Inside a Secret Swiss Mountain: Students Train for Moon Missions!

Hidden deep inside a Swiss mountain, a group of students spent part of their summer living like astronauts. They stayed in the Gotthard fortress, a place built during World War Two and carved into the Alps. The tunnels are cold and dark, and the students had to act as if they were on a lunar base. They only left the base at night to test how the lack of sunlight would affect their bodies, just like astronauts might experience on the Moon.

Katie Mulry, a 24-year-old American student, always dreamed of being an astronaut. She is now studying aerospace engineering in France and helps lead Asclepios, a student-run space initiative. Asclepios gives students from around the world a chance to experience what it’s like to apply for astronaut training and go on a space mission. They do extreme environment training, like hiking in the Alps and flying in zero-gravity planes, and learn survival skills. They also hear lectures from real astronauts and learn about space psychology.

For the fifth Asclepios mission, nine students from different countries spent over two weeks isolated in the fortress. Each student had a specific role, such as commander or engineer, and they wore spacesuits whenever they left the base. They ate dehydrated astronaut food and performed science experiments, including one to study how constant darkness affects sleep, mood, and health. The students wore wrist devices to track their sleep and body temperature, and gave samples to measure their melatonin and circadian rhythms. The results will be published and could help astronauts in the future, as well as people on Earth who work night shifts or travel long distances.

The mission also taught the students about the importance of recycling and saving resources, which is crucial in space. They believe that space missions can help us learn how to live in extreme environments on Earth, like deserts or cold places. Technologies developed for space, such as computers and satellites, have already made life better on Earth. The students found the experience challenging but rewarding, and hope that one day they will be able to explore space for real.