{"id":236525,"date":"2025-10-24T02:40:13","date_gmt":"2025-10-24T02:40:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/236525\/"},"modified":"2025-10-24T02:40:13","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T02:40:13","slug":"inside-mongolias-mars-camp-the-extreme-adventure-that-wants-to-turn-tourists-into-astronauts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/236525\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside Mongolia\u2019s \u2018Mars camp\u2019: The extreme adventure that wants to turn tourists into astronauts"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n EDITOR\u2019S NOTE:\u00a0 This CNN Travel series may have adjacent ads by the country it highlights. CNN retains full editorial control over subject matter, reporting and frequency of the articles and videos, in compliance with our policy<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

\n It\u2019s day 25. You wake up in your bunk pod in a snow-capped Martian landscape, far from civilization. Outside it\u2019s -30 degrees Celsius (-22 degrees Fahrenheit). After meditating and eating a breakfast of freeze-dried dumplings, you and your six-person crew don space suits over your thermal underwear and head out into the sandstorm on a mission.\n <\/p>\n

\n This isn\u2019t a fever dream. It\u2019s a month-long survival challenge deep in Mongolia\u2019s Gobi Desert that\u2019s designed to simulate life on Mars \u2014 for tourists.\n <\/p>\n

\n The project, called the MARS-V Project, is under development by MARS-V, a non-governmental organization based in Mongolia\u2019s capital, Ulaanbaatar. They\u2019re working to build a fully-fledged Mars analog station in the Gobi to prepare for human travel to the red planet \u2014 and expect to welcome the first tourists to the mock Mars camp by 2029.\n <\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

\n Nowhere on Earth mimics the geography and climate of Mars more closely than Mongolia\u2019s Gobi. An arid, barren landscape with extreme temperature swings from 45 to -40 degrees Celsius (113 to -40 degrees Fahrenheit). The iron oxide-tinted soil has a reddish hue, making it look eerily Martian.\n <\/p>\n

\n This combination of isolation, altitude and temperature is what makes the site so scientifically valuable as a training ground for scientists and astronauts \u2014 and as a test site for equipment and rovers.\n <\/p>\n

\n For MARS-V, it also offers another potential: tourism.\n <\/p>\n

\"Mars:<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

\n \u201cYour objective is to survive in an environment that is very, very isolated,\u2019 says Enkhtuvshin Doyodkhuu, MARS-V CEO. \u201cYou have to have this simulation mindset that you\u2019re on another planet: you need to feel that if you don\u2019t follow protocol, you die.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Each participant will have to pass physical, psychological and mental agility tests, then undergo a three-month virtual astronaut training program on everything from oxygen protocol to the psychology of isolation.\n <\/p>\n

\n Once you arrive in Mongolia, it\u2019s three days of in-person drills in Ulaanbaatar with your new teammates before handing in your phone and beginning the ten-hour journey by bumpy road to the site, drifting away from civilization across stretches of pale-red dust.\n <\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

\n \u201cIt\u2019s surreal,\u201d says Doyodkhuu. \u201cThis feeling of vastness, of endless empty space \u2014 the Gobi really gives you that \u201cMad Max\u201d kind of feeling. It\u2019s beautiful if you think about it, but it can be overwhelming to some.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Your home for the month? Mars \u201chabitats\u201d \u2014 interconnected modular pods with living quarters, a laboratory, and a greenhouse. Each day begins with the same strict daily regimen that real astronauts might face: vitamins, meditation, exercise, breakfast, and a team briefing for the day ahead.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cMeditation has to be a big part of the program,\u201d says Doyodkhuu. \u201cOne very risky thing when it comes to Mars pioneers is we don\u2019t really know what\u2019s going to happen with their psychology, because no other person has been away from Earth that long.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Doyodkhuu says the Mars simulation for tourists could have a similar psychological effect.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cYou\u2019ll have this sort of claustrophobia; you\u2019ll miss your Earth.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\"MARS-V\u2019s<\/p>\n

\n Days at the Mars-V camp are filled with challenges and tasks: for example, the crew might take the rover out to conduct geological mapping or collect soil samples. Communication with \u201cEarth\u201d (the Mars-V mission support team) happens on a timed delay to mimic interplanetary lag. Simulations take place between October and March in brutal winter conditions, when the Gobi freezes solid.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cMinus\u202f27 degrees Celsius (-16.6 degrees Fahrenheit) would be a warm day,\u201d laughs the CEO. Crews wear thermal base layers, overalls, and analog spacesuits when working outdoors.\n <\/p>\n

\n To make it as realistic as possible, the team from Mars-V will hide all external support out of sight.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cCompared to an Arctic expedition, this is controlled,\u201d Doyodkhuu says. \u201cIf there was any real chance of death, we\u2019d stop the simulation.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Meals will feature freeze-dried Mongolian dishes \u2014 like rehydrated dumplings or mutton stews \u2014 designed to mimic astronaut rations while honoring local culture.\n <\/p>\n

\"Rehydrated<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

\n There\u2019s even a design echo between the nomadic Mongolian ger \u2014 the traditional felt tent sometimes referred to as yurts \u2014 and the Martian dome prototypes being developed by the MARS-V engineering team.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe [Mongolians] have thousands of years of history living in isolated places, with very limited resources,\u201d Doyodkhuu explains. \u201cWe\u2019re just taking that idea to another planet.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n The idea of trialing planetary life on Earth isn\u2019t new. NASA<\/a> and ESA<\/a> have long used analog sites for experiments and training.\n <\/p>\n

\n But MARS-V\u2019s plan to merge scientific research with tourism arrives at a pivotal moment: private space travel is finally edging into the mainstream. SpaceX<\/a> and Blue Origin are drawing celebrities like Katy\u202fPerry<\/a>, Tom\u202fHanks, and Kim\u202fKardashian into a new era of luxury space tourism.\n <\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

\n But, for those who can\u2019t afford a $28 million<\/a> ticket to space, Mongolia\u2019s MARS-V camp will offer a more accessible way to experience that cosmic allure at a fraction of the cost, expected to be around $6,000 per person for a month at the camp, and pre-camp training and evaluation.\n <\/p>\n

\n It\u2019s Mars tourism, without the launch cost \u2014 or the suffocating risk of decompression.\n <\/p>\n

\n MARS-V\u2019s analog station is in the early stages of development, with designs for the habitat, space suits and food completed. Doyodkhuu says they expect the habitats to be ready and open to the public within the next two to three years.\n <\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

\n For those drawn to the idea of other planets, MARS-V promises a glimpse of a Martian future.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cYou have a lot of time to think out there,\u201d says Doyodkhuu. \u201cBeing in this otherworldly place for one month trying to survive with five other people, it gives you this renewed outlook on life.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cIf you believe that humans will become a multiplanetary species in the future, actually being part of this history, going to an analog astronaut training center and challenging yourself, is going to leave a big impact on people.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n For the right traveler \u2014 whether thrill-seeker, explorer or space enthusiast \u2014 it may be the ultimate holiday. But if the thought of freezing cold isolation and bunk pods sounds more like punishment than adventure, Mongolia\u2019s Gobi already offers glimpses of the otherworldly in a far more comfortable setting.\n <\/p>\n

\n During the summer at the Gobi\u2019s luxury Three Camel Lodge<\/a>, travelers can switch thermals for a spa towel and freeze-dried stews for an extensive whiskey selection. You will still need to strap in for the journey though, it takes 7-8 hours to reach the lodge from Ulaanbaatar. This is after all one of the most remote places on Earth – and perhaps the closest you can get to Mars, without leaving the planet.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EDITOR\u2019S NOTE:\u00a0 This CNN Travel series may have adjacent ads by the country it highlights. CNN retains full…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":236526,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[64,63,128,285],"class_list":{"0":"post-236525","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-space","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-science","11":"tag-space"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=236525"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236525\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/236526"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=236525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=236525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=236525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}