Exploring the ‘Red Planet’ is a challenge for scientists who have decided to recreate the planet Mars in a… mine in Yorkshire, nearly a mile underground.

In particular, researchers at the University of Birmingham decided to use one of the deepest mines in the UK to see what it takes to survive and thrive on other planets, as pointed out in the Daily Mail report.

The ‘Bio-SPHERE project’ as it’s called could even pave the way for underground homes in space as crews try to avoid harmful meteor debris and radiation.

“We are thrilled to be working with the fantastic scientific team at the Boulby Underground Laboratory,” said lead researcher Dr. Alexandra Iordachescu.

“This new capability will help gather information that can inform life support systems, devices and biomaterials that could be used in medical emergencies and tissue repair after damage on deep space missions.

Mars

“The data are likely to bring many benefits for applications on Earth as well, such as providing biomedical interventions in remote areas or in hazardous environments, and more generally, understanding biomedical workflows in these less-than-ideal environments,” he pointed out.

The simulation of Mars at the Yorkshire mine began in a network of 3,000-metre-long tunnels through 250-million-year-old salt deposits. The choice is not accidental since the conditions and location on the ground provide similar conditions to those experienced by caves on the Moon and Mars.

Mars

Scientists will live in a 9-foot-wide base designed specifically to experiment with medical procedures used to treat human tissue damage.

The base will also be used to determine whether underground homes are the key to avoiding dangerous radiation in deep space as well as extreme temperatures.

Mars

“The Bio-SPHERE project promises to help answer some key logistical questions for creating sustainable living conditions in remote, subterranean environments and in doing so will make a significant contribution to the essential preparations for our collective long, difficult and exciting journey before us,” said Professor Sean Paling, Director and Senior Scientist at the Boulby Underground Laboratory.