Cool article. It also shows the abundance of problems potentially awaiting Mars settlers.<p>The whole thing sort of re-inforces by stereotype about Russians and Russian equipment. Though guys who build sturdy, robust and uncomfortable stuff with lots of small glitches. Russians seem very good at making practical, simple and cheap stuff that lasts a long time.<p>Americans always seem very good at making stuff comfy and sophisticated but American solutions often seem overly complicated and expensive. I like to think SpaceX took a lot of inspiration from the Russian way of doing things and combining it with American Silicon Valley spirit.