Mars500 Crew 'Lands' on Mars, Begins Spacewalking the Martian Surface. If you consider a meticulously curated sandpit in a Moscow suburb a destination, then the Mars500 team has finally arrived. After more than 250 days confined to a wood-paneled simulated space capsule, the international crew put down its landing craft on the "Martian" surface over the weekend and, donning Russian Orlan spacesuits, executed its first walk on the red planet today. "Today, looking at this red landscape, I can feel how inspiring it will be to look through the eyes of the first human to step foot on Mars," Italian Diego Urbina said as he began his spacewalk along with Russian Alexandr Smoleevskiy. "I salute all the explorers of tomorrow and wish them godspeed.
" A third crew member, China's Wang Yue, remained in the landing craft that he, Urbina, and Smoleevskiy began piloting to the Martian surface on February 8. Three more of their shipmates remain aboard the orbiting mothership, which is actually just downstairs from the lander. Pits, Flows, Other Scenes in New Set of Mars Images. Mars Exploration Rover Mission: Multimedia. Mars Exploration Rover Mission: Home. Map of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) Context Camera (CTX) Images.