A Chinese participant has performed well in the Mars-500 project, a simulated space flight to Mars, the project's chief said Friday here.
Boris Morukov, who is also deputy director of the Medical and Biological Studies Institute of the Russian Academy of Science, told Xinhua on the 233rd day of the experiment that the Chinese participant, Wang Yue, has displayed a strong sense of teamwork and perseverance while conducting his research.
"All participants of the experiment work as a single team. Wang Yue adapted himself completely to this work and became an integral part of the crew," Morukov said.
"We had some concerns over him, but he proved to be a man with a strong will, who does everything until he succeeds. Besides, Wang has been under permanent observation of the Russian and Chinese representatives, who provide him with information about his family and relatives," he said.
"No language barrier exists among the crew members. They converse in English or Russian, and Wang Yue started to teach his colleagues Chinese," Morukov noted, adding that Wang will be handling preparations for the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations in February.
The Chinese astronaut is expected to leave the space pod for a mock walk on "Mars" in the middle of the experiment.
Mars-500 was launched in Moscow on June 3, 2010. A six-member international team, which consists of three Russians, a French, an Italian and a Chinese, has taken part in the 520-day trip that simulates a 250-day trip, a 30-day stay on the "surface" of Mars and a 240-day return flight.
On February 18,Wang Yue and two of his fellow-travellers will spend two hours "on Mars," taking micro-biological and chemical samples of "soil" for delivery to Earth. The crew will "leave Mars" on February 23.
The complex imitating spaceship premises and Martian surface has been built in the Medical and Biological Studies Institute locations. It consists of landing pod, a lab, living cabins, greenhouse and a storage.