The next-best thing to being on Mars

User rating: 4.6 / 5 after 8 vote(s)

Crewmembers of an earlier mission at the Mars Society Desert Research Station in Utah set out for an exploratory trip on their all-terrain vehicles wearing simulated space suits. Photo courtesy  The Mars Society
Crewmembers of an earlier mission at the Mars Society Desert Research Station in Utah set out for an exploratory trip on their all-terrain vehicles, wearing simulated space suits. Photo courtesy / The Mars Society

Last week, two MIT students began living, working and communicating with the outside world as if they were on a mission to Mars. Whenever they go outside their small, round habitat where eight people are spending a two-week "mission," they don spacesuits and pass through an airlock. When they send e-mail, it takes 20 minutes before the recipient can see it-the time it takes for radio waves to travel to and from the red planet.


Full story »

All News summaries from Space & Earth science news
All News summaries for February 26, 2008

Eruptions subside at Sicily's Mount Etna

10 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
The eruptions that have shaken the Mount Etna volcano on the southern Italian island of Sicily have subsided, experts said Sunday at the Palermo Geophysics and Volcanology Institute.

Oil powered Norway gradually turns into the wind

10 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
As Norway prepares for a future after oil, the gale-force potential of harvesting wind power off its long coastline has become an increasingly attractive proposition.

Japan aims to cut emissions by 60-80 pct by 2050: reports

11 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
Japan aims to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by between 60 and 80 percent by 2050, news reports said on Sunday, as part of measures setting out the country's long term environmental goals.

Artificial reef near Miami is cemetery, diving attraction

May 10, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
(AP) -- About 45 feet beneath the ocean's surface lies a cemetery with gates, pathways, plaques and even benches. The Neptune Memorial Reef, which opened last fall, is seen by its creators as a perfect final ...

Sahara made slow transition from green to desert: study

May 10, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
The Sahara became the world's biggest hot desert some 2,700 years ago after a very slow fade from green, according to a new study which clashes with the theory that desertification came abruptly.