Global approach to simulation:  a gateway to long-term human presence in space.
The establishment of an autonomous European manned space capability is an objective set up by the ESA Council Meeting at the ministerial level, in 1985/1987.  ESA's Long-Term Programme Office (LTPO), charged of the preparation of the programme for a European Manned Space Infrastructure (EMSI), started during 1988 to build up an intellectual framework in the domain of long-duration manned space missions.  EMSI scope was eventually extended to embrace Moon/Mars missions and bases.  Several exploratory studies on problems related to human factors in long-duration space missions were initiated by LTPO.  The work of an ad-hoc group of experts (SIMIS Group) has been focused during 1989/1990 on the planning for simulation of such missions with a broad mandate, covering the physiological, psychological and operational aspects of long-duration exposure to microgravity and isolation/confinement.  Preliminary results of SIMIS activities are reported.  The HYDREMSI experiment, carried out in a terrestrial, analogous environment for 72 days during 1989, is described as an example of the envisaged simulations.
Collet
J
J
LTPO, D/SSM, ESA HQ, Paris, France.
Novara
M
M
D018480:Astronauts / Q000523:psychology; D001273:Atmosphere Exposure Chambers; D004779:Environment Design; D004867:Equipment Design; D006804:Ergonomics; D005060:Europe; D018478:Extravehicular Activity; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D007390:International Agencies; D007391:International Cooperation; D018535:Mars; D016081:Moon; D012934:Social Isolation; D013026:Space Flight / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000639:trends*; D018561:Space Simulation; D018531:Spacecraft / Q000295:instrumentation; D014893:Weightlessness; D018474:Weightlessness Simulation