Mars-500

NASA is lining up humans to eat space food on Hawaii in a mission-to-Mars simulation.

With 2012 just 10 days away, RT begins its own countdown with ten special reports on events that have shaped 2011. We are looking back at major stories through the eyes of RT correspondents who witnessed them.

Members of the Mars 500 experiment who spent 17 months shut away from the world are enjoying their first few days “back on Earth”. Romain Charles told RT what it was like to spend a year and a half in a confined space, simulating space flight.

The crew of the international “mission” to Mars has finally “returned” to Earth in Moscow, bringing one of the world's most grueling scientific experiments to a close.

On October 31, Earth’s 7-billionth inhabitant was born. The population is due to hit 10 billion in just a few decades, bringing thoughts of colonizing a new planet. But which one? Mercury is too hot; Pluto is too cold. Mars? That’ll do nicely.

One of the most epic human experiments ever undertaken is coming to an end. After spending nearly 18 consecutive months in a pod in Moscow mimicking a spacecraft traveling to Mars, a six-strong international crew has now “returned to Earth’s orbit.”