Page 268 - Lunacy and the Age of Deception

Ridley Scott may have chosen the Wadi Rum desert in Jordan as a convincing facsimile of the
surface of Mars, but the barren Canadian Arctic can be just as convincing.

NASA K10 Rover at Haughton Mars Project Base

The image above shows a NASA rover prototype on Devon Island in the remote Canadian Arctic.
Could you tell the difference between this landscape and that which NASA claims to be the surface
of Mars? NASA have themselves remarked on how remarkably “Mars-like” Devon Island appears,
even including craters. Following is a description of the Haughton Mars Project Base from the
NASA affiliated site, Mars Institute.

The Haughton Mars Project
The Haughton Crater resembles the Mars surface in more ways than any other place on Earth.
Although other locations, particularly other polar regions, may share Haughton Crater’s Mars-like
landscape of dry, unvegetated, rocky terrain and extreme environmental conditions, what makes
Haughton unique is the crater itself.

The surface of Mars is covered with craters of all different sizes, so the terrain, like a demolition
site, is made up of loose rock. The terrain at Haughton Crater is similarly covered with loose rock,
making it a good analog for researching extravehicular activities (EVAs) and mining technologies.
Haughton Crater is also a valuable analog for science research, since it contains an uncannily large
variety of Mars-like geological features. Also, Haughton Crater resides on an isolated, uninhabited
island with no infrastructure, which makes this an ideal analog for planetary exploration research.

The Haughton-Mars Project (HMP) exploration program studies the technologies, strategies, and
personnel training that will be used in human exploration missions to the Moon, Mars, and other
planetary bodies. HMP researchers test technology prototypes, such as K-10, a robot designed to
assist humans before, during, and after human exploration missions. Because the environment is
harsh, isolated, and poorly mapped, it provides an analog for testing planetary exploration
strategies, such as safety and telemedicine. In addition to its exploration program, the HMP
supports a science program, in which the similarities between this crater and the Mars surface offer
insight into Mars’ geology and climate.
[Source: http://www.marsinstitute.no/#!hmp/c1441]