Engineer from Ukraine Sergiy Yakymov has headed the Mars Research Station in the San Rafael Desert, Utah. This is what UNN reports with reference to the Voice of America.
At the Mars Desert Research Station has been conducting geological and social research for about 20 years, simulating the possible life of astronauts on the surface of the Red Planet.
"We host various groups from all over the world who are conducting experiments or testing equipment. And this Martian station is classified as a geological analog because because the geology of the surrounding desert is as close to the geology of Mars as it possible," Serhiy Yakymov, a Ukrainian engineer who recently became the head of the of the station.
The rotation of research teams lasts from two weeks. They live in special modules. They eat vegetables and fruits from the from a "Martian" greenhouse. They go outside only in spacesuits.
Yergii 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 results of research conducted by a team from Europe found that the best crew to go to Mars should consist entirely of women," says Yakimov.
Serhiy Yakymov says that he himself 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 famous in the Ukrainian media in the Ukrainian media when he was selected as one of the hundred candidates for the upcoming for a future flight to the Red Planet. This mission was organized by the Dutch company Mars One, a company from the Netherlands. Eventually, it went bankrupt. But Serhii did not give up his dream.
The Martian Desert Research Station was created by a public organization, the Martian Society, which is funded by various donors. Among them. billionaires Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk.
"So far, only Elon Musk is interested in it from a commercial point of view (the flight to Mars - ed.), but he is only making a vehicle to bring people from Earth to Mars. We need to find someone who will build the infrastructure there so that people can live there and to live there and train people," Yakimov says.
A flight to Mars is still a distant prospect, says the Ukrainian engineer. But he is sure that the research that conducted on the Martian station can still be useful on Earth.
"For example, research on growing food, some plants, which can be made efficient and cheap. Food could become more accessible to many regions on Earth that are currently suffering from lack of resources," says Yakimov.
The next step in his career Sergey sees working for NASA at the Space Center in Houston, Texas, which which, in particular, trains astronauts, but for this, he must first to become a U.S. citizen.