The MDRS Habitat
Mars Society operates the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS), a mars-analogue station in the desert of southern Utah/United States nearby Hanksville. The facility's principal item is a "habitat" measuring 8 metres in diameter. It's a two-floor construction mounted on landing pads. Furthermore there are outbuildings like a greenhouse supporting the bioregenerative systems and a small observatory for astronomical purposes.
The MDRS serves six accurately selected analogue-astronauts as a research station for field trips using analogue-spacesuits which reproduce the constraints of an authentic spacesuit realistically. All activities are accomplished under strict isolation also considering a ten minutes delay when there is communication between the station and Mission Control Center.
Facilities like this make it possible to execute analogue research in various scientific areas: they permit to define requirements for man and hardware to reach a high level of both safety and scientific value.
Since January 2003 the MDRS is in operation and served as a base for 40 expeditions: more than 70.000 man-hours of analogue experience have been collected - more than in any other analogue station worldwide.
