Mars spacesuits, unmanned rover tested in Spanish mining desert
May 4th, 2011 - 4:17 pm ICT by ANILondon, May 4 (ANI): A Spanish mining terrain has become the latest testing ground for specially-made equipment that could one day take mankind to Mars.
European Space Agency scientists tested the spacesuit simulator Aouda X and a prototype, unmanned rover Eurobot in the arid area of Rio Tinto, Andalusia, reports the Daily Mail.
The expedition to Spain offered teams the chance to test technology on landscape with chemical and geological make-up closest to conditions on the Red Planet in Europe.
The desert terrain of Rio Tinto, a former mining area in the Huelva district of Andalusia, contains a mineral called jarosite, just like Mars, according to experts.
Scientists described the testing of Aouda X and the Eurobot as a ‘dress rehearsal for the biggest journey our civilisation has ever taken’.
The team from the Austrian Space Forum tested technology that has been three years in development and which is partly funded by the Europlanet network.
The onboard life-support systems and hi-tech computers on the Aouda X spacesuit have been specially created to help astronauts withstand the hostile conditions on Mars.
The prototype Eurobot was also given a test outing across the desert terrain.
‘It is a human-like robot. It has stereo vision, and two arms that can operate little pieces of payload,” said Phillippe Schoonejans, head of the robotics project office at ESA.
“It can do anything that is too difficult, too dangerous or too boring for astronauts to do,” he added. (ANI)
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