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Journey into the void

By Clark Nida

The Chilean miners cannot be released in a hurry.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11120267

A new shaft must be sunk to get through to them. They have been locked up underground and may not be brought to the surface until Christmas.

Earlier this year a comparable experiment began in Moscow: six volunteers were locked up in a simulated spaceship as part of an experiment to study the effects on cosmonauts of a proposed journey to Mars.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_8710000/newsid_8719300/8719339.stm

Who dare we predict will emerge in better shape?

Who will be the best people to choose as the crew of a future Mars mission? The pampered sons of affluent societies, knowing full well what they were letting themselves in for, full of a sense of their own worth and the historical symbolism of their venture? Or the lost and downtrodden miners who, on entering the pit cage, expected no more than their agreed pay at the end of the week, plus the relief of being allowed to return to the earth’s surface at the end of their shift?