Reid Stowe and his girlfriend Soanya Ahmad are on day 143 of a planned 1,000 day voyage in the South Atlantic on a 70-foot schooner.

Stowe calls his project the Mars Ocean Odyssey, because he thinks the journey will provide valuable lessons for a manned flight to Mars, when astronauts would be confined to a small vessel for two to three years, separated from terra firma and most of humanity.

But

A representative for NASA says she doesn't know anyone at the agency who is following Stowe's mission.

The 55-year-old Stowe is an experienced sailor, having logged several very long trips, including a voyage to Antarctica in 1986. 24-year-old Ahmad never stepped foot on a boat before meeting Stowe four years ago. The world record for the longest continuous sail is currently 657 days. Link to article. Link to website.