Deep in the deserts of northwest China, a new project is beginning that will act as a Mars Simulation base. The state media has reported that a deal is signed to build this “Mars Village” as both a tourist attraction and a scientific experiment at Haixi prefecture in Qinghai province. This simulation will provide a unique cultural and educational opportunity for everyone who visits. Not to mention its role as a scientific and research opportunity. One placed in a region not that dissimilar from the terrain on Mars.
Even the Sand Beneath the Mars Simulation Base is Red
NASA has done multiple experiments of this nature, simulating both the journey to and the stay on Mars. Other nations have done it as well, including the European Space Agency and Russia. Still, theirs weren’t as much geared directly towards being a tourist attraction. Liu Xiaoqun, an official with the Chinese Academy of Sciences space exploration program, said this “Mars Community” or “Mars Camp” would be a boost to the local tourism industry. That, in turn, could build more public support for the potential cost of such missions.
The property itself is in the Qinghai desert, which is mostly devoid of vegetation. It spreads over 95,000 square kilometers, and even the sand and rocks have a similar formation and coloring to the Martian surface.
China has a greater plan for future space exploration, and a lot of that seems to be looking at the Red Planet. This Mars simulation base is just the first step on several announced missions. In 2020, they will be launching their first Mars probe. They also have shows plans for a rover which will eventually join the other NASA rovers already on the planet.
The Chinese ambition to be involved in space seems very serious. They also have plans for missions to the moon and a potential Chinese space station.
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