Question

fake astronauts go to fake mars, get real sleepy
by elizabeth preston
on january 19, 2017, six fake astronauts, two women and four men, went on a fake
mission to mars. this mission would last eight months. this nasa - supported
expedition is the fifth fake mars mission performed by the university of hawaii. in
these experiments, university researchers studied the fake astronauts to learn more
about a possible visit to mars. researchers considered the social and psychological
aspects of such a mission. they wanted to know how possible it was for six complete
strangers to live and work together in such a cramped space - and still get along. they
also wanted to know how being isolated with a small group of strangers would affect
the fake astronauts emotional and mental health. these experiments arent research
just for the sake of research. nasa has a plan that humans will orbit mars by the
2030s. some people believe that the nasa timeline is too modest and that people will
actually be living on mars as soon as 2027.
the following passage is about a similar experiment performed in russia in 2010 and
2011 - ed.
1
fastened securely into their spacesuits, two men stepped onto the surface of
mars. but this mars looked a lot like a regular room with dirt on the floor.
the mars rocks looked pretty much exactly like earth rocks. the stars in this
martian sky looked like tiny lights stuck onto black - painted walls. which, it
turns out, is exactly what they were. these pseudo - explorers had signed up for a
mock space trip and were still firmly on the ground in moscow, russia.
2
nevertheless, after a supposed journey of more than eight months in cramped
quarters with four other pseudo - astronauts, these two were exhilarated to stretch
their legs. one of them promptly completed his assignment for the day, which
was to fall on his face. the researchers overseeing this mission wanted to learn
how tricky it might be for a real astronaut in a bulky spacesuit to get off the
which idea is most clearly supported by the information in paragraph 3?
○ feeling alone is a part of space travel that no astronaut enjoys.
○ maintaining contact with family is important for astronauts.
○ people do not have to be sound asleep in order to be resting.
○ light and darkness affect how the human body functions.

Explanation:

Paragraph 3 mentions "wanted to know how being isolated with a small group of strangers would affect their emotional and mental health", which directly relates to the idea of feeling alone (isolation) being a part of space travel (the fake Mars mission described is a form of simulated space - travel - like situation). The other options:

• There is no mention of light and darkness affecting human body functions in the paragraph.
• There is no indication that people need to be sound asleep to rest (the focus is on group dynamics and isolation, not sleep requirements).
• Maintaining contact with family is not discussed in the paragraph.

Answer:

Feeling alone is a part of space travel that no astronaut enjoys.