Replica Mini Mars Created Just Outside London by Airbus Defence




/ 10 years ago

Screenshot 2014-07-01 09.00.57

If you want to test a new rover for a mission on the red planet you’ve got two options. One would be to spend billions and fire your creation through space to Mars and put it straight to work, alternatively you can spend £500,000 and build a massive “Mars Yard” just outside London.

Engineers at Airbus Defence and Space in the UK have opted to build their own Mars as a testing ground for new Mars bound technology. It features 300 tons of sand that have been colour matched from the readings taken by NASA’s rovers, and even the light levels inside the testing ground have been set to mimic those of the red planet.

With ESA’s ExoMars program preparing to send two missions, the first to test if Mars could ever have supported life and another which will attempt to return samples from the planet in 2020.

With Mars bound missions have a high failure rate we hope this new testing ground proves useful in making these two missions a success. Unfortunately the first rover won’t touch down until 2019, so it looks like we’ll have to be patient to find out.

Thank you CNN for providing us with this information.

Image courtesy of CNN.


Topics: , , , , , , ,

Support eTeknix.com

By supporting eTeknix, you help us grow and continue to bring you the latest newsreviews, and competitions. Follow us on FacebookTwitter and Instagram to keep up with the latest technology news, reviews and more. Share your favourite articles, chat with the team and more. Also check out eTeknix YouTube, where you'll find our latest video reviews, event coverage and features in 4K!

Looking for more exciting features on the latest technology? Check out our What We Know So Far section or our Fun Reads for some interesting original features.

eTeknix Facebook eTeknix Twitter eTeknix Instagram eTeknix Instagram
  • Be Social With eTeknix

    Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram Reddit RSS Discord Patreon TikTok Twitch
  • Features


Send this to a friend
})