As we’re slowly developing the necessary technology to transport humans to Mars, more and more people around our home planet are starting to prepare for a life on the Red Planet.
A team of six Israeli researchers on Sunday ended a Mars habitat experiment in Israel’s Negev desert where they simulated living conditions on the Red Planet, Israel’s Science and Technology Ministry said.
The experiment was held near the isolated Israeli township of Mitzpe Ramon, Negev desert whose surroundings resemble the Martian environment in its geology, aridity, appearance, and desolation, the ministry said.
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An entire habitat was set up in the desert, and the “astronauts” weren’t allowed to leave unless they had a full spacesuit on.
The entire simulation lasted about four days and was called the “D-Mars” mission (apparently short for “Desert Mars”).
The participants were investigating various fields relevant to a future Mars mission, including satellite communications, the psychological effects of isolation, radiation measurements and searching for life signs in the soil.
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Participant Guy Ron, a nuclear physics professor from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, said the project was not only intended to look for new approaches in designing a future mission to the Red Planet but to increase public interest.
“D-Mars is half about the research, and the other half is about the outreach. A major part of this project is getting public interest and getting students interested in space,” he said.
The “D-Mars” project was being held in Israel for the first time in cooperation with the Israel Space Agency. It is one of a number of Mars simulation projects taking place worldwide.
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The team, in conjunction with the Israel Space Agency, has been documenting the whole mission as part of an outreach program, in the hopes that kids will see this and get excited about space travel in advance of the first Mars missions (which shouldn’t be too far in the future now).
This isn’t the first time a mock Martian colony has been planned on an Earth desert to help us prepare. UAE is setting up a more permanent colony sometime in the near future, with the hopes of building an entire city that would reflect Mars’ conditions.
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And with more plans for Martian habitats being set up by 3D printing teams working with NASA, as well as IKEA, we’ll probably have a number of Mars-away-from-Mars colonies set up on Earth before too long.
Ideally, we’ll actually be landing astronauts on Mars not soon after, but there’s nothing wrong with preparing to avoid any The Martian scenarios.
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