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.

The habitat, right now, is the most complex, the most modern analog research station on this planet.

Gernot Gromer,
director of the Austrian Space Forum

"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."

UAE's Mars rover in space - in pictures

Hope probe captures an image of Mars after clocking one million kilometres since its launch into space on July 20, 2020. Courtesy: Sheikh Mohammed Twitter

An image beamed back from the UAE's Hope probe on December 7 showing Saturn and Jupiter in close proximity to each other. Courtesy: Hope probe / MBR Space Centre

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid shares an image of Mars taken by the Hope Probe on December 3, 2020. Courtesy: Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid / Twitter

Media and officials at Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre in Dubai cheer as the Hope probe is blasted into space from Japan on July 20, 2020. Ahmed Jadallah / Reuters

At the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre headquarters in Al Khawaneej, where Emirati engineers monitor Hope's journey to Mars, on July 27, 2020. Antonie Robertson / The National

Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, and Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohamed, Crown Prince of Dubai, stand for a photograph with the Hope Probe team, during an honouring ceremony at Qasr Al Watan on July 31, 2020. Hamad Al Kaabi / Ministry of Presidential Affairs

Fatima Al Bannai (on stage - centre right) and Saeed Al Gergawi (on stage - centre left) present during a ceremony to honour the Hope probe team, at Qasr Al Watan, on July 31, 2020. Courtesy: Hamad Al Mansoori for the Ministry of Presidential Affairs

The Red Planet, where the Hope probe arrives on February 9 for an orbit insertion attempt. Getty

Sarah Al Amiri, Minister of State for Advanced Sciences and chairwoman of the UAE Space Agency, briefs Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, on the Hope probe mission on February 1. Courtesy: Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid / Twitter

A billboard on Al Khail Road advertises the UAE Mars Mission. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Burj Khalifa lights up for the Hope probe on February 6, 2021. Giuseppe Cacace / AFP

Zakareyya Al Shamsi, deputy manager of mission operation, at Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre in Al Khawaneej, Dubai, on February 2, 2021. Antonie Robertson / The National

The Hope Probe will attempt a Mars orbit insertion on Tuesday, February 9. Courtesy: Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid / Twitter

Sheikh Mohammed is briefed by the Hope probe team at the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre headquarters on February 18, 2020, ahead of the launch of the spacecraft in July. Wam

Engineers are pictured as the Hope probe is transferred from Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre to its launch site at the station on Tanegashima Island in Japan. The crew faced travel challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Courtesy: UAE Space Agency and MBRSC

The Hope probe is transferred to the launch site at the space station on Tanegashima Island in Japan. Courtesy: UAE Space Agency and MBRSC

Engineers work on the hope probe ahead of its launch in July 2020. Courtesy: Emirates Mars Mission

Hope is launched into space on board an H-2A rocket from Tanegashima Space Centre in southwestern Japan. Courtesy: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries

People wait for the launch of the Hope probe at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre in Dubai on July 19, 2020. Giuseppe Cacace / AFP

People wait for the launch of the Hope Mars probe at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre in Dubai on July 19, 2020. Giuseppe Cacace / AFP

The Hope probe is launched into space on July 20, 2020. Giuseppe Cacace / AFP

The Museum of the Future is lit up in red to celebrate the Hope probe's mission to Mars. Antonie Robertson / The National

All eyes are on today's countdown before the UAE's Hope probe reaches Mars' orbit. AP

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, and Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, visit the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre​​​​​ in February 2020. Wam

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, visits Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre on February 8, 2021 ahead of the Hope probe reaching Mars. Courtesy: Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Twitter