ABSTRACT
Characteristics of space analogue environments with regard to human performance concern the crew adaptation in a socio-psychological context and in a temporal dynamics. Isolation, confinement and time are major features on Earth to reproduce an extra-terrestrial environment for manned mission simulations. During the two decades (1991–2011), space simulators and analogue settings were adequately developed on Earth with the ultimate goal of walking on Mars. Over an 8-month duration, Concordia South Pole station hosted winterers in high isolation and confinement conditions approaching those found in very long-term interplanetary flights. Over a 520-day duration, Mars-500 experiment was the longest designed analogue Mars mission of the world. Over a 730-day duration, Biosphere 2 was a concept similar to the housing structure on extra-terrestrial environment.
