Astronauts are spending a month in isolation on a simulated ‘red planet’ in the desolate Dhofar desert in Oman to help prepare humanity for a future mission to Mars.
Using a drone, robotic rovers and an inflatable greenhouse, the astronauts will carry out 19 experiments on this baron area, picked for its resemblance to Mars.
Seen from space, the Dhofar Desert is a flat, brown expanse and few animals or plants survive its temperatures that can top 125 degrees Fahrenheit, or 51 degrees Celsius.
On the eastern edge of a seemingly endless dune is the Oman Mars Base is a giant 2.4-ton inflated habitat surrounded by shipping containers turned into labs and crew quarters.
More than 200 scientists from 25 nations have chosen it as their location to field-test technology for a manned mission to the red planet which Nasa hopes to achieve by the 2030s.
Astronauts are spending a month in isolation on a simulated ‘red planet’ in the desolate Dhofar desert in Oman to help prepare humanity for a future mission to Mars
On the eastern edge of a seemingly endless dune is the Oman Mars Base is a giant 2.4-ton inflated habitat surrounded by shipping containers turned into labs and crew quarters
‘The deserts of Dhofar, the largest governorate in the Sultanate of Oman, have a resemblance to various Mars surface features, such as sedimentary structures dating back to the Paleocene and Eocene, salt domes of the South Oman Salt Basin and ancient river beds’, a spokesperson for the mission said.
‘The test site offers a wide range of sand and rocky surfaces combined with a broad variability in inclination.’
The experiment will continue until 28 February.
Public and private ventures are racing toward Mars – both former President Barack Obama and SpaceX founder Elon Musk declared humans would walk on the Red Planet in a few decades.
New challengers like China are joining the United States and Russia in space with an ambitious, if vague, Mars program. Aerospace corporations like BlueOrigin have published schematics of future bases, ships and suits.
Two scientists test space suits and a geo-radar for use in a future Mars mission in the Dhofar desert of southern Oman. Using a drone, robotic rovers and an inflatable greenhouse, the astronauts will carry out 19 experiments on this baron area, picked for its resemblance to Mars
Seen from space, the Dhofar Desert is a flat, brown expanse and few animals or plants survive its temperatures that can top 125 degrees Fahrenheit, or 51 degrees Celsius
More than 200 scientists from 25 nations have chosen it as their location to field-test technology for a manned mission to the red planet which Nasa hopes to achieve by the 2030s
The successful launch of SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket this week ‘puts us in a completely different realm of what we can put into deep space, what we can send to Mars,’ said analog astronaut Kartik Kumar.
The next step to Mars, he says, is to tackle non-engineering problems like medical emergency responses and isolation.
‘These are things I think can’t be underestimated,’ Dr Kumar said.
While cosmonauts and astronauts are learning valuable spacefaring skills on the International Space Station – and the U.S. is using virtual reality to train scientists – the majority of work to prepare for interplanetary expeditions is being done on Earth.
‘The deserts of Dhofar, the largest governorate in the Sultanate of Oman, have a resemblance to various Mars surface features, such as sedimentary structures dating back to the Paleocene and Eocene, salt domes of the South Oman Salt Basin and ancient river beds’, a spokesperson for the mission said
‘The test site offers a wide range of sand and rocky surfaces combined with a broad variability in inclination.’ The experiment will continue until 28 February
And where best to field-test equipment and people for the journey to Mars but on some of the planet’s most forbidding spots?
The desert’s surface resembles Mars so much, it’s hard to tell the difference, Dr Kumar said, his spacesuit caked in dust.
‘But it goes deeper than that: the types of geomorphology, all the structures, the salt domes, the riverbeds, the wadis, it parallels a lot of what we see on Mars.’
The Omani government offered to host the Austrian Space Forum’s next Mars simulation during a meeting of the United Nation’s Committee On the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.
This photo shows João Lousada, a flight controller for the International Space Station, wearing an experimental space suit during a simulation of a future Mars mission in the Dhofar desert of southern Oman
Public and private ventures are racing toward Mars – both former President Barack Obama and SpaceX founder Elon Musk declared humans would walk on the Red Planet in a few decades. Pictured is João Lousada, a flight controller for the International Space Station
Gernot Groemer, commander of the Oman Mars simulation and a veteran of 11 science missions on Earth, said the forum quickly accepted.
The cutting-edge spacesuit, weighing about 50 kilograms, is called a ‘personal spaceship’ because one can breathe, eat and do hard science inside it.
The suit’s visor displays maps, communications and sensor data. A blue piece of foam in front of the chin can be used to wipe your nose and mouth.
‘No matter who is going to this grandest voyage of our society yet to come, I think a few things we learn here will be actually implemented in those missions,’ Dr Groemer said.
The Soviet Union’s 1957 launch of Sputnik ignited a space race between Moscow and Washington to land a crew on the Moon.
But before the U.S. got there first, astronauts like Neil Armstrong trained suspended on pulleys to simulate one-sixth of Earth’s gravity.
Hostile environments from Arizona to Siberia were used to fine-tune capsules, landers, rovers and suits – simulating otherworldly dangers to be found beyond Earth. Space agencies call them ‘analogues’ because they resemble extraterrestrial extremes of cold and remoteness.
‘You can test systems on those locations and see where the breaking points are, and you can see where things start to fail and which design option you need to take in order to assure that it does not fail on Mars,’ said João Lousada, one of the Oman simulation’s deputy field commanders who is a flight controller for the International Space Station.
New challengers like China are joining the United States and Russia in space with an ambitious, if vague, Mars program. Aerospace corporations like BlueOrigin have published schematics of future bases, ships and suits
The successful launch of SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket this week ‘puts us in a completely different realm of what we can put into deep space, what we can send to Mars,’ said analog astronaut Kartik Kumar
This photo shows analog astronaut Kartik Kumar. The next step to Mars, he says, is to tackle non-engineering problems like medical emergency responses and isolation
This photo shows analog astronaut Kartik Kumar wearing an experimental space suit. The cutting-edge spacesuit, weighing about 50 kilograms, is called a ‘personal spaceship’ because one can breathe, eat and do hard science inside it
Faux space stations have been built underwater off the coast of Florida, on frigid dark deserts of Antarctica, and in volcanic craters in Hawaii, according to ‘Packing For Mars,’ a favorite book among many Mars scientists, written by Mary Roach.
‘Terrestrial analogs are a tool in the toolkit of space exploration, but they are not a panacea,’ said Scott Hubbard, known as ‘Mars Czar’ back when he lead the U.S. space agency’s Mars program. Some simulations have helped developed cameras, rovers, suits and closed-loop life-support systems, he said.
Nasa used the Mojave Desert to test rovers destined for the Red Planet but they also discovered much about how humans can adapt.
This photo shows analog astronaut João Lousada, center, hands his colleague Kartik Kumar. Nasa used the Mojave Desert to test rovers destined for the Red Planet but they also discovered much about how humans can adapt
The European Space Agency’s list of ‘planetary analogues’ includes projects in Chile, Peru, South Africa, Namibia, Morocco, Italy, Spain, Canada, Antarctica, Russia, China, Australia, India, Germany, Norway, Iceland, and nine U.S. states
‘Human’s adaptability in an unstructured environment is still far, far better than any robot we can send to space,’ Hubbard said, adding that people, not just robots, are the key to exploring Mars.
The European Space Agency’s list of ‘planetary analogues’ includes projects in Chile, Peru, South Africa, Namibia, Morocco, Italy, Spain, Canada, Antarctica, Russia, China, Australia, India, Germany, Norway, Iceland, and nine U.S. states. Next Thursday, Israeli scientists are to run a shorter simulation in a nature preserve called D Mars.
However, there remain so many unknowns that simulations ‘are not in any way a replacement for being there,’ Hubbard said.
The Oman team’s optimism is unflinching.
‘The first person to walk on Mars has in fact already been born, and might be going to elementary school now in Oman, or back in Europe, in the U.S. or China,’ Dr Lousada said.
Pictured is Gernot Groemer, commander of the AMADEE-18 Mars simulation in the Dhofar desert of southern Oman. The desolate desert in southern Oman resembles Mars so much that more than 200 scientists from 25 nations organized by the Austrian Space Forum are using it for the next four weeks to field-test technology for a manned mission to Mars
This photo shows a 2.4-ton inflated habitat used by the AMADEE-18 Mars simulation in the Dhofar desert. ‘The first person to walk on Mars has in fact already been born, and might be going to elementary school now in Oman, or back in Europe, in the U.S. or China,’ Dr Lousada said
The sun rises over a 2.4-ton inflated habitat used by the AMADEE-18 Mars simulation. The next step to Mars, he says, is to tackle non-engineering problems like medical emergency responses and isolation
WHAT IS THE MARS CURIOSITY ROVER AND WHAT HAS IT ACHIEVED SO FAR?
The Mars Curiosity rover was initially launched from Cape Canaveral, an American Air Force station in Florida on November 26, 2011.
After embarking on a 350 million mile (560 million km) journey, the £1.8 billion ($2.5 billion) research vehicle touched down only 1.5 miles (2.4 km) away from the earmarked landing spot.
After a successful landing on August 6th, 2012, the rover has travelled about 11 miles (18 km).
It was launched on the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) spacecraft and the rover constituted 23 per cent of the mass of the total mission.
With 80 kg (180 lb) of scientific instruments on board, the rover weighs a total of 899 kg (1,982 lb) and is powered by a plutonium fuel source.
The rover is 2.9 metres (9.5 ft) long by 2.7 metres (8.9 ft) wide by 2.2 metres (7.2 ft) in height.
The Mars curiosity rover was initially intended to be a two-year mission to gather information to help answer if the planet could support life, has liquid water, study the climate and the geology of Mars an has since been active for more than 2,000 days
The rover was initially intended to be a two-year mission to gather information to help answer if the planet could support life, has liquid water, study the climate and the geology of Mars.
Due to its success, the mission has been extended indefinitely and has now been active for over 2,000 days.
The rover has several scientific instruments on board, including the mastcam which consists of two cameras and can take high-resolution images and videos in real colour.
So far on the journey of the car-sized robot it has encountered an ancient streambed where liquid water used to flow, not long after it also discovered that billions of years ago, a nearby area known as Yellowknife Bay was part of a lake that could have supported microbial life.