White Mars: a Year away from all Forms of Life

Earth is home to about eight billion humans, each of whom interacts daily with a myriad of other living beings. Bacteria, viruses, dogs and cats, insects, birds, trees, and flowers all play a part in our lives, accompanying us on this fleeting and mysterious journey marked by the cycle of day and night. Yet, although it may seem incredible, some humans don’t even have an ant, a bush, or a bacterium for company, and for several months, not even the Sun. They are far from any form of life, even more isolated than astronauts aboard the International Space Station, and are unreachable by the rest of the world without the possibility of rescue. They endure the chill of -80 °C and in solitude enjoy the silent company of the stars. They live in a truly unique environment, where no planes pass by, no leaves fly in the wind, and there are no scents or colors. In this unusual place, where I lived for over a year with 12 adventure companions, we conducted scientific experiments and at the same time were subjects of experiments ourselves, as the European Space Agency conducted human biology studies on us to understand how the body adapts to an extraterrestrial environment, in anticipation of a future mission to Mars.