Antarctica’s 4-month night begins; here’s how astronauts survive sunless months

Astronauts, who are likely to go on space missions, prepare for months in advance. However, a region on Earth which offers a perfect training ground in Antarctica is said to be a piece from “another planet”.

It is reported that spending time on icy cold planets trains these astronauts for several months of isolation, confinement and prepares them to face extreme environments.

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It is also said that the training generally takes place during the winter months in Antarctica, since the continent is without sunlight for four months of the year. The period began with the Sunset on May 13.

The European Space Agency (ESA), which runs Concordia, the remotest base on Earth, said this marks the beginning of a very exciting time for the 12-member crew.

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The ESA said that the team will live and work in isolation for six months in the name of spaceflight research. They will conduct biomedical experiments on themselves to understand how humans cope with living in extreme isolation.

“From sleep studies to gut health measurements to mindful practices, the crew are poked and prodded to help researchers understand and overcome the challenges extreme environments, like space, pose to present and future explorers,” the ESA said on its website.

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The ESA also said that the last aeroplane with supplies visited the Concordia station in February. This comes ahead of the research that will last nine months. Four of these will be in the total darkness of Antarctic winter.

The Concordia station is located just a few kilometres from the South Pole of the Earth. The ESA said that temperatures can drop to minus 80 degrees Celsius in the complete frozen darkness outside.