THERE are six people who may have no idea about the Ukrainian war thanks to a bizarre experiment.
Crew members of SIRIUS 21, an eight-month NASA experiment, are currently living in a capsule in Moscow as part of a space mission simulation.
Americans William Brown, 36 and Ashley Kowalski, 32, Russians Oleg Blinov, Victoria Kirichenko and Ekaterina Kariakina alongside Emirati Saleh Al Ameri, went into the capsule back in November and are expected to emerge in July.
Their only communication with the world is through letters that are uploaded to a secure server, Daily Mail reports.
The last time Brown's friends heard from him was before Putin's invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
His friend, photographer Nathan Crane told the outlet: "I was in contact with him last week about it and he is aware of it likely happening though I am unsure about how extensive his knowledge of it is at this point.
"I haven't heard back from him since the last letter which makes me wonder if the Russian side is holding letters from them so they don't find out more about the atrocities happening in Ukraine.
"That's my personal opinion but I have no idea."
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Nathan added that NASA tries to stay apolitical however stated he hopes the programme will be suspended.
"I know NASA and the program try to stay apolitical but I think (and hope) the program will be suspended. I don't know what is going to happen," he said.
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According to his LinkedIn profile, Brown has experience in "military, defense contracting, healthcare consulting, software engineering, and logistics" while Kowalski previously worked at the Aerospace Corporation.
Social media posts show the crew celebrated holidays such as Thanksgiving and had specially prepared meals.
It comes as the US has joined the EU and Canada by banning Russian planes from its airspace.
Biden branded Russian oligarchs “corrupt leaders who have bilked billions of dollars off this violent regime” as he revealed the Justice Department is launching an investigative task force.
He vowed: “We are coming for your ill-begotten gains.”
And on Sunday the State Department urged all Americans in Russia to leave the country.
The crew is inside the capsule in the "confined facility in a Soviet-era building on the outskirts of Moscow," according to Foreign Policy.
The experiment's goal is to mimic as much as possible the conditions of long space travels.
The group will undergo daily tests to test how they react to mental and physical challenges.
And they are probably unaware the Russian President launched an invasion of Ukraine exactly a week ago.
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