has chosen Armenia was chosen as the host country for its next Mars analog simulation AMADEE24 in March 2024.
The Austrian Space Forum (OeWF) said it will be their 14th simulation.
The training in Armenia will take place on a rocky high plateau, as is also the case on Mars. “It’s sort of a geological twin of the Red Planet,” OeWF Director Gernot Grömer said.
The crew for the mission has already been determined: two women and four men from Austria, Germany, Israel, Italy and Great Britain will participate in the simulation. Anika Mehlis from Germany will be the first woman to lead the mission.
“For a month, Armenia will be the hub of Mars research,” said Grömer. He expects more than 250 international researchers to provide scientific support for the mission. “As far as I know, it will be the largest and most complex Mars simulation of the year,” he added.
The test sites are being selected for their geological and topographic similarity to Mars. Several factors must be considered to determine whether an area is suitable for Mars analog missions on Earth.
