Moon mission in the Gotthard: how students train in a bunker

The Asclepios project simulates a lunar mission in Switzerland’s Gotthard mountains, with six students spending two weeks in a bunker. A team at the Mission Control Centre monitors the action, including Swiss medical student Anna Zimmermann. The rocky landscape of the Gotthard Pass is reminiscent of the surface of the moon. A narrow, dark tunnel leads to a bunker in the Gotthard mountains. After a ten-minute walk through the cold, damp corridors, the students reach the bunker, where they simulate life on the moon for a fortnight. This type of exercise is known as an analogue moon mission. Six students were selected to spend the time in the bunker. At the same time, other students are working in the Mission Control Centre. All those involved are international students, most of whom have the goal of becoming astronauts one day. Following a demanding selection process, the students spent a year preparing for this mission. During this time, they got to know each other, grew together as ...