MDRS facilities
The Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS), owned and operated by the Mars Society, is a space analogue facility in Utah, USA that supports Earth-based research in pursuit of the technology, operations, and science required for human space exploration.
The relative isolation of the facility allows for rigorous field studies as well as human factors research. The advantage of MDRS over most facilities for simulated space missions is that the campus is
surrounded by a landscape that is an actual geologic Mars analogue, which offers opportunities for rigorous field studies as they would be conducted during an actual space mission.
The MDRS campus includes six structures. The habitat (Hab) is a two story 8 meter in diameter cylindrical building constructed in 2001. It can house seven crewmembers at one time. The structure has been undergoing a refurbishment over the last few years. The lower deck houses the EVA prep room with the spacesuit simulators, an exterior airlock, a shower room, toilet room and a rear airlock leading to tunnels, which access other structures. The upper deck houses the living quarters, which include a common work/living area, fully operational kitchen and seven staterooms with bunks. Six of the staterooms are on the main floor, a seventh is housed in the loft.
Learn more about MDRS on their website
MDRS hab interior
Science Dome
The Musk Observatory
Repair and Assembly Module
MDRS Hab Equipment Room
