Mars base comes to Earth in Qinghai
Print Edition
Planners have mapped out a 400 million yuan (US$61 million) project to turn a red rock basin into a Mars research base and eco-tourism site.
Liu Xiaoqun, from the moon and deep-space exploration department of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said yesterday that a meeting had been held in the Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in northwest China’s Qinghai Province on the development of a Mars simulation base.
“As China’s only Mars science and recreation base, we hope it will focus on the scientific theme of space exploration,” he said.
The red rock area in Qaidam basin in western Qinghai has been called the most “Martian” place on Earth, with its natural features, landscape and climate all similar to those on the red planet.
The government of Haixi and the Chinese Academy of Sciences signed an agreement in November last year to build the base, and they have since begun discussing the project’s location.
Liu said the base is expected to consist of a “Mars community” and a “Mars campsite” with a number of module-like accommodations.
It will be a one-stop base for studies in aerospace, astronomy, geography and new energy.
China plans to launch a Mars probe by 2020.
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