Inhabiting the Red Planet
Introduction
The question of whether or not Mars will ever be habitable to humans has been a
topic that scientists and researchers have been inquiring and studying for years.
In more recent years, scientists have discovered that an uninhabited island in the
Canadian High Arctic, Devon Island, allows for realistic mission goals to be
tested. In this project, I studied this location to see how it can be suited for
practicing life on Mars.

Devon Island
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Uninhabited, isolated island in the Nunavut territory, in the Canadian
High Arctic at a Latitude: 75° N Longitude: -88 W
Desert environmental conditions similar to Mars
This harsh climate and freezing temperatures of -19 F mimic the
environmental conditions on Mars
“Arctic day and night cycle and restricted communications
capabilities offer fitting analogs for the challenges of a
long-duration space flights (Haughton Mars Project (HMP)).”
Allows for realistic mission goals to be tested
Nicknamed “Mars on Earth”

Isabel Farr, Department of Dance
The Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station (FMARS) 2007 Long
Duration Mission was a human factors research project that studied:
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countermeasures to stress and isolation
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analysis of group dynamics
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analysis of environment habitability
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cognitive performance
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sleep disruption under the Arctic Martian Sol
conditions
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food choice, preparation, and overall
satisfaction
The Haughton Mars Project is part of a research facility, on Devon
Island, which researches the following areas of study:
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communications
equipment testing
vehicular and extra-vehicular operations
develop new technologies, strategies, and
operational protocols to support the future
exploration of the moon, Mars, and other
planets

Spacesuits and ATV’s on Devon Island

Greenhouse on
Devon Island
Monitored Remotely

Berinstain (Canadian Space Agency/University of Guelph)

Conclusion
One day the feasibility of these tests will come to fruition once we land on
Mars. Until then Devon Island will continue to prepare Martian explorers.

References
Manzey, Dietrich. “Human Missions to Mars: New Psychological Challenges
and Research Issues.” Acta Astronautica, Pergamon, 24 June
2004,
www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S00945765040
01705?casa_token=UT64gK42UsMAAAAA%3A86UzEydKhuZQlni
m7l_nsnzGcyG8fI-pdusefmtekjOess5vgcIudG3aqK4204hc-2cJyKH
g_IM.
Thank you to Dr. Mukherjee and her Space Science class.

Perez, Jason. “Haughton Mars Project (HMP).” NASA, NASA, 12 May 2016,
www.nasa.gov/analogs/hmp.