Half-year human survival experiment in hermetic module to begin in China -

A 180-day human survival experiment within a hermetic module to test technologies for future planet explorations will be launched in China on Friday.

Four people will realize self-sufficiency of fundamental survival elements including oxygen, water and food in a sealed module during the half-year test of "environmental-control and life-support technologies for manned spacecraft," which will provide data for future exploration of planets including Mars.

"To develop new homes [on other planets], the first problem to be solved is how to survive there, including an environment for living, air for breathing, foods, and then health security. So design of this experiment was aimed at such exploration targets," said Li Yinghui, head of the experiment.

Covering an area of 370 square meters, the hermetic module were divided into eight areas, and different kinds of plants in four areas will provide oxygen, drinking water and food.

An ecological treatment system will transform solid wastes into organic fertilizer for the plants.

"It is important to reach a balance while providing water, oxygen and foods, from amount of produced food to treatment of water, and then to cyclic utilization of wastes," Li said.