By Joe Gerrard • Published: 24 Nov 2018 • 9:00
THIS volcano field in the Canary Islands has been chosen as the location for a new experiment to test humanity’s capability of exploring other planets. Lanzarote’s Geoparque was chosen as the setting for the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Pangaea-X experiment because of how similar its barren landscape is to the surface of Mars. The team has been working near the Geoparque’s Tinguaton Volcano. The ESA sent astronauts Herve Stevenin and Matthias Maurer (pictured) to the island along with scientists and engineers as a trial run of a future mission to the Red Planet. The project involves geology training with the crew working with the latest navigation tools, remote sensing equipment, 3D imaging devices and geosciences tools. ͞ The Pangaea-X crew explores the barren and dry landscape of Lanzarota in the Canary Islands, Spain, to prepare for the day when we set foot on other worlds,the ESA said. Elena Mateo, one of the Pangaea-X team members, said the Geoparque was the only one in the world with such a strong link to space sciene. Jesus Martinez-Frias, another team member, said the Canary Islands were pearls for planetary studies. With a common past of oceans and dotted by volcanoes, the Canaries are a very martian world, Martinez-Frias said
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