Australia Mars Analog Research Station

Australia Mars Analogue Research Station (MARS-Oz) is a station in Australia where the Mars Society will conduct geological exploration under constraints similar to those found on Mars. In 1998, the United States Mars Society agreed to work with Mars Society Australia, a non-profit organization dedicated to the eventual human settlement on the Red Planet, which allowed this project to be administrated in Australia. Led by project manager David Willson, this will be the fourth Mars Analogue Research Station Program. The three previous stations were built in Devon Island in Arctic Canada in July 2000, a desert near Hanksville, Utah, and the Adler Planetarium in Chicago. The main objective behind the research is to anticipate and resolve conflicts that will arise on a Martian exploration by having a group of scientists and engineers work together and live in an analogue Mars environment.

There are three types of research missions: missions of discovery, missions of opportunity, and missions of investigation. A mission of discovery involves simulating life on a Martian environment to uncover unanticipated problems. The mission of opportunity focuses on the technological aspect of life on Mars. Engineers and scientists use their knowledge and data to find solutions for specific situations. One example of a mission of opportunity is testing new technologies. The mission of investigation tests the tools and approaches needed to carry out exploration of Mars; it focuses on the main conflicts that have been anticipated. When simulating a crisis, the plan is to isolate the situation and limit the elements that play a role. In any situation, there will be many minor elements that cannot all be accounted for. The simulated explorations allow these minor details to be uncovered and fixed.

Australia has many sites that parallel the Martian landscape. Springs, channels, and dry land are the geographical features the Mars Society Australia searched for. To find sites, an expedition crew drove out to different areas in Australia carefully examining the different environments. Abandoned landscapes were found which resembled the constraints that would have to be dealt with on Mars. For example, the curvature of the Dalhousie and Strangways mound springs resemble the springs created by volcanic and tectonic fissures on Mars. Also, the Henbury craters resemble Martian craters; the Henbury craters have internal swamps and on Mars, there are signs of water seepage in the craters.

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