Ships often live on as floating restaurants or attractions after their working lives are over.
This was the case for the 11,800-gt Japanese icebreaker Shirase (built 1983), but now the vessel is set for a unique second retirement.
The Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported that the ship — decommissioned in 2008 — is to be used to simulate conditions in space to help with research into the effects on astronauts of a gruelling trip to Mars.
