A group of 6 volunteers just finished a simulated 105-day mission to Mars. Completely stuck on the ground, the subjects were essentially locked in a room so that researchers could gauge the psychological impact of isolation.

The study is the brainchild of a European Space Agency and Russian Institute for Biomedical Problems partnership. The subjects weren't astronauts but volunteers from various parts of the globe with backgrounds in the military and aviation.

But the worst part of the experience? It wasn't language barriers or bad food. It was the "monotony," according to one crew member.

While researchers plan a longer, 520-day simulated trip to Mars (in reality, the roundtrip would still take twice as long), 6 volunteers get to explain to friends and family the thrill of almost not going into space.

I say we just make the whole thing a reality show, drop some sharks in the tank and get the international space program some Fox sponsorship.

Send an email to Mark Wilson, the author of this post, at mark@gizmodo.com.