In rocky Israeli crater, scientists simulate life on Mars

Team of six lives in a habitat tucked beneath a rocky outcrop in the desert

Scientists at the Ramon Crater in the desert of southern Israel. A team of five men and one woman have begun simulating what it will be like to live for about a month on Mars. Reuters

Astronauts prepare for their training mission for future Mars expeditions. The six, from Portugal, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and Israel, will be cut off from the world, leaving their artificial habitat only in spacesuits. AFP

Israeli astronaut Alon Tenzer prepares his spacesuit before starting the training mission in the Negev desert. AFP

German astronaut Anika Mehlis and Austrian colleague Robert Wild get ready for the mission. AFP

Dressed in a spacesuit, an astronaut prepares to enter the sealed "habitat" that simulates life on Mars. AFP

A scientist takes part in a demonstration near Mitzpe Ramon, Israel. Reuters

The astronauts find time for a photo before entering their "Martian habitat". Reuters

A drone hovers in the desert during an experiment. Reuters

Spacesuits on for a demonstration. Reuters

The "habitat" where astronauts from Europe and Israel are taking part in the AMADEE-20 Mars simulation. AFP

Handling a drone while wearing a spacesuit requires dexterity. AFP

A robotic rover is used during the simulation, directed by a mission support centre in Austria. AFP

Scientists are simulating life on Mars in a rocky Israeli crater.

A team of six is creating conditions to feel what it will be like to live for about a month on the red planet.

The landscape of the Ramon Crater in the desert of southern Israel is rocky, hilly, tinged with red. Purposefully it resembles Mars.

The Amadee-20 habitat of the team is tucked beneath a rocky outcrop. Inside, the five men and one woman sleep, eat and conduct experiments. Outside they wear mock space suits fitted with cameras, microphones and self-contained breathing systems.

"We have the motto of fail fast, fail cheap, and have a steep learning curve. Because for every mistake we make here on earth, we hope we don't repeat it on Mars," said Gernot Gromer, director of the Austrian Space Forum.

The Austrian association is running the project together with the Israel Space Agency and local group D-Mars.

A number of recent Mars probes have captivated astronomy fans across the world with robotic rovers like Nasa's Perseverance and, for the first time, the helicopter Ingenuity, offering a glance of the planet's surface.

But a manned mission is likely more than a decade off.

With Amadee-20, which was supposed to happen in 2020 but was postponed due to Covid-19, the team hopes to bring new insight that will help prepare for that mission, when it comes.

"The habitat, right now, is the most complex, the most modern analogue research station on this planet," said Gromer, standing beside the 120 square metre structure shaped like two large, connected yurts.

The six team members are constantly on camera, their vital signs monitored, their movements inside are tracked to analyse favourite spots for congregating. All this to better understand the human factor, Mr Gromer said.

Outside, other engineers and specialists work with a drone and rover to improve autonomous navigation and mapping on a world where GPS is not available.

They will carry out more than 20 experiments in fields including geology, biology and medicine and hope to publish some of the results when finished.

"We are six people working in a tight space under a lot of pressure to do a lot of tests. There are bound to be challenges," said Alon Tenzer, 36, wearing the spacesuit that carries some 50kg of equipment.

"But I trust my crew that we are able to overcome those challenges."

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