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A mock spaceship locked six Russian women in an experiment for testing female crew's ability to see if they can successfully make a trip to the moon and back. The female volunteers were locked inside the space simulator for 8 days. They were made to live in a wood-paneled suite at Moscow's Institute of of Biomedical Problems, renowned for their experiments in space travel effects on mind and body. In 2010, the institute locked six male participants in isolation for 520 days to simulate a flight to Mars and back. The experiment's supervisor Sergei Ponomaryov said 'It's interesting for us to see what is special about the way a female crew communicates,' reported Daily Mail. Institute's director, Igor Ushakov said, 'It will be particularly interesting in terms of psychology'. He added, 'I'd like to wish you a lack of conflicts, even though they say that in one kitchen, two housewives find it hard to live together'.

The volunteers of this experiment also include a scientific, a psychologist and a doctor. The test experiment is to simulate a flight to moon and back where the women will be asked to carry out 10 experiments with regards to human psychology and biology. Russia is the first country to send a woman into space in 1963, Valentina Tereshkova. However, it has failed to keep up with the thing it started. Until last year, Russia only sent its fourth female, Yelena Serova, into the space. Serova on her return was upset about the media interest in how she managed her hair in the International Space station, saying that the men were never questioned in the same way as women, as per Daily Mail.  

According to Ponomaryov, the latest experiment is meant to get back on its game and prepare an all-female crew for the international space station. He added, 'We consider the future of space belongs equally to men and women and unfortunately we need to catch up a bit after a period when unfortunately, there haven't been too many women in space.', reports Daily Mail.