Mars on Earth: Daily Life of the Volunteers Preparing to Settle Another Planet (14 Photos)
The urge to conquer deep space is nothing new. Renowned physicist Stephen Hawking and tech visionary Elon Musk have long championed the idea, while Stanley Kubrick captured the public imagination with *2001: A Space Odyssey*, fundamentally changing how mainstream audiences perceived science fiction.
Yet only in recent decades has the scientific community seriously begun to grapple with the realities of daily life on another world—specifically Mars, our closest environmental analog. 
Mars might be more like Earth than we think. That very premise drives the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) project, which brings together dozens of volunteers from all walks of life. To prepare for the realities of interplanetary life, crew members spend months inside purpose-built habitats tucked away in a North American desert that bears an uncanny resemblance to the Red Planet. 
Cut off from friends and family, the simulation's participants spend their days in artificial, high-stress conditions to help researchers figure out what it will truly take to send humans to Mars. The crew is an eclectic mix: some are military veterans, others fresh college graduates, writers, or research scientists.
In her photo project *Life on Mars*, photographer Cassandra Klos explores what it means to live in this split reality—and questions how closely a simulated experience on Earth can mirror the trials awaiting the pioneers who will one day colonize the Red Planet. 
"Sometimes you forget it’s a simulation, and it feels as though you’re genuinely living on Mars." 
"The human mind is remarkably resilient and adaptable. But if you commit to this journey, you have to understand that there’s no getting off halfway. The first people on Mars will be those who can truly rise to that challenge.
Will I see someone walk on Mars in my lifetime? I don't know, but I desperately want to believe it. Humanity is standing on the brink of a technological leap unlike anything we’ve seen since the 1960s."
Cassandra Klos
