03:51Austrian Space Forum scientists started testing spacesuits and robots to prepare for future expeditions to Mars, in collaboration with the Armenia Aerospace Agency, near the village of Armash in footage recorded on March 12.
Astronauts are seen wearing the spacesuits and leaving a simulated research station, walking down a hill and riding ATVs (all-terrain vehicles), as well as a specially designed remote-controlled rover.
"There is a habitat where usually the astronauts live, with all the stuff there which they'll need for living - water, heating, and all this. And, of course, there is a lot of experiments around, where people try out things that might be useful for Mars later on. For example, there is a greenhouse here so we can grow vegetables, we have a robot here which helps with exploring Mars with the astronauts," said robotics engineer Gerald Steinbauer-Wagner.
According to the specialist, psychological preparation was also critical due to the long time the crew would spend away from Earth.
"You want to find out what can go wrong in these missions and what you can use as procedures and materials that, if in five, ten or twenty years people go there, that they are prepared based on what we are doing here," emphasised Stenbauer-Wagner.
Deputy mission commander Robert Wild said the spacesuit prototype being tested would help astronauts adapt to working in Martian conditions.
"The spacesuit simulators specifically are meant to make our work processes very much like working in a real spacesuit. <...> You can't just turn your head, it is very heavy, you don't have good finger feelings, you have big gloves. So working is very different, and if you are going to go exploring wearing a spacesuit, you can't just walk up this hill, because it becomes quite dangerous, and it is heavy," he explained.
Wild added that the astronauts would use drones and rovers during the mission to explore and map the environment, take soil samples and transport heavy payloads.
Mission commander Anika Mehlis said that all crew members were scientists with different specialities.
"If there is any decision to be made, or if any emergency situation, for example, that I have to react to, that is my responsibility. But other than that, we are a team of scientists with different backgrounds, so we come together and we want to bring the expertise, and we really work seamlessly with each other. It's not as if I give the commands and everyone has to listen, but it's more like a co-operative," said Mehlis.
The AMADEE-24 international analogue research mission to Mars is being conducted by the Austrian Space Forum in co-operation with the Armenian Space Agency. Armenia was chosen as the site of the mission due to the similarity in the terrain to the Red Planet.
According to the forum, the six-person crew from Austria, Germany, Israel, Italy and the UK will live and conduct research in an isolated habitat specially designed for them, leaving it only in a prototype spacesuit. Communication with the mission support centre is only possible with a 10-minute delay to simulate the distance between Earth and Mars.
The experiment will take place from March 12 to April 5 with the participation of more than 200 scientists from 26 countries.
Life on Mars? AMADEE-24 international exploration simulation mission kicks off in Armenia
Austrian Space Forum scientists started testing spacesuits and robots to prepare for future expeditions to Mars, in collaboration with the Armenia Aerospace Agency, near the village of Armash in footage recorded on March 12.
Astronauts are seen wearing the spacesuits and leaving a simulated research station, walking down a hill and riding ATVs (all-terrain vehicles), as well as a specially designed remote-controlled rover.
"There is a habitat where usually the astronauts live, with all the stuff there which they'll need for living - water, heating, and all this. And, of course, there is a lot of experiments around, where people try out things that might be useful for Mars later on. For example, there is a greenhouse here so we can grow vegetables, we have a robot here which helps with exploring Mars with the astronauts," said robotics engineer Gerald Steinbauer-Wagner.
According to the specialist, psychological preparation was also critical due to the long time the crew would spend away from Earth.
"You want to find out what can go wrong in these missions and what you can use as procedures and materials that, if in five, ten or twenty years people go there, that they are prepared based on what we are doing here," emphasised Stenbauer-Wagner.
Deputy mission commander Robert Wild said the spacesuit prototype being tested would help astronauts adapt to working in Martian conditions.
"The spacesuit simulators specifically are meant to make our work processes very much like working in a real spacesuit. <...> You can't just turn your head, it is very heavy, you don't have good finger feelings, you have big gloves. So working is very different, and if you are going to go exploring wearing a spacesuit, you can't just walk up this hill, because it becomes quite dangerous, and it is heavy," he explained.
Wild added that the astronauts would use drones and rovers during the mission to explore and map the environment, take soil samples and transport heavy payloads.
Mission commander Anika Mehlis said that all crew members were scientists with different specialities.
"If there is any decision to be made, or if any emergency situation, for example, that I have to react to, that is my responsibility. But other than that, we are a team of scientists with different backgrounds, so we come together and we want to bring the expertise, and we really work seamlessly with each other. It's not as if I give the commands and everyone has to listen, but it's more like a co-operative," said Mehlis.
The AMADEE-24 international analogue research mission to Mars is being conducted by the Austrian Space Forum in co-operation with the Armenian Space Agency. Armenia was chosen as the site of the mission due to the similarity in the terrain to the Red Planet.
According to the forum, the six-person crew from Austria, Germany, Israel, Italy and the UK will live and conduct research in an isolated habitat specially designed for them, leaving it only in a prototype spacesuit. Communication with the mission support centre is only possible with a 10-minute delay to simulate the distance between Earth and Mars.
The experiment will take place from March 12 to April 5 with the participation of more than 200 scientists from 26 countries.
Austrian Space Forum scientists started testing spacesuits and robots to prepare for future expeditions to Mars, in collaboration with the Armenia Aerospace Agency, near the village of Armash in footage recorded on March 12.
Astronauts are seen wearing the spacesuits and leaving a simulated research station, walking down a hill and riding ATVs (all-terrain vehicles), as well as a specially designed remote-controlled rover.
"There is a habitat where usually the astronauts live, with all the stuff there which they'll need for living - water, heating, and all this. And, of course, there is a lot of experiments around, where people try out things that might be useful for Mars later on. For example, there is a greenhouse here so we can grow vegetables, we have a robot here which helps with exploring Mars with the astronauts," said robotics engineer Gerald Steinbauer-Wagner.
According to the specialist, psychological preparation was also critical due to the long time the crew would spend away from Earth.
"You want to find out what can go wrong in these missions and what you can use as procedures and materials that, if in five, ten or twenty years people go there, that they are prepared based on what we are doing here," emphasised Stenbauer-Wagner.
Deputy mission commander Robert Wild said the spacesuit prototype being tested would help astronauts adapt to working in Martian conditions.
"The spacesuit simulators specifically are meant to make our work processes very much like working in a real spacesuit. <...> You can't just turn your head, it is very heavy, you don't have good finger feelings, you have big gloves. So working is very different, and if you are going to go exploring wearing a spacesuit, you can't just walk up this hill, because it becomes quite dangerous, and it is heavy," he explained.
Wild added that the astronauts would use drones and rovers during the mission to explore and map the environment, take soil samples and transport heavy payloads.
Mission commander Anika Mehlis said that all crew members were scientists with different specialities.
"If there is any decision to be made, or if any emergency situation, for example, that I have to react to, that is my responsibility. But other than that, we are a team of scientists with different backgrounds, so we come together and we want to bring the expertise, and we really work seamlessly with each other. It's not as if I give the commands and everyone has to listen, but it's more like a co-operative," said Mehlis.
The AMADEE-24 international analogue research mission to Mars is being conducted by the Austrian Space Forum in co-operation with the Armenian Space Agency. Armenia was chosen as the site of the mission due to the similarity in the terrain to the Red Planet.
According to the forum, the six-person crew from Austria, Germany, Israel, Italy and the UK will live and conduct research in an isolated habitat specially designed for them, leaving it only in a prototype spacesuit. Communication with the mission support centre is only possible with a 10-minute delay to simulate the distance between Earth and Mars.
The experiment will take place from March 12 to April 5 with the participation of more than 200 scientists from 26 countries.