New Mars Forums

louis

Member

From: UK

Registered: 2008-03-24

Posts: 7,208

MAT Facility

I'd like to see a full Mars Analogue Testing (MAT) Facility. The MAT  would be a completely sealed construction - maybe 100 metres by 100 metres and maybe 20 metres high with sunlight-analogue at Mars insolation levels and a pressurised Mars analogue atmosphere.  It would be heated to the correct Mars temperature range, as the seasons pass.  There would be Mars analogue regolith to a depth of 3 metres - 5 metres.  The walls and ceiling would be back projected with images of the Mars landscape and Mars sky. A couple of Rover analogue stations (Rover travelling on rollers) would allow for simulated Mars Rover expeditions. It would incorporate a flight simulation lander and pre-landing craft.

Such a facility would cost hundreds of millions of dollars to build but it would be worth it, knowing we could test equipments and test the potential pioneers in reasonably realistic conditions, and simulate emergencies.

---

Let's Go to Mars...Google on: Fast Track to Mars blogspot.com

SpaceNut

Administrator

From: New Hampshire

Registered: 2004-07-22

Posts: 29,431

Re: MAT Facility

AKA Mars in a jar test facility, quite expensive to build and operate. So we will need to create near really situations to do close style testing with followup missions to mars with the real thing....