INTERNATIONAL: The world is hard at work preparing for its first manned-mission to Mars. It might only happen in 20-30 years’ time, but that doesn’t mean we’re not already getting used to the idea. A desert in southern Israel is being used for a simulated mission.

A team of six – five men and one woman – is experiencing what it will be like living on the planet for about a month. From the door of their expedition base, it’s just a few small steps to an autonomous rover. A few giant leaps to the right is an array of solar panels.

Their AMADEE-20 habitat is tucked beneath a rocky step. Inside they sleep, eat and conduct experiments. Outside they wear mock space suits fitted with cameras, microphones and self-contained breathing systems. Gernot Gromer of the Austrian Space Forum says it’s all about learning as much as possible:

"We have the motto of fail fast, fail cheap and have a steep learning curve, because for every mistake we make here on earth, we hopefully don't repeat it on Mars because we have done it before."

Members of the team say they’re getting along well, despite the stress that comes with an experiment of this kind, says Alon Tenzer:

“We are six people working in a tight space under a lot of pressure to do a lot of tests. There are bound to be challenges. But I trust my crew that we are able to overcome those challenges, we learn how to work together, we train together and we are very confident."

The six team members are constantly on camera, their vital signs monitored, their movements inside are tracked to analyze favorite spots for congregating. All this to better understand the human factor for a Mars mission. Outside, other engineers and specialists work with a drone and rover to improve autonomous navigation and mapping on a world where GPS is obviously not yet available. All together they will carry out more than 20 experiments before this mission for Mars is complete.

^{PHOTO: SIMULATION STATION OF LIFE ON MARS IN DESERT CRATER, TEAM MEMBERS WEARING SPACE SUITS WALKING IN DESERT AND WORKING INSIDE STATION, INTERVIEW WITH DIRECTOR OF AUSTRIAN SPACE FORUM, ROVER DRIVING, INTERVIEW WITH TEAM MEMBER, DRONE SHOTS OF AREA}