Want to Travel to Mars? Well, Dubai’s Building the Next Best Thing

Ever wondered what life would be like on Mars? It turns out…we’re actually going to be able to experience it sooner than we thought. Dubai has announced that it is building Mars Scientific City, where life on Mars will be simulated in a AED 500 million facility.

…and just when you thought things couldn’t get any more futuristic around here. Here’s what the amazing space-age concept will look like:

100-year mission to Mars

Ever since Dubai announced they would be sending an unmanned spacecraft to Mars in 2021 (to coincide with the UAE’s 50th anniversary), its space programme has been rapidly growing.

Part of the ongoing Mars 2117 Project (a 100-year national programme to build a habitable city on the Red Planet), the new Mars Scientific City in Dubai is set to blow astronomy geeks away.

Spread over 1.9 million square ft., it will be the largest space simulation city ever built, providing scientists with a realistic model to simulate living on the surface of Mars. Consisting of several domes, there will be labs for food, energy and water, along with agricultural testing.

A new space race

The project will also boast a 3D-printed museum (made using sand from the UAE desert) showcasing history’s most important space achievements, along with educational areas for young space enthusiasts.

Plans are already under way to set up an experiment that would involve a team living in the simulated Red Planet for one year… where do we sign up?!

No word yet on when the project is expected to be completed.