Hidden among the majestic Utah desert cannons, about 7 miles from the nearest city, there is a small research installation aimed at preparing humans for life on Mars.
The Mars Society, a non -profit organization that runs the Mars Desert Research Station, or MDRS, invited CNBC to follow one of its analog teams in a recent mission.
“MDRS is the best analog astronaut environment, “said Urban Koi, who served as a health and safety officer for crew 315.” The land is extremely similar to the land of Mars and the protocols, research, science and engineering that happens here is very similar to what we would do if we had to travel to Mars. “
The CEO and defender of Mars of Spacex, Elon Musk, said that his company can make humans already in 2029.
The crew of 5 people 315 spent two weeks living in the research station following the same procedures that would do on Mars.
David Laude, who served as a crew commander, described a typical day.
“So we all gathered around 7 am around a common table on the upper cover and breakfast,” he said. “Around 8:00 we have our first meeting of the day where we planned the day. And then, in the morning, we usually have an Eva of two or three people and generally another in the afternoon.”
An Eva refers to extravehicular activity. In NASA Speak, Eva refer to space walks, when astronauts leave the pressurized space station and should use space suits to survive in space.
“I think the most challenging of these analog missions is simply to get into a rhythm … although here the risk is lower, on Mars performing those daily tasks is what keeps us alive,” said Michael Andrews, the crew engineer 315.
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