The Chinese volunteer, member of the Mars-500 experiment, is back home in Beijing. He returns from 18 months of confinement in Moscow. There, Wang Yue took part in an experiment to test astronauts' resilience to long periods of isolation, similar to what they would experience on a trip to the Red Planet.

The Chinese volunteer, member of the Mars-500 experiment, is back home in Beijing.

Sheer joy and happiness -Wang Yue is now home. But he has ost weight and that's not going to please his mother.

Wang Yue, Mars-500 volunteer, said, "It was challenging indeed. Mental and physical difficulties cropped up. My stomach was not happy with the food and I had to endure mood swings. Also, we had to deal with the emergency exercises arranged by the technicians outside. It was difficult, but we made it."

Life inside the module was tough. Space was limited, with each of the six volunteers given only small sleeping quarters.

Wang Yue, Mars-500 volunteer, said, "Here's my room. That's Yang Liwei, China's first astronaut in space. Inside the closet are a few of my private belongings. I practice calligraphy to kill time. Here's the operating room. We keep a close look on the overall situation of the spacecraft."

The conditions of the experiment were almost identical to those in outer-space with communications taking up to twenty-five minutes to transmit. But it didn't stop the crew from sending frequent messages to those waiting at home.

Mars-500 is one and a half million US dollar international program to simulate a manned flight to Mars. The experiment took place in Moscow and the six crew members from Russia, France, Italy and China conducted over a hundred various experiments. Half way through their mission, they even got the chance to simulate a Mars walk.

But it wasn't always easy. They faced isolation, physical stress, and also had to learn to live with their crew mates from different cultural backgrounds. The module hatch opened on the 4 of November, breaking a world record for human isolation and bringing the hope of a manned mission to Mars one step closer.

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