Mars on Earth: Tests in Desert of Oman

Two scientists work together to test a geo-radar that was built to make a map of the planet Mars. They pull the flat box across rocky, sandy ground. They are wearing spacesuits, just like astronauts do in space. The bright white on their protective equipment stands out against the color of the sand and dirt.

When the geo-radar stops working, the two walk back to their vehicles and use a radio to contact scientists at a nearby base camp for guidance. They are unable to speak directly with their command station, which is far away in the European Alps. Communications from there are delayed 10 minutes.

The scientists are not on the planet Mars. They are in a desert in southern Oman, near the borders of Yemen and Saudi Arabia. The desert looks so much like Mars that scientists chose it to field-test technology for a manned space flight to the red planet.

Efforts to send astronauts to Mars

The United States government and a few American companies have established programs to send astronauts to Mars. Former U.S. President Barack Obama and SpaceX founder Elon Musk have both declared that astronauts would walk on the planet in just a few decades.

China is joining the U.S. and Russia in space with its own Mars program. And aerospace companies like Blue Origin have published plans for future bases, ships and spacesuits.

Source :- voanews