Extreme+Experimentation

Taking experimentation to new heights, the Mars500 project is performing tests of the psychological and physical toll that long-distance space travel would take on a crew that would have to endure more than a year in the confines of a spacecraft during a round-trip manned mission to Mars. Three cosmonauts have endured more than 250 days confined in their space capsule - somewhere in suburban Moscow - and performed their first walk on the red planet (described by Popular Science magazine as a "meticulously curated sandpit"). Later, they returned to their spacecraft for another 250+ days of isolation in their trip back to Earth (and apparently hence the title of the project). They will return sometime in **November** of this year.

Yuri! There are Martians at the door! You can read the full story online from this link.