A crew of six researchers have completed a simulated mission to Mars and emerged on planet Earth, in Moscow. The crew appeared in public for a press conference today as scheduled, to share their experiences of 520 days in isolation.

Mars 500 project was an international multi-part isolation experiment simulating a manned flight to Mars. The crew was made up of three Russians, two Europeans and Chinese national Wang. During the trip, crew members communicated with their families and with the project coordinators via the Internet. The crew even conducted three mock walks on "Mars," venturing from their cramped quarters in heavy space suits on a simulated Red Planet. A real flight to Mars is still decades away due to the huge costs and massive technological challenges. But the US NASA is setting its sights on a nearby asteroid for around 2025 and then on to Mars in the 2030s.