In a first, all-Indian crew set to experience Mars

MUMBAI: After making history with the Mars Orbiter Mission, India is now set to embark on a simulated Martian environment where participants experience the challenges of a manned mission to the red planet.

For the first time, an all-Indian crew will take part in a two-week Mars-related research assignment between January 28 and February 12, 2017, at the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in Utah, US. This was confirmed by Michael Stoltz, Mars Society's chief spokesperson, to TOI. The MDRS, organised by the US-based Mars Society , was launched in 2001 and, in the past 16 years, nearly 1,000 youngsters from all over the world have participated in the programme.

MDRS is a Mars-analog test site which has a prototype of a habitat that will house humans on Mars and serves as a test bed for Martian exploration. The research projects of the Indian team will include assessing "the degree to which human-associated bacteria could potentially contaminate the Red Planet during a manned mission and measure the impact of dust storms.''