Simulation of the planet Mars on Earth
Simulation of the planet Mars on Earth
Prior to the BIOMEX experiment in the 400-kilometre-high orbit, selection tests were carried out in the Mars simulation chamber at the DLR Institute of Planetary Research in Berlin. Finally, preliminary experiments and, parallel to the experiments in space, tests with an identical experimental set-up to that on the ISS were carried out in a space simulation chamber at the DLR Institute of Aerospace Medicine in Cologne. For this purpose, organisms and cell structures were introduced into a 'Martian soil' under a simulated 'Mars atmosphere'. In this way, 'control samples' were created for the experiment and the scientific evaluation. The image shows the samples of Antarctic cyanobacteria on Mars analogue soil in the Berlin laboratory.
