Six cosmonauts have broken the record for the longest mission ever enclosed in a metal spacecraft – despite their vessel never leaving Moscow.
The Mars500 crew have so far endured 438 days of isolation as part of a simulated mission to Mars.
They have survived on a diet of cereal bars and pasta and have had little contact with friends and family back home.
Throughout the 14 months since “takeoff” the steel vessel remained grounded at Moscow’s Institute of Biomedical Problems.
The craft though simulates the conditions of a real-life mission to the red planet so that scientists can explore the psychological and physical impact of long-distance space flight.