UAE is building a ground space station

uae mars space cite

UAE brings life from the surface of Mars to Earth with a giant space city

The United Arab Emirates is building a giant "space city" in the desert in an effort to simulate the conditions on Mars as realistically as possible on Earth.

The cost of this city is 115 million euros and the city of Mars Science covers 1.9 million square feet of the desert of the UAE, making it the largest city simulation space ever built.

The project, unveiled this week, aims to simulate the conditions of human settlers on Mars as part of plans by the UAE's Mars Mission to make a human colony on the Red Planet by 2117.

The Danish architect, Charles Engels, will work with UAE scientists and engineers to design the mega-city, which will consist of a series of futuristic domes with laboratories for food, energy, water and agricultural testing.

The city will also contain a museum displaying the greatest achievements of human space, with walls made of three-dimensional desert sand.

A team of people in the city is expected to live for a full year and learn to deal with conditions there in anticipation of bringing life to Mars.

Dr Mohamed Al Ahbabi, Director General of the UAE Space Agency, said the city was "another indication of how serious the UAE is in space exploration efforts.