European Mars Analogue Research Station

planete mars

Bringing Mars to Life - On Earth

The European Mars Analogue Research Station (Euro-MARS) represents the third unit in the Mars Society’s Mars Analogue Research Station (MARS) programme. Fabricated in the United States from donations from America and the United Kingdom, it will be managed and operated by Mars Society Chapters from across Europe, and present scientist and engineers alike with a unique opportunity to better understand Mars and our own planet.

Due to become operational in 2003, the Euro-MARS will provide a living and working environment that closely mimics those we expect to take with us when human do go to Mars later this century. Once aboard the unit, teams of 6 people will be able to carry out valuable research into the ways and means human crews will function on Mars, providing a valuable baseline of data for future missions to the Red Planet. Furthermore, as a scientific facility open to visits by research and academic institutions around the globe, the Euro-MARS offers exciting opportunities to thoroughly test the equipment and systems those who go to Mars will be using on a daily basis.

The following pages serve as an introduction to the project, and provide information on the project development and Euro-MARS operations.

Euro-MARS Background

The European Mars Analogue Research Station (Euro-MARS) will commence field research in 2020 and will be the third MARS unit to become operational. It will be managed by a consortium of European Mars Society Chapters including the United Kingdom, and is designed to greatly extend the range of research and study accouchement, influence pleine lune & naissances already being undertaken at the F-MARS and MDRS.

As such, Euro-MARS will operate both independently of the F-MARS and MDRS and as a contributing element in the overall MARS programme. Once operational, the Euro-MARS will provide a base of operations from which a wide range of scientific and engineering research can be undertaken, involving a wide range of private sector organisations, academic centres and research bodies.

In this, the Euro-MARS will seek to not only meet the aimsand goals of the MARS programme; it will seek to extend them in key areas. As such, areas for Euro-MARS research will include:

Euro-MARS Location

To be of value, the Euro-MARS needs to be located at a site that meets certain criteria, including:

Iceland is known for its relevance to Martian geology and glacial processes. In August 2000, NASA held its 2nd International Conference on Mars Polar Science and Exploration in Reykjavik, hosted by the University of Iceland, along with a workshop on volcano/ice interaction. Iceland is 3-hours flying time from both the United States and continental Europe.

The primary site of Euro-MARS is the Krafla/Myvatn volcanic area of North Eastern Iceland. The closest village (5km) is Reykjahil?. A local airport (Laxamyri/Myvatn) is 60 km away. The location offers a very Mars-like terrain, together with geological features similar to those already imaged on Mars. The area is also the home to a range of extremophile life of the kinds that may be encountered while exploring Mars.

Besides its scientific relevance, the Euro-MARS Icelandic site is photogenic and particularly well suited to television reportage and other media coverage.

Euro-MARS Design

The Euro-MARS habitat unit is currently in the design phase, with a cross-European team working with the support of the United States to develop a habitat unit that will provide our science teams with an outstanding analogue station.

Following a design meeting held in Frankfurt on the 29th/30th March 2002, a final 3-deck design for the Euro-MARS was agreed upon. The design will comprise:

Work is currently underway to developed detailed plans for each of the major sections within the hab (EVA preparation room, science labs, living area, cockpit, etc., and these will be posted here as they are made available.

Construction

Construction of the Euro-MARS commenced in Marsh 2002 in Denver, Colorado, USA. The actual fabrication of parts for the habitat is being undertaken by the Rio Grande Company, with physical construction work being carried out on their back lot. All construction activities are being overseen by Frank Schubert, the MARS Programme Project Manager, aided by Matt Smola and Dewey Anderson.

Construction of the habitat will comprise stages:

  1. The construction of the habitat frame (main braces, legs, struts and deck floor wedges).
  2. Adding outer skin to wall panel frames & insulating the wall panel sections
  3. Mounting the wall panels
  4. Installing the upper deck floor beams and flooring
  5. Fitting the roof segments
    Once the outer shell of the Euro-MARS has been completed (scheduled for the end of May 2002), the hab will be disassembled and shipped to the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, Illinois.

Once in Chicago, the hab will be erected and work will commence on building-out the lower deck for a special exhibition on the work of the Mars Society and the sponsors of the Euro-MARS construction. The hab will then remain on display in Chicago until the end of October.

The pictures on the right show the current status of the Euro-MARS construction, and will be updated weekly as the construction work progresses.

Euro-MARS Science

The Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station (F-MARS) has already been in use for a number of field seasons in which a wide range of science and engineering projects and research has been carried out. Starting in 2002, the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS), has been adding to this work, with the added benefit of longer periods of operation (February through May, and September through October).

The Euro-MARS will be able to extend this research even further and provide a unique environment in which European-based engineers and scientists can conduct Mars-related research and test theories, equipment and / or systems.

With a potential operating period of around 7 months in every 12, the Euro-MARS will be used to carry out a wide range of Mars Society-sponsored research in the fields of technology development, human factors, systems engineering, geology and astrobiology. Add to this the many opportunities that will be presented to external organisations (e.g. the European Space Agency) to operate out of the Euro-MARS facility, and the benefits of developing such a unit become clear.

Through the use of a progressive series of holistic simulations, in which crews aboard the Euro-MARS will live and work as if they were on Mars for periods lasting from one week to a month or more, we will be able to define many of the baseline protocols that will be vital to successful human operations on the surface of Mars.

These holistic simulations will comprise many facets. For example: once a simulation is underway (and baring any unforeseen incidents), the crew will be unable to leave the hab unit without wearing a simulated Mars suit. By doing this, we will be able to answer fundamental questions regarding surface operations on Mars: how long does it take a team to suit-up? What is the optimum number for a surface expedition – two people, three people, four people? What kinds of back up and support do they need from the people left aboard the hab – communications, tele-operation (of any rovers accompanying the EVA team), etc.? How many EVAs can be safely run during a single day? What is the optimal communications set-up to ensure clear communications between EVA crewmembers and between an EVA team and the hab? What kind of communication protocols need to be established and maintained to ensure all communications are clearly understood?

The simulations will also examine the relationships within the hab. How are teams best managed? How do crewmembers interact when “on-duty” and “off-duty”? How do crews use the physical facilities aboard the hab? What could be improved to ensure a greater degree of crew satisfaction?

Finally, the simulations will also look at relationships with Mission Support “back home”. Time delays will be built into all communications between the hab and the outside world to simulate the delays that will be experienced during Mars-Earth communications. We will look at the most efficient ways in which help from Mission Support can be directed to those involved in a simulation crew who need it. For example, if a member of the crew on EVA who is not trained in geology comes across a particularly unusual rock formation, how can we ensure those back at the hab or “back on Earth” can be fed sufficient information in order for them to best advise the person in the field?

In this last item, we will be looking closely at the use of technology, and how to integrate technology as much as possible into everyday routines to ensure crews have the maximum assistance. For example, in the scenario mentioned above, the use of helmet-mounted or suit-mounted video could enormously aid the dialogue between the person in the field and the specialists elsewhere, as they would essentially see what he/she sees.

Above all, the simulations will be built around a solid core of science – such as collecting and analysing rock and soil samples to look for evidence of extremophile life; by exploring regions thought not to contain life in order to more readily identify those parts of Mars which might harbour life when we get there. As with a real mission, reports will be written up (or recorded) on daily operations and transmitted to Mission Support; Mission Support will also transmit requests for work and study out to the hab, and so on.

Broad Science Goals

Detailed planning for the Euro-MARS Science Mission will be the responsibility of the Science Mission Team and the Euro-MARS Science Advisory Committee (EMSAC). However, the broad science goals of each of the MARS habitat units comprise a number of common goals (as stated in the Euro-MARS Overview Brochure):

Each Science Mission will seek to enhance our understanding of the location in which each MARS unit is located: the geomorphology of the area, the prevalence of life in the region, where such life is found (underground, within rock samples, etc.), how extremophile that life is, etc. Understanding these elements on Earth will help us to better understand similar environs on Mars, and potentially learn where to look for extremophile life on Mars
Each Science Mission will enable us to better understand what kind of equipment we need to take to Mars in order to undertake real science once we are there, and to identify the equipment that is best used in the habitat unit itself, and the equipment that needs to be portable and robust enough to be used in field operations
Each Science Mission will enable us to define the optimum means of co-operative study between expertise which may be located at the habitat unit, and the personnel engaged in science operations on the surface of Mars (and potentially several kilometres away from the habitat unit)
Each Science Mission will enable us to better define the protocols and procedures needed to protect against such elements as accidental contamination of samples collected during an EVA or which enable teams to perform widely differing science studies in the restrictive environment of the habitat laboratory area without risk of cross-contamination between experiments, etc.
Each Science Mission will present opportunities for organisations external to the Mars Society (academic institutions, research organisations, etc.), to carry out Mars-related studies either directly or on their behalf by Mars Society personnel, in environments that mimic the surface of Mars.
Operating in this way, the Mars Society believes the MARS units will develop an invaluable scientific reference database which will enable us to better plan and execute real missions to Mars when we do eventually send humans to the Red Planet.

Euro-MARS

Exploring Mars on Earth

Preface

Mars is within reach. A world with a surface area the size of the combined
continents of the Earth, the Red Planet contains all the elements needed
support life. As such it is the Rosetta stone for revealing whether the
phenomenon of life is something unique to the Earth, or prevalent in the
universe. Moreover, as the nearest planet with all the required resources for
technological civilisation, Mars will be the decisive trial that will determine
whether humanity can expand from its globe of origin to enjoy the open
frontiers and unlimited prospects available to a multi-planet, spacefaring
species. Offering profound enlightenment to our science, inspiration and
purpose to our youth, and a potentially unbounded future for our posterity,
the challenge of Mars is one that we must embrace.
Indeed, with so much at stake, Mars is a test for us. It asks us if we intend
to continue to be a society of pioneers and explorers, or whether we are
content to allow the promise of the future to lay unrecognised before us. To
travel to Mars is to continue the drive that has lead us from primitive
beginnings to a world-spanning civilisation. By accepting the challenge
embodied in Mars, we seek to better ourselves and help our society
transform itself from one that is Earthbound to one that is truly spacefaring.
In order to help develop key knowledge needed to prepare for human Mars
exploration, and to inspire the public by making sensuous the vision of
human exploration of Mars, the Mars Society has initiated the Mars
Analogue Research Station (MARS) Programme. A global programme of
Mars exploration operations research, the MARS Programme will include a
number of “habitat units” located around the globe. In these Mars-like
environments, we will launch a programme of extensive long-duration
geology and biology field exploration operations conducted in the same
style and under many of the same constraints as we will find on the Red
Planet. By doing so, we will start the process of learning how to explore and
live on the surface of Mars.
The Mars Society
The Mars Society was founded in
August 1998 by a group of Mars
exploration enthusiasts. A global
organisation, the Society has
grown since its inception to span
more than 50 nations around the
world. Membership is open to all
that have an interest in exploring
space and particularly Mars, and
our membership is drawn from all
walks of life. Aerospace
engineers, astronauts, scientists,
educators, students, enthusiasts –
all count themselves as members
of the Society.
Founded by Robert Zubrin, author
of The Case For Mars, and
principle developer of the
revolutionary Mars Direct plan for
sending humans to Mars, the
Society’s stated goal is “The
Exploration and Settlement of the
Red Planet”. As such, the Society
has proven itself at the forefront of
Mars exploration research and
development. Already the Society
has undertaken a commitment to
the Mars Analogue Research
Station Project described here. In
addition, the Society has also
initiated projects to develop
analogues of the kind of
pressurised rover vehicle that will
be needed to explore the surface
of Mars and developed a range of
proposals for unmanned and
robotic missions that could be
undertaken on Mars.

Contents

Preface… i
Contents … ii
MARS Programme Overview… 3
AIMS AND GOALS … 4
Science Mission … 4
PROJECT INCEPTION … 5
Euro-MARS… 6
HABITAT DESIGN… 7
Proposed Layout … 7
SCIENCE AND OPERATIONS … 8
EURO-MARS LOCATION … 9
Iceland… 9
FUNDING… 10
Opportunities for Sponsorship and Participation… 11
CURRENT SPONSORS… 11
MEDIA COVERAGE… 11
LOGO SPONSORSHIPS… 12
ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS … 12
IN-KIND DONATIONS … 12
RESEARCH PROPOSALS … 12
Web Sites and Contact Information… 13
WEB SITES … 13
MARS PROJECT PRINCIPAL OFFICERS … 13

MARS Programme Overview

Mars Analogue Research Stations (MARS) are laboratories for learning how
to live and work on another planet. Each is a prototype of a habitat that will
land humans on Mars and serve as their main base for months of
exploration in the harsh Martian environment. Such a habitat represents a
key element in current human Mars mission planing. Each “hab” is an 8-
metre diameter structure mounted on landing struts and containing 2 or 3
decks of living and working space. Peripheral external structures, some
inflatable, may be appended to the hab as well.
Each station will serve as a field centre for 6 crew members at a time from a
range of disciplines - geologists, astrobiologists, engineers, mechanics,
physicians, etc. They will live and work for weeks to months at a time in
relative isolation in a location where some environmental conditions,
geologic features, biological attributes or combinations thereof approximate
in some way those thought to exist on Mars, either at present or earlier in
that planet’s history. Studying such sites will lead us to new insights into the
nature and evolution of Mars, the Earth, and life.
In addition to providing scientific insight into our neighbouring world, such
analogue environments offer unprecedented opportunities to carry out field
research in a variety of key scientific and engineering disciplines that will
help prepare humans for the exploration of Mars. Such research is vitally
necessary. It is one thing to walk around a factory test area in a new
spacesuit prototype and show that a wearer can pick up a wrench, it is
entirely another to subject that same suit to months of testing in field
conditions.
Similarly, by studying crews operating in facilities that closely mimic those
our astronauts will have to live and work aboard for 2 years at a time, we
can better understand and anticipate the problems and difficulties that are
bound to be revealed when small groups work in close proximity to one
another over extended periods.
Finally, when considering the effectiveness of a human mission to Mars as
a whole, it is clear that there is an operations design problem of
considerable complexity to be solved. Such a mission will involve diverse
players with different capabilities, strengths and weaknesses. Operations
will include people working both inside and outside the habitat, astronauts
working on short-range EVAs relatively close to the habitat and those
undertaking missions that will carry them away from base for several days
at a time aboard pressurised vehicles. Operations will also include liaison
issues between teams and the need to communicate with and involve the
experts left back at mission control. By exploring all of these factors here on
Earth, before we send our people to Mars, we dramatically increase the
opportunities for worthwhile, successful and above all safe human
operations on Mars.

Mars Direct

To send humans to Mars
effectively, we must endeavour to
keep overall mission costs down
to a realistic minimum. To many
plans to send crews to Mars have
floundered because of their
reliance on exotic technologies,
their convoluted mission profiles
or the acceptance that we need to
spend hundreds of billions on
getting people from Earth to Mars.
The Mars Direct mission profile
has proven so revolutionary
because it challenges the
traditional thinking that humans to
Mars missions require massive
R&D in order to be successful.
Based on technologies available
to us today – expendable launch
vehicles, direct trajectory flights,
etc., Mars Direct has shown how
such missions can be undertaken
safely and “affordably”.
So revolutionary has the Mars
Direct plan proven to be, it has
prompted NASA to completely
overhaul their own plans for
getting humans to Mars. This has
resulted in the development of the
NASA Design Reference Mission
(DRM). This utilises elements
such as the Mars habitat unit
proposed in the Mars Direct
mission profile and combines
them with existing elements of the
space programme such as the
International Space Station to
provide an alternative, but very
similar method, of reaching Mars
with human crews.
Current plans call for the MARS project to operate on a rolling basis at 4 locations around the world. It is
planned to operate each unit for some five years, with a series of mutually-compatible research activities
undertaken at each station that will enable the Mars Society and its partners to undertake the widest
possible research and development in preparation for human missions to Mars.
European Mars Analogue Research Station

Aims and Goals

The Mars Society has identified three prime goals to be met by the MARS Programme:
• Each station will serve as an effective test bed for field operations studies in preparation for human
missions to Mars. As such, each will help develop and allow tests of key habitat design features, field
exploration strategies, tools, technologies, and crew selection protocols that will enable and help
optimise the productive exploration of Mars by humans. In order to achieve this, each station must be
a realistic and adaptable habitat.
• Each station will serve as a useful field research facility at selected Mars analogue sites on Earth.
Such sites will be selected on the basis of how they will help further our understanding of the geology,
biology, and environmental conditions on the Earth and on Mars. In order to achieve this, each station
must provide safe shelter and be an effective field laboratory.
• The stations will generate public support for sending humans to Mars. They will inform and inspire
audiences around the world, and will serve as the foundation of a series of bold steps that will pave
the way to the eventual human exploration of Mars.
Each MARS unit will be operated by Mars Society researchers and will be made available to selected
space agencies and to scientists, engineers and other professionals from a variety of institutions around
the globe to support science investigations and exploration
research at Mars analogue sites. As an operational test
bed, each station will serve as a central element in support
of parallel studies of the technologies, strategies,
architectural design, and human factors involved in human
missions to Mars. The facilities will also bring to the field
compact laboratories in which in-depth data analysis can
begin before scientists leave the field site and return to
their home institutions. Each station will help develop the
capabilities needed on Mars to allow productive field
research during the long months of a human sojourn. The
facilities will evolve through time to achieve increasing
levels of realism and fidelity with the ultimate goal of
supporting the actual training of Mars-bound astronauts.

Science Mission

Perhaps most importantly, each unit the MARS programme will have a defined Science Mission. Based
primarily on the disciplines of geology and astrobiology, the Science Mission will vary from MARS unit to
MARS unit around the globe, and will be shaped by the physical location in which each MARS is sited.
However, the overall aim of the Science Mission at each MARS will comprise a number of common goals:
• Each Science Mission will seek to enhance our understanding of the location in which each MARS
unit is located: the geomorphology of the area, the prevalence of life in the region, where such life is
found (underground, within rock samples, etc.), how extremophile that life is, etc. Understanding
these elements on Earth will help us to better understand similar environs on Mars, and potentially
learn where to look for extremophile life on Mars
• Each Science Mission will enable us to better understand what kind of equipment we need to take to
Mars in order to undertake real science once we are there, and to identify the equipment that is best
used in the habitat unit itself, and the equipment that needs to be portable and robust enough to be
used in field operations
• Each Science Mission will enable us to define the optimum means of co-operative study between
expertise which may be located at the habitat unit, and the personnel engaged in science operations
on the surface of Mars (and potentially several kilometres away from the habitat unit)
• Each Science Mission will enable us to better define the protocols and procedures needed to protect
against such elements as accidental contamination of samples collected during an EVA or which
enable teams to perform widely differing science studies in the restrictive environment of the habitat
laboratory area without risk of cross-contamination between experiments, etc.
European Mars Analogue Research Station
• Each Science Mission will present opportunities for organisations external to the Mars Society
(academic institutions, research organisations, etc.), to carry out Mars-related studies either directly or
on their behalf by Mars Society personnel, in environments that mimic the surface of Mars.
Operating in this way, the MARS units will develop an invaluable scientific reference database which will
enable us to better plan and execute real missions to Mars when we do eventually send humans to the
Red Planet.

Project Inception

The MARS project was conceived at the founding conference of the Mars Society held in Boulder,
Colorado in 1998. The first unit in the project, the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station (F-MARS)
became operational on Devon Island in the Canadian Arctic in July 2000. Since that time, the unit has
been the home to several research crews selected by the Mars Society, who have been responsible for
initiating a broad range of Mars-related research operations of the kind mentioned earlier in this brochure.
Devon Island is an ideal Mars Analogue site. It not only has
much in common with the geomorphology of Mars, it also
exists within the Arctic Circle, and so is devoid of any real
vegetation and is subject to temperature ranges that mimic the
milder temperatures on Mars. These factors have allowed
teams working there to not only study the kind of features and
geology we will find on Mars, they have also allowed crews to
do so in an environment remarkably similar to that of the
surface of Mars.
In February 2002, the second of the MARS units became
operational in Utah, in the South Western United States. Built
along similar lines to the F-MARS, the Mars Desert Research
Station (MDRS) has been located in another region that bears
remarkable similarity to the surface of Mars. However, the
overall geology of the environment is markedly different to that
of Devon Island, thus allowing the Mars Society to extend our
research and experiments. Furthermore, being located on the
continental United States, the MDRS also presents the Society
with the opportunity to operate field studies beyond the time
constraints presented by Devon Island’s more northerly and
remote location.
Together, the F-MARS and MDRS have already greatly
extended our understanding of how humans will operate when
they go to Mars. They have also enabled us to test equipment
and systems that will be of vital importance on Mars. Perhaps
most importantly of all, they have served as a media focal
point, bring the message of the potential of the human
exploration of Mars directly into people’s living rooms through
the broadcasting of a range of documentary and news features
on both of the stations.
Now, with the advent of the European Mars Analogue
Research Station (Euro-MARS), the Mars Society stands on
the cusp of a bold new expansion of the MARS programme,
one that offers us the opportunity to take a gigantic step closer
to actually sending humans to Mars.
Devon Island
F-MARS Operations

Euro-MARS

The European Mars Analogue Research Station (Euro-MARS) will commence field research in 2003 and
will be the third MARS unit to become operational. It will be managed by a consortium of European Mars
Society Chapters including the United Kingdom, and is designed to greatly extend the range of research
and study already being undertaken at the F-MARS and MDRS.
As such, Euro-MARS will operate both independently of the F-MARS and MDRS and as a contributing
element in the overall MARS programme. Once operational, the Euro-MARS will provide a base of
operations from which a wide range of scientific and engineering research can be undertaken, involving a
wide range of private sector organisations, academic centres and research bodies.
In this, the Euro-MARS will seek to not only meet the aims and goals of the MARS programme; it will seek
to extend them in key areas. As such, areas for Euro-MARS research will include:
• The MARS unit / mission support interface – investigating how the crews aboard the Euro-MARS
relate to a properly manned Mission Support Centre (MSC), how information / instructions / requests
can be comprehensively passed between the two, etc.
• Human Factors – undertaking more in-depth human factors research as “on board” times for crews
are extended in the Euro-MARS. Initial studies have been undertaken in the F-MARS 2001 season,
studying crew interactions and living conditions research, and these will be extended with the MDRS
in 2002. The Euro-MARS offers the potential, again combined with a properly-structured MSC, to
extend this research to include relationships between the “crew” and “mission control” AND include
relationships / feelings of individual crewmembers cut off from their families and friends for up to
(potentially) 6-12 months at a time. Again, such research would include transfer of personal news, etc.
• Technology integration – human operations on Mars will be technology-dependent. Elements of the
technology may conflict with one another. others may require varying degrees of human interaction.
The Euro-MARS will be used to investigate, on a progressive basis, means by which technologies can
be integrated for elements such as: efficiency of use; ease of use; safety, etc.
• Technology development – the Euro-MARS offers a unique opportunity to test supporting
technologies required for successful human missions on Mars in an environment that closely mimics
their use on the Red Planet. Such supporting technologies include:
• In-situ propellant production (ISPP) – what is the optimum means of producing fuel for the
vehicles being deployed with a MARS unit? What is the best means of fuel storage? What are
the safest / most efficient means of transferring fuel from storage to vehicle that minimise
wastage, etc.
• Use of solar panels (possibly coated to mimic the effects of Martian dust) to supply additional
power – what is the best layout for such units? How easy can they be maintained? How efficient
are they likely to be overall (power produced v. maintenance / support input, etc.)? What is the
best means of utilised / storing the power obtained from these units?
• Investigating the use of tele-operated vehicles – human missions will initially be small-scale, with
limited human resources. The use of remote vehicles – both ground and air-based – will greatly
extend operations. The Euro-MARS offers an ideal platform for investigating the use of such
vehicles, especially in those areas not currently under consideration in the MARS project as a
whole (e.g. the use of airships)
• Use of ancillary units to support human operations – garage / repair units, greenhouses, etc.
Investigation the best means for constructing such units (should they be inflatable? Semi-rigid?
Pressure contrast structures? Can they be utilised for other purposes (emergency airlock
extensions for getting injured crew back into the habitat, as extendable “docking ports” to connect
with rover vehicles, etc.)
• Inclusion of specialised life-support systems vital to the success of an actual human mission to
Mars (e.g. water recycling systems, waste management systems, etc.).
European Mars Analogue Research Station

Habitat Design

The core element of each MARS base is the habitat unit.
Some 8.6 metres (29ft) in diameter and 8.4 metres (28ft)
tall, the habitat unit provides a minimum of two floors of
living space for up to 6 people at a time. It is a multifunction facility incorporating living & sleeping quarters
with work spaces, laboratories, an exercise area, a
galley and a sickbay. It has been deliberately modelled
on the design of the Mars Direct Mars Habitat Unit, to
provide a realistic environment in which teams of six
volunteers at a time can perform research into living and
working on Mars.
The F-MARS and MDRS so far deployed are 2-deck
units sharing a common internal layout and design. The
Euro-MARS extends this design into a 3-deck habitat unit that incorporates all of the major features and
facilities required of an actual Mars Habitat unit as defined in the Society’s Mars Direct mission proposal.
As such, the Euro-MARS will include all of the following facilities:
• Two airlocks for excursions outside the unit
• A full EVA (extra-vehicular activity) preparation and decontamination area that will allow crews to
properly rehearse the protocols and procedures vital to safe operations prior to leave the confines of a
habitat unit or when returning to it after a period of time spent outside
• A comprehensive laboratory area providing facilities for geological, meteorological, biological and
other studies
• Enhanced living facilities for the crew to allow more in-depth and in-situ human factors research into
crew accommodations, etc., to be carried out
• Space reserved for the addition of specialised systems for air recycling, water recycling, waste
collection, etc., that will be used as the facilities in the hab are extended
• Improved medical and health facilities
Proposed Layout
As a 3-deck module, the Euro-MARS will comprise the following working / living areas, carefully
segregated by deck to provide the optimum usage of the available space.
• The Lower deck: will contain a large split-laboratory / work area for field science, plus the main EVA
preparation / decontamination area that connects to the two airlocks. Both airlocks will be large
enough to rotate teams of 2 or 3 at a time. This deck will also incorporate an emergency exit built in to
one wall panel that will allow egress directly to the outside world to meet European safety standards
in the event of an emergency. A yachting ladder will connect this deck to
• the Mid-deck: which will contain the main living / working environs. A large living / communal area will
connect directly with a hygiene centre, galley and a “storm shelter / communications centre”. Two
large diameter (35-50cm) windows will provide natural light into the living area, supported by two
smaller diameter windows. The “storm shelter” will house the primary communications systems,
habitat computer systems and have enough room to providing seating for the crew during simulated
solar flares. A second yachting ladder will connect this level with
• the Upper Deck: which will house the crew sleeping quarters, located in 3 paired groups of cabins.
Each grouping will have a different interior layout (position of bed, position of personal workspace,
etc.), so we can carry out greater human factors research into living / sleeping facilities. The upper
deck will also include a second toilet (again for safety/convenience reasons), plus an emergency
egress hatch to the roof, which will have a steel roll-up escape ladder bolted to it for escape purposes.
This hatch will also provide access to any satellite communications antennae that may be located on
the roof of the hab.

Storage space and equipment voids are located through the entire structure which will allow for further
expansion of the facility in the future with the inclusion of items such as waste management systems,
water recycling systems, etc.

Science and Operations

The Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station (F-MARS) has already been in use for a number of field
seasons in which a wide range of science and engineering projects and research has been carried out.
Starting in 2002, the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS), has been adding to this work, with the added
benefit of longer periods of operation (February through May, and September through October).
The Euro-MARS will be able to extend this research even further and provide a unique environment in
which European-based engineers and scientists can conduct Mars-related research and test theories,
equipment and / or systems.
With a potential operating period of around 7 months in every 12, the Euro-MARS will be used to carry out
a wide range of Mars Society-sponsored research in the fields of technology development, human factors,
systems engineering, geology and astrobiology. Add to this the many opportunities that will be presented
to external organisations (e.g. the European Space Agency) to operate out of the Euro-MARS facility, and
the benefits of developing such a unit become clear.
Through the use of a progressive series of holistic simulations, in which crews aboard the Euro-MARS will
live and work as if they were on Mars for periods lasting from one week to a month or more, we will be
able to define many of the baseline protocols that will be vital to successful human operations on the
surface of Mars.
These holistic simulations will comprise many facets. For example: once a simulation is underway (and
baring any unforeseen incidents), the crew will be unable to leave the hab unit without wearing a
simulated Mars suit. By doing this, we will be able to answer fundamental questions regarding surface
operations on Mars: how long does it take a team to suit-up? What is the optimum number for a surface
expedition – two people, three people, four people? What kinds of back up and support do they need from
the people left aboard the hab – communications, tele-operation (of any rovers accompanying the EVA
team), etc.? How many EVAs can be safely run during a single day? What is the optimal communications
set-up to ensure clear communications between EVA crewmembers and between an EVA team and the
hab? What kind of communication protocols need to be established and maintained to ensure all
communications are clearly understood?
The simulations will also examine the relationships within the hab. How are teams best managed? How
do crewmembers interact when “on-duty” and “off-duty”? How do crews use the physical facilities aboard
the hab? What could be improved to ensure a greater
degree of crew satisfaction?
Finally, the simulations will also look at relationships
with Mission Support “back home”. Time delays will
be built into all communications between the hab and
the outside world to simulate the delays that will be
experienced during Mars-Earth communications. We
will look at the most efficient ways in which help from
Mission Support can be directed to those involved in
a simulation crew who need it. For example, if a
member of the crew on EVA who is not trained in
geology comes across a particularly unusual rock
formation, how can we ensure those back at the hab
or “back on Earth” can be fed sufficient information in
order for them to best advise the person in the field?
In this last item, we will be looking closely at the use of technology, and how to integrate technology as
much as possible into everyday routines to ensure crews have the maximum assistance. For example, in
the scenario mentioned above, the use of helmet-mounted or suit-mounted video could enormously aid
the dialogue between the person in the field and the specialists elsewhere, as they would essentially see
what he/she sees.

Above all, the simulations will be built around a solid core of science – such as collecting and analysing
rock and soil samples to look for evidence of extremophile life; by exploring regions thought not to contain
life in order to more readily identify those parts of Mars which might harbour life when we get there. As
with a real mission, reports will be written up (or recorded) on daily operations and transmitted to Mission
Support; Mission Support will also transmit requests for work and study out to the hab, and so on.
Euro-MARS Location
To be of value, the Euro-MARS needs to be located at a site that meets certain criteria, including:
• The site must represent a reasonable (or recognised) Mars analogue locations – that is, be largely
devoid of vegetation, be relatively dry, have physical features that resemble the surface of Mars
• The site must present the opportunities to carry out a range of sciences including:
• Biology and the search for extremophile life forms
• Geology and comparative Earth / Mars geological studies
• Chemistry (soil, water, etc.)
• Sub-surface studies
• The site must be reasonably remote to give a sense of isolation as it might be felt on Mars and to
discourage casual visitors
• The site must provide the opportunities for away-from-base EVAs and excursions.

Iceland

Iceland is known for its relevance to Martian
geology and glacial processes. In August 2000,
NASA held its 2nd International Conference on
Mars Polar Science and Exploration in
Reykjavik, hosted by the University of Iceland,
along with a workshop on volcano/ice
interaction. Iceland is 3-hours flying time from
both the United States and continental Europe.
The primary site for Euro-MARS is the
Krafla/Myvatn volcanic area of North Eastern
Iceland. The closest village (5km) is Reykjahil.
The Akureyri domestic airport (106km distant)
and a local airfield (Laxamyri/Myvatn – 60km)
support the region, providing good logistical
support.
Referred to as “Krafla-One”, the proposed location for the Euro-MARS is along the line of the main northsouth volcanic fissure on the island, where eruptions tend to occur every 250-300 years. The last major
eruption here took place between 1975 and 1984, and the area is closely monitored for seismic activity. It
is of particular interest to the Mars Society because:
• The Global Surveyor has imaged evidence of similar volcanic activity on Mars. As the Krafla-One site
has undergone little erosion on the 20 years since it was formed, it is an excellent model for
comparative geological studies with the relatively young (10 to 100 million-year-old) lava fields of
Mars
• The area is a haven for studying extremophile, particularly anerobic (non-oxygen breathing) life. Any
microbial life that may exist on Mars is going to be anerobic in nature, as the atmosphere there is
largely carbon dioxide. Therefore, by using the Krafla-One region, we can develop the techniques
needed to study such life in situ. This is important for two reasons:

  1. It allows us to detect and study such microbial life in an environment in which we would
    reasonably expect to find it on Mars (i.e. in and around potential thermal vents in the lava fields of
    Mars)
  2. It enables us to perfect the means to
    study such life without the risk of forward
    or back contamination (e.g. without
    contaminating it with any microbes
    carried to Mars from Earth, or without
    risking contaminating the astronauts and
    their equipment with any Martian
    microbes they find).
    Another reason for opting for the Krafla-One site
    is that it is particularly well suited to television
    reportage and other media coverage, and
    sufficiently off the beaten track to avoid regular
    visits from tourists, etc., - an essential factor in
    being able to perform serious scientific research.

Funding

European grants and private sponsors will finance the set-up and running of the Euro-MARS. Some
KDV DOUHDG\ EHHQ UDLVHG ZKLFK LV ILQDQFLQJ WKH FRQVWUXFWLRQ RI WKH XQLW 7KH EXGJHW IRU VHWXS
and operations through two field seasons (2003-2004) is estimated at a further ¼ 2SSRUWXQLWLHV
for sponsorship and donations exist, and details on these can be found later in this brochure.
2002 The Mars Society UK Ltd 11
Opportunities for Sponsorship and Participation
Euro-MARS is open to sponsorship. Logos will be prominently displayed on the front of the habitat, next to
the hatch where the public will enter the craft during its exhibit (prior to deployment in Iceland), and where
crewmembers will enter and exit during field operations covered by the media.
The effectiveness of Euro-MARS sponsorship and logo visibility was demonstrated by the extensive
media coverage received by the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station (F-MARS) during the summer of
2001 The name of the principal sponsor (Flashline.com) appeared in most magazine and newspaper
articles that were published in North America and Europe, and the sponsor’s name was prominently
displayed in wide-ranging television coverage across the US, Canada, the UK and Europe. Similar
television and media coverage has been accorded to the Mars Desert Research Station.

Current Sponsors

Current sponsors for the Euro-MARS include:
• United Association of Plumbers and Pipe fitters
• Alcoa Aluminum
• StarChaser Industries Ltd
• Greenleaf

Media Coverage

In all, the MARS project has received extensive media coverage from:
Television Newspapers / Magazines
• The Discovery Channel
• CNN
• BBC Final Frontier
• BBC News
• Sky News
• The Learning Channel
• Channel 4
• BBC Tomorrow’s World
• The Times
• The Financial Times
• The Telegraph
• The Sunday Telegraph
• The Scotsman
• The News of the World
• The Express
• The Washington Post
• The New York Times
• The Philadelphia Enquirer
• National Geographic
• Astronomy Now
• Scientific American
• Geographic Magazine
The media plan for Euro-MARS also includes the public exhibiting of the station at the Adler Planetarium
in Chicago throughout the summer of 2002 (with some 1,200-1,500 visitors a day passing through). This
may be followed with the unit being displayed at a major European city during the winter/spring of
2002/2003.
Once operational, field operations in Iceland in 2003/2004 will be covered by European television
networks, radios and the written press. Both the BBC (UK) and National Geographic France have already
expressed interest in covering Euro-MARS operations.
Given this interest, the Mars Society believes the Euro-MARS project offers an ideal opportunity for
organisations around the world to sponsor the project, and receive the benefits of global media coverage.
Opportunities for sponsorship in the project are many and varied, and include both logo sponsorships and
in-kind donations.

Logo Sponsorships

Organisations wishing to sponsor the Euro-MARS and have their logo displayed on the side of the hab
while it may be seen in photographs and film of the unit, can do so for a set sponsorship. A one metre
square logo display costs ¼ 2WKHU ORJR RSWLRQV FDQ EH QHJRWLDWHG E\ FRQWDFWLQJ DQ\ RI WKH (XUR
MARS Project Directors, at the addresses given at the end of this brochure.
Advertising Campaigns
The Mars Society is also aware of the potential of the Euro-MARS to assist in the advertising campaigns
for sponsor products. Companies wishing to take advantage of this opportunity to promote their products
in a truly unique environment should contact any of the Euro-MARS Project Directors, at the addresses
given at the end of this brochure.
In-kind Donations
The Mars Society welcomes all in-kind donations towards the Euro-MARS and MARS programmes. For
full information on making in-kind donations, please contact any of the Euro-MARS Project Directors, at
the addresses given at the end of this brochure.
Research Proposals
Proposals from academic and scientific bodies to carry out Mars-related research at any of the MARS
centres are most welcome. All such proposals should be no more than 5,000 words in length and
forwarded to any of the Euro-MARS Project Directors, at the addresses given at the end of this brochure.

Web Sites

Further information on the MARS project and operations can be found at the following web sites:
Euro-MARS: www.euromars.org
The Mars Society: www.marssociety.org
The F-Mars Field Season web site: http://arctic.marssociety.org/
MARS Project Principal Officers
Charles Frankel
Association Planete Mars
Euro-MARS (France) Project Director
Csfrankel@aol.com
Bo Maxwell
President, Mars Society UK
Euro-MARS (UK) Project Director
bo@marssociety.org.uk
Artemis Westernberg
Mars Society Netherlands
Euro-MARS (Netherlands) Project Manager
aretmis@marssociety.nl
Mars Society UK Address:
4 Chievely Court,
Emerson Valley,
Milton Keynes.
MK4 2DD
Please mark all correspondence “Euro-MARS Project”.
Copyright 2002 The Mars Society UK Ltd. All rights reserved.
All text Bo Maxwell, 2002
Images:
All images The Mars Society
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopied, recorded or otherwise, other than for its intended use without the express written
permission of the copyright holder.
Information contained in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a
commitment on the part of The Mars Society UK Ltd.
The Mars Society UK is a non-profit organisation operated on a volunteer basis. None of its Directors
or officers receive payment for their time
Mars Analogue Research Stations – Mars on Earth

Euro-MARS Scouting Mission: Iceland

On June 24th a Mars Society Socuting Team arrived in Iceland to investigate potential sites for locating the Euro-MARS unit, and to meet with various officials and academics to discuss the MARS project and explore the opportunities for mutual co-operation.

The Scouting Team comprised 3 Mars Society European representatives, namely:

Charles Frankel, from Association Planete Mars
Bo Maxwell, President of the Mars Society UK
Artemis Westenberg, Mars Society Netherlands.

As a part of the mission, they will be joined by Frank Schubert, who will accompany them to the locations under consideration for siting the Euro-MARS during the latter half of the Scouting Mission.

Meetings

An important aspect of successful MARS unit operations is securing the support and co-operation of the local government and, where possible, academic institutions within the host nation. To this end, an important element of the Scouting Mission is to meet with senior officials in Iceland to secure their support and backing for siting the Euro-MARS there. So, during the first part of the trip, the Scouting Team will be meeting with:

The Chairman of the Icelandic Research Council
The Minister of Education and Science
A leading Icelandic extremophile biologist
In addition, and at the invitation of Haflidi Gislasson, the team will be giving a presentation on the Mars Society, the MARS programme and the Euro-MARS at the University of Iceland.

Location Scouting

The prime location under consideration for siting the Euro-MARS is the Myvatn / Krafla area of Iceland, with a potential back-up site located in Hofn. Currently, the plan is to extensively explore the Myvatn / Krafla region, and only scout Hofn if substantial problems are identified in siting the Euro-MARS in Krafla. This is because:

Myvatn / Krafla is visually well-suited to locating a MARS hab
The area has good ground-based lines of communication, and good air links, making logistical support easier
The region is geologically sound for Mars-type geology research
The area offers plenty of opportunities for life sciences research
While Hofn has been under consideration throughout the time the Euro-MARS management team have been considering Iceland as a potential host for the project, it has two significant drawbacks over the use of Myvatn / Krafla:

Logistical support is subject to the prevailing weather, and reliant on air support, dramatically increasing potential running-costs for Euro-MARS operations
While the region offers significant opportunities for geological research, the opportunities for life science research is more limited

Scouting Mission Reports

Allowing for e-mail access, the Scouting Team hope to bring you regular reports on their progress, hopefully complete with images from the places they visit. These will be made available on the pages that follow, so be sure to keep an eye on these pages.

Adler Planetarium Exhibition


In June 2002, the Euro-MARS hab, constructed in Denver (see our construction report and gallery), was shipped to Chicago, where the Adler Planetarium had agreed to host a display of the hab and the work of the Mars Society throughout the summer.

The hab itself was erected in the grounds of the Planetarium, in a specially-prepared area, together was a “Mars greenhouse”. Special ramps leading up to the hab’s main airlock and to the emergency fire escape at the rear of the hab were set up to provide easy access and egress from the exhibit for everyone.

Once erected on the site, the hab’s lower deck was fitted out were a range of displays about Mars, the Society, and the MARS project itself. A special display from the hab’s European sponsor, Starchaser Industries of the United Kingdom, has also been included in the hab. Highlights of the display included:

Descriptions of the Mars Direct mision plan
Information on the Society iteslf
Detailed plans of the completed Euro-MARS
Models of Mars and it appears today and of a terraformed Mars
A “hands-on” experiment to demonstrate the differences in gravity between the Earth, Mars and the Moon
“Skylights” in the ceiling of the lower deck allowed people to see up into the mid-deck and upper deck levels which, once the hab is located at its operational site, will be equipped as the living and sleeping accommodation respectively, as well as housing much of the hab’s supplies and technical systems.

The Adler display ran until the Labor Day weekend, and was staffed by volunteers from several US Mars Society Chapters, including Gary Fisher, Matt Lowry and his wife, Nancy Woods, the Tzarniks, and many others. To them all, the European Chapters of the Mars Society extend grateful thanks.

Images of the Hab

Images of the Display

Construction Gallery

Follow the construction of the Euro-MARS at the Rio Grande Company in Denver, Colorado by clicking on any of the links below.

May 21st 2002
Hab with most wall panels removed and dome frame under construction
Closer view of dome frame under construction
The hab dome frame
View of the underside of the dome frame
Fitting the landing leg stays
Hab view showing the single wall panel and dome frame
Six wall panels laid out on the ground

May 15th 2002
Three wall panels raised
Side view of hab frame with three walls erected
A view from inside the hab with the three wall panels raised
Closer view of the three wall panels, showing airlock door opening
View of the hab with the wall panels from the other side
Looking through the doorless opening of the airlock
Eight wall panels up viewed from the East
Eight wall panels up viewed from the South-east
Eight wall panels up viwed from the South
A closer view of the hab from the West
A view of the hab from the North-west, looking across the lower deck to the raised wall panels
A closer view of the hab, looking across the lower deck

May 14th 2002
Wall sections with window frames fitted, awaiting insulation
Wall sections with window frames and insulation
Wall sections ready for mounting on hab
Upper deck floor beams ready for installation

May 13th 2002
Hab with wall panels mounted on frames
Hab with wall sections awaiting insulation in the foreground
Wall sections awaiting foam insulation
Wall panel frame with door frame inserted

May 10th 2002
Preparing to fit wall panels to frames
Fixing wall panels to frames
Insulating the wall panel units
Insulating the under-floor space beneath the lower deck

May 9th 2002
Hab with mid-deck flooring outer raduis installed
View of installed wall panel frames
Close-up of installed lower deck floor panels
Installing mid-deck floor panels
View up from lower deck to mid-deck

May 2nd 2002
View of hab: 2 wall panels raised and mid-deck floor beams in place
Close-up showing lower deck floor panels and mid-deck floor beams
Wide shot looking up at mid-dek floor beams
Close-up of mid-deck floor beams

May 1st 2002
Wide shot of hab showing raised wall panel frames
View of completed lower deck floor panelling
Side shot of hab structure with raised wall panel frame

April 30th 2002
Detailed view of mid-deck showing floor beams in place
View from across the lower deck looking at raised wall frames
View of wall panel frames from outside the hab
Looking up at wall panel frame extending above mid-deck level

April 26th 2002
The stack of wall panel frames
Lower deck with outer floor radius installed
Close-up of outer floor radius
View of completed lower deck floor beams
Hab at the end of the day

April 25th 2002
The growing stack of wall panels
Close-up of lower deck floor “wedges”
First lower deck floor raduis fitted
Hab at the end of the day

April 24th 2002
The growing stack of wall panels
A “wedge” of floor beams installed
Hab at the end of the day

April 23rd 2002
The first wall panel frame
Lower Deck floor beams being fitted
Another view of floor beams being fitted with end radius test-fitted
Hab at the end of day

April 22nd 2002
Lower deck cross-members bolted to central pillar
Mid-deck cross-members bolted to central pillar
Low angle looking up at a landing leg
Close-up of join between landing leg and lower deck cross-member
View of join between landing leg and mid-deck cross-member
Hab at the end of the day

MARS Project Overview

Mars Analogue Research Stations (MARS) are laboratories for learning how to live and work on another planet. Each is a prototype of a habitat that will land humans on Mars and serve as their main base for months of exploration in the harsh Martian environment. Such a habitat represents a key element in current human Mars mission planing. Each “hab” is an 8-metre diameter structure mounted on landing struts and containing 2 or 3 decks of living and working space. Peripheral external structures, some inflatable, may be appended to the hab as well.

Each station will serve as a field centre for up to 6 crew members from a range of disciplines - geologists, astrobiologists, engineers, mechanics, physicians, etc. They will live and work for weeks to months at a time in relative isolation in a location where some environmental conditions, geologic features, biological attributes or combinations thereof approximate in some way those thought to exist on Mars, either at present or earlier in that planet’s history. Studying such sites will lead us to new insights into the nature and evolution of Mars, the Earth, and life.

In addition to providing scientific insight into our neighbouring world, such analogue environments offer unprecedented opportunities to carry out field research in a variety of key scientific and engineering disciplines that will help prepare humans for the exploration of Mars. Such research is vitally necessary. It is one thing to walk around a factory test area in a new spacesuit prototype and show that a wearer can pick up a wrench, it is entirely another to subject that same suit to months of testing in field conditions.

Similarly, by studying crews operating in facilities that closely mimic those our astronauts will have to live and work aboard for 2 years at a time, we can better understand and anticipate the problems and difficulties that are bound to be revealed when small groups work in close proximity to one another over extended periods.

Finally, when considering the effectiveness of a human mission to Mars as a whole, it is clear that there is an operations design problem of considerable complexity to be solved. Such a mission will involve diverse players with different capabilities, strengths and weaknesses. Operations will include people working both inside and outside the habitat, astronauts working on short-range EVAs relatively close to the habitat and those undertaking missions that will carry them away from base for several days at a time aboard pressurised vehicles. Operations will also include liaison issues between teams and the need to communicate with and involve the experts left back at mission control. By exploring all of these factors here on Earth, before we send our people to Mars, we dramatically increase the opportunities for worthwhile, successful and above all safe human operations on Mars.

Current plans call for the MARS project to operate on a rolling basis at 4 locations around the world. It is planned to operate each unit for a minimum of five years, with a series of mutually-compatible research activities undertaken at each station that will enable the Mars Society and its partners to undertake the widest possible research and development in preparation for human missions to Mars.

Aims and Goals

The Mars Society has identified three prime goals to be met by the MARS Programme:

Each station will serve as an effective test bed for field operations studies in preparation for human missions to Mars. As such, each will help develop and allow tests of key habitat design features, field exploration strategies, tools, technologies, and crew selection protocols that will enable and help optimise the productive exploration of Mars by humans. In order to achieve this, each station must be a realistic and adaptable habitat.

Each station will serve as a useful field research facility at selected Mars analogue sites on Earth. Such sites will be selected on the basis of how they will help further our understanding of the geology, biology, and environmental conditions on the Earth and on Mars. In order to achieve this, each station must provide safe shelter and be an effective field laboratory.
The stations will generate public support for sending humans to Mars. They will inform and inspire audiences around the world, and will serve as the foundation of a series of bold steps that will pave the way to the eventual human exploration of Mars.
Each MARS unit will be operated by Mars Society researchers and will be made available to selected space agencies and to scientists, engineers and other professionals from a variety of institutions around the globe to support science investigations and exploration research at Mars analogue sites. As an operational test bed, each station will serve as a central element in support of parallel studies of the technologies, strategies, architectural design, and human factors involved in human missions to Mars. The facilities will also bring to the field compact laboratories in which in-depth data analysis can begin before scientists leave the field site and return to their home institutions. Each station will help develop the capabilities needed on Mars to allow productive field research during the long months of a human sojourn. The facilities will evolve through time to achieve increasing levels of realism and fidelity with the ultimate goal of supporting the actual training of Mars-bound astronauts.

Project Inception

The MARS project was conceived at the founding conference of the Mars Society held in Boulder, Colorado in 1998. The first unit in the project, the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station (F-MARS) became operational on Devon Island in the Canadian Arctic in July 2000. Since that time, the unit has been the home to several research crews selected by the Mars Society, who have been responsible for initiating a broad range of Mars-related research operations.

Devon Island is an ideal Mars Analogue site. It not only has much in common with the geomorphology of Mars, it also exists within the Arctic Circle, and so is devoid of any real vegetation and is subject to temperature ranges that mimic the milder temperatures on Mars. These factors have allowed teams working there to not only study the kind of features and geology we will find on Mars, they have also allowed crews to do so in an environment remarkably similar to that of the surface of Mars.

In February 2002, the second of the MARS units became operational in Utah, in the South Western United States. Built along similar lines to the F-MARS, the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) has been located in another region that bears remarkable similarity to the surface of Mars. However, the overall geology of the environment is markedly different to that of Devon Island, thus allowing the Mars Society to extend our research and experiments. Furthermore, being located on the continental United States, the MDRS also presents the Society with the opportunity to operate field studies beyond the time constraints presented by Devon Island’s more northerly and remote location.

Together, the F-MARS and MDRS have already greatly extended our understanding of how humans will operate when they go to Mars. They have also enabled us to test equipment and systems that will be of vital importance on Mars. Perhaps most importantly of all, they have served as a media focal point, bring the message of the potential of the human exploration of Mars directly into people’s living rooms through the broadcasting of a range of documentary and news features on both of the stations.

Now, with the advent of the European Mars Analogue Research Station (Euro-MARS), the Mars Society stands on the cusp of a bold new expansion of the MARS programme, one that offers us the opportunity to take a gigantic step closer to actually sending humans to Mars.