In the desert hills of China’s Gansu province, a company called C-Space has just opened “Mars Base 1,” a simulated Martian base of operations for future astronauts. Plans for the base, currently an educational facility, include expansion—it will become more of a tourist destination soon, with a space-themed hotel and restaurant. Photographers were on hand as some of the first student groups arrived to tour this vision of Mars in the China’s Gobi desert.
Mars in the Gobi Desert
- Alan Taylor
- April 17, 2019
- 20 Photos
- In Focus
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This aerial photo shows "Mars Base 1", a C-Space Project, in the Gobi Desert, some 40 km from Jinchang in China's northwest Gansu province on April 17, 2019. #
Wang Zhao / AFP / Getty -
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A staff member demonstrates how she puts on the helmet of a mock spacesuit at the C-Space Project Mars simulation base on April 17, 2019. #
Thomas Peter / Reuters -
This picture shows a view through a window in the sleeping quarters at Mars Base 1 on April 17, 2019. #
Wang Zhao / AFP / Getty -
A group of students visit Mars Base 1 on April 17, 2019. #
Wang Zhao / AFP / Getty -
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This picture shows crops inside Mars Base 1 on April 17, 2019. #
Wang Zhao / AFP / Getty -
Potatoes are kept in jars in the C-Space Project Mars simulation base on April 17, 2019. #
Thomas Peter / Reuters -
A man walks through a corridor inside Mars Base 1 on April 17, 2019. #
Wang Zhao / AFP / Getty -
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Sleeping capsules, photographed inside Mars Base 1 on April 17, 2019 #
Wang Zhao / AFP / Getty -
A view of a recreation room inside Mars Base 1, photographed on April 17, 2019 #
Wang Zhao / AFP / Getty -
An exterior view of Mars Base 1 and some of the surrounding hills of the Gobi Desert, photographed on April 16, 2019 #
Wang Zhao / AFP / Getty -
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A group of students visit Mars Base 1 on April 17, 2019. #
Wang Zhao / AFP / Getty -
Models of Mars rovers are seen during a visit to Mars Base 1 in China's northwest Gansu province on April 17, 2019. #
Wang Zhao / AFP / Getty -
Students walk through the Gobi Desert near the C-Space Project Mars simulation base on April 17, 2019. #
Thomas Peter / Reuters -
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A group of students walk past a model of a Mars lander on April 17, 2019. #
Wang Zhao / AFP / Getty -
An installation representing a Martian cave is seen at the C-Space Project Mars simulation base on April 17, 2019. #
Thomas Peter / Reuters -
A model of a spacecraft is displayed at Mars Base 1, photographed on April 17, 2019. #
Wang Zhao / AFP / Getty -
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The interior of a mock space capsule, photographed in the Gobi Desert on April 17, 2019. #
Thomas Peter / Reuters -
A mysterious black slab stands at the C-Space Project Mars simulation base on April 17, 2019. #
Thomas Peter / Reuters -
A group of students visiting Mars Base 1 work with small model rockets on April 17, 2019. #
Wang Zhao / AFP / Getty -
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This aerial photo taken on April 16, 2019, shows Mars Base 1, surrounded by hills of the Gobi Desert. #
Wang Zhao / AFP / Getty
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