Scientists recreate Mars - in Hertfordshire

The surface of Mars has been recreated in Hertfordshire as part of European efforts to send a rover to the red planet in search of life, SkyNews reported.


The 30 metre-wide test centre at the Airbus Defence and Space site in Stevenage looks like a giant sandpit and has been created using rocks from DIY shops, but is part of the £1.2bn joint European Space Agency's Exomars mission due for launch in 2018.


It aims to prove for the first time if there really is, or ever has been, life on Mars.


Justine Byrne, from Airbus Defence and Space, said: "If there is life on Mars, there is life pretty much throughout the universe and that would have a big impact on mankind as a whole."


The 'Mars Yard' will be used to train the prototype robots to operate by themselves, so once the final rover lands on Mars it can navigate independently across the Martian landscape for two days at a time.


In August 2012 Nasa's Curiosity rover touched down on the red planet and has been studying whether the conditions are right for anything to survive there.


But the European effort will go further. It will be able to use radar and drill down up to two metres to spot signs of life, both past and present. This life-detecting capability could prove a major breakthrough.