts on the surface of the Red Planet.
“We host various groups from all over the world who conduct experiments or test equipment. And this Martian station is classified as a geological analog, because the geology of the surrounding desert is as close to the geology of Mars as possible,” says Yakimov.
Simulation of an expedition to Mars
The rotation of research groups lasts for two weeks. People live in special modules. They eat vegetables and fruits from a “Martian” greenhouse. They go outside only in spacesuits.
Serhiy has also participated in several such expeditions. He says that the hardest thing to cope with in isolation is boredom. Over the past 20 years, many studies have been conducted on human interaction in such conditions.
“The most recent research findings by a group from Europe have established that the best crew to go to Mars should consist entirely of women,” says Yakimov.
Such studies, which have been conducted since the middle of the last century, usually indicate that women, compared to men, consume fewer resources-air, water, food-than men, which are scarce in space.
How to become an astronaut
Sergiy Yakymov says that he dreams of becoming an astronaut and going to Mars. He graduated from the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute with a degree in aircraft control systems.
Eight years ago, he became known in the Ukrainian media when he was selected among the hundred applicants for a future flight to the Red Planet. This mission was organized by Mars One, a company from the Netherlands. Eventually, it went bankrupt. But Serhii did not give up his dream.
“I have been pursuing this dream all my life. But you have to take some steps. You can’t just sit on the couch and say I want to become an astronaut. Living in America for several years, I worked as an engineer in a small company, but I still couldn’t work there in the field of human spaceflight. And here was such an opportunity to join this work at the station,” says Yakimov.
When is the flight to Mars?
The Martian Desert Research Station was created by a non-governmental organization, the Martian Society, which is funded by various donors. Among them are billionaires Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk.
“So far, only Elon Musk is interested in this from a commercial point of view, but he is only making a vehicle to transfer people from Earth to Mars. We still need to find someone who will build the infrastructure there so that people can live there and train people,” says Yakimov.
A flight to Mars is still a distant prospect. However, the Ukrainian engineer is confident that the research conducted at the Martian station will be useful on Earth.
“For example, research on growing food, some plants, which can be made efficient and cheap. Food can become more accessible to many regions on Earth that are currently suffering from a lack of resources,” Yakimov said.
The next step in his career is to work for NASA at the Space Center in Houston, Texas, which, among other things, trains astronauts, but he must first obtain US citizenship.
