Michel Siffre | |
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 Siffre in 2009 | |
| Born | (1939-01-03)3 January 1939 |
| Died | 25 August 2024(2024-08-25) (aged 85) Nice, France |
| Occupation(s) | Scientist, Geologist |
Michel Augustin Francis Siffre (3 January 1939 – 25 August 2024) was a French underground explorer, adventurer and scientist.
Siffre was born inNice, where he spent his childhood.[1] He received a postgraduate degree at theSorbonne six months after completing hisbaccalauréat. He founded the French Institute ofSpeleology (Institut français de spéléologie) in 1962[2] (not to be confused with theFrench Federation of Speleology).
Inspired by thespace race, he explored how humans experience time by spending two months cloistered 130 meters below the surface[3] in the abyss of Scarasson (Punta Marguareis) without time cues on aglacier, from July 1962.[4] He then organized several similar underground experiments for other speleologists. In 1972, Siffre went back underground for a six-month stay in aMidnight Cave inTexas.[5] He found that without time cues, several people including himself adjusted to a 48-hour rather than a 24-hour cycle.[6] The notes of his experiments were used by NASA.[citation needed] Several astronauts[who?] reported experiences similar to those experienced in underground experiments such as loss ofshort-term memory to being isolated from external time references.[citation needed] His final excursion in a cave ran from November 1999 to February 2000; he celebrated the New Year there, but missed the actual date by four days.[1]
Siffre died from pneumonia in Nice on 25 August 2024, at the age of 85.[1][7]
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