A private company plans to send a married couple on a mission to mars. Do you think a relationship can survive a trip like that?
Dennis Tito, the NASA engineer-turned-mulitmillionare and the world’s first “space tourist” announced plans Wednesday to send a “middle-aged couple” on a mission to Mars. According to the Associated Press, the privately funded nonprofit project called Inspiration Mars, will send the couple on a “privately built spaceship to slingshot around the red planet and come back home, hopefully with their bodies and marriage in one piece after 501 days of no-escape togetherness in a cramped capsule half the size of an RV.” Chief technical officer Taber MacCallum said, “This is not going to be an easy mission. We called it the Lewis and Clark trip to Mars.”
Not an easy mission would seem to be an understatement when you take into consideration such circumstances as, “no showers, limits on toilet paper and clothing, drinking water made from the crew members’ recycled urine and sweat, and almost no privacy,” for almost 16-months. However, the mission does come with some pretty awesome perks. Such as, “Never-before-seen views of Mars. And … ample time for zero-gravity sex in space, something NASA doesn’t like to talk about.” Even so, most couples dread spending hours together stuck in a car, so 16 months alone in a tiny space capsule?
What do you think?
Could you spend 16 months alone with your partner in a space half the size of an RV?
How do you deal with long periods alone with your partner, and how do you handle challenges that may arise?
Do you enjoy spending a significant amount of alone time with your partner, or is it something that you think should be avoided at all costs?
Photo: AP/Inspiration Mars
I’d much rather go alone. Better plan: design a duplex module, with two separate living compartments and a gateway or meeting-ground between them.
Aside from flying / maintainng the craft, I think you’d have to have some underlying project underway too: like writing a book or something. I
I think this is a good recipe for how to go insane and kill yourself and/or your partner. I can’t imagine being cooped up in such a tiny space (no pun intended) for that long with anyone, even if it is my beloved. He would very, very quickly become my un-beloved. In fact, just thinking about this is making me nauseous.
I’m skeptical of my ability to spend 16 months alone with anyone, in any amount of space. I went on a cross-country road trip with my best friend of 13 years and after 18 days we definitely needed some time apart.
“ample time for zero-gravity sex in space, something NASA doesn’t like to talk about.” Even so, most couples dread spending hours together stuck in a car, so 16 months alone in a tiny space capsule?” The are not going to do the trip in a tiny capsule, but there would be one or two inflatable habitable modules attached. Practically, they will have almost or even more space than there is in the ISS (see Bigalow inflatable modules). If 6 astronauts/cosmonauts can live for 6-12 month on the ISS, I cant see why 2 people cant live comfortable in the spaceship… Read more »
I’m curious to know where you got your information, because everything I have read so far indicates they will have significantly less space than a regular cross country RV has. And I have not seen anything that says anything about “inflatable habitable modules attached.” Just curious…