"When you go to Mars, all bets are off, " said Dr. Nick Kanas, a professor at the University of California, San Francisco, who has studied astronaut psychology.

CNN: Mars on the brain? Red Planet pioneers to face cosmic mind trip

Kanas has even coined a term for the situation: the "Earth out of view" phenomenon.

CNN: Mars on the brain? Red Planet pioneers to face cosmic mind trip

One particularly important task, Kanas explained, will be picking a team of astronauts who can both work and get along with each other on a trip lasting at least two years, spent mostly within the confines of a not-so-big spacecraft sailing through the dark.

CNN: Mars on the brain? Red Planet pioneers to face cosmic mind trip

"You can't just take a walk and get away from somebody, " Kanas said.

CNN: Mars on the brain? Red Planet pioneers to face cosmic mind trip

Nor will astronauts really be able to talk to anyone, either -- at least not on Earth -- mainly because of a 44-minute communication delay between the Blue and Red planets, "which means you can't have a nice chat with your kids, " said Kanas.

CNN: Mars on the brain? Red Planet pioneers to face cosmic mind trip

The Orioles' had not hit into a triple play since April 3, 1996, against Kanas City.

WSJ: Yankees turn triple play in win over Orioles

With two other fellow students, she attended, during three consecutive years, the Andean ritual battles of Chiaraje (Kanas) and Tocto (Chumbivilcas), stony battles which end by the death of a participant and that are celebrated to reinforce the fecundity of the Earth.

UNESCO: The Spirit of the Andes