Nine scientists, all Spanish, are part of ‘Hypatia 1’, a mission whose objective is simulate on Earth an expedition to Mars. The chosen place is the Utah desert and there they will be under total isolation in a Martian simulator for two weeks of research.

Between April 16 and 29 they will live in a small space, putting coexistence to the test, since they have never been together, and with space food: “All dehydrated and some frozen,” says Laia Ribas, manager of the greenhouse.

they will only have two liters of water available per day to water the crops they plant, drink and shower. They will not be able to communicate in real time and in the outputs they always make they will have to go with an astronaut suit: “We will go with the diving suit to simulate that the atmosphere is not breathable even though we are on Earth”, explains Carla Conejo, executive officer and biologist.

In the investigation they will also study how gravity affects the fish, they will try to make the water drinkable and they will test a battery powered iron and human urine. Only 11% of astronauts are women and, therefore, this mission also wants to be an inspiration for, says Conejo, “those astronauts who may one day go”.