| In the summer of the year 2003, a unique experiment will continue in the Arctic Circle when the Mars Society deploys its Flashline Arctic Research Station, the world's first fully-simulated Mars Base. | ||||||
The MARS project will enable scientists, engineers and even
astronauts to test the equipment and technology (habitation,
transportation, life support, recycling, etc.), that may be deployed
during a human mission to Mars.
The SKYDOC BALLOON will be there providing surveillance and advance warning of hazards.
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Dr. Pascal Lee, a NASA engineer who has lead three several expeditions to Devon Island, and who is the MARS project leader, best sums up the reason for selecting Devon Island, "By
setting ourselves up in this polar desert, we will experience an environment that most closely resembles
the surface of Mars." | If humans are to live on Mars - even for brief periods - they are going to have to be supported by a wide
range of infrastructure. They'll need a place to work, rest and live. They'll need power, light, food, water,
heat. They'll need robust transportation, equipment able to operate in low temperatures and "hostile"
environments. |
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Not only does the island exhibit geological and glacial
features which resemble features found on Mars, its daytime temperatures are similar to those of a
"summer" day on Mars, and it is largely snow and ice free in summer - some the Antarctic, another
popular Mars analogue, cannot offer so easily. While the atmosphere may be 100 times as dense as the
atmosphere on Mars, it is hardly an issue. Everything else about the island makes it an ideal proving ground
for technology and equipment that may one day be carried to Mars.
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Send mail to: FLOATOGRAPH™ TECHNOLOGIES 1075 E. Bocock Road, Marion, IN 46952 765-664-6134, 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. Indiana Time 800-236-9259, 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. Indiana Time FAX - 765-664-6135 |
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