To prepare for future crewed missions on the planet Mars, the Austrian Space Forum (OeWF) organises Mars simulations on Earth. The OeWF, in partnership with the Oman National Steering Committee, is conducting an international Mars analogue field simulation in the Arabian desert in Oman. Directed by a Mission Support Center in Austria, a small field crew will conduct experiments in the fields of geology, astrobiology, human factors and engineering, thus gathering valuable data for future missions on Mars.
During February 2018, Austrian scientists are scheduled to live in almost complete isolation for a month and all human activities on the Martian surface will be simulated by the OeWF’s Analogue Astronauts. During their four week stay in the desert the Austrian space scientists will conduct a series of experiments to better understand the difficulties encountered by space crew members while living on Mars. During the mission, communication between the Mission Support Center and the field crew is time-delayed to emulate the conditions of a Mars expedition.
The desert of Dhofar in Oman provides the perfect test area for emulating a mission to the extreme living conditions found on Mars. We are excited to be part of this exercise having provided a 30 person turnkey camp including office facilities and living accommodation for the scientists. All cabling and plumbing is located underground so that the desert landscape appears as much like the surface of Mars as possible.
Byrne has a dedicated temporary buildings team who can design, manufacture, install and service almost any configuration of accommodation required, whether that be a full scale camp, site offices or blast-resistant buildings. What’s more, our temporary buildings can be situated in the remotest of locations, in the most arduous conditions and fitted out to the highest of standards.
