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.