The European Space Agency is seeking six men and six women to embark on the 17-month virtual journey, for a 520-day simulated mission to Mars.The crew's only contact with the outside world will be a radio link to 'Earth' with a realistic 40 minute delay.The volunteers will even eat the same food that astronauts get aboard the International Space Station.The aim of the experiment is to gain an insight into how humans behave in conditions similar to those on a journey to Mars.

NASA's Messenger probe made its second pass by Venus on Tuesday afternoon, the maneuver will help guide the spacecraft on its circuitous journey to Mercury and give scientists a close-up look at Earth's cloud-shrouded neighbor.The fly-by gave researchers the rare opportunity to pair with a European spacecraft studying Venus."This is the first time that we are able to take observations from two different vantage points."Messenger is the seventh in NASA's Discovery program of lower-cost, scientifically focused space missions.If successful, Messenger, launched in August 2004, would be