Some time ago, a couple years at least, I came across an article about a group of astronauts spending over 500 days in a locked module to simulate the effects of a journey to Mars. IIRC, at the time anyone could submit an application to undergo the simulation, and that's what made the article really interesting...well, to me anyway. I didn't apply, but still it meant that, besides space stations, we're one step closer to living beyond the Earth. Cool stuff.
Anyway, it appears they are now going forward with the simulation. Six men get ready for 520-day simulated Mars trip.