September 14 , 2001

Mars project heads to Utah

Nunatsiaq News

IQALUIT — For the past two years, Nunavut’s Devon Island has been a hub of activity for the Mars Society, an organization that promotes the exploration and colonization of Mars.

The group raised money to build a "Flashline Mars Habitat" on Devon Island, which was finally completed this summer.

Now, the Mars Society plans on setting up a second mock Mars habitat closer to home. This new habitat will be located in Utah, on public land, and could be up and operating by mid-November.

"We’re going to do more work than we’ve done in the Arctic," Robert Zubrin, president of the Mars Society, told the society’s annual gathering, which was recently held in California.

Zubrin said the Utah site would also include a pressurized rover and possibly a "Mars greenhouse."