Researchers from Centro de Astrobiologia, INTA-CSIC, and Instituto de Ciencias de Materials de Madrid have developed a chamber that mimics the environment of Mars. The device, dubbed as MARTE, will help scientists figure out whether equipment designed on earth is good enough to function effectively on Mars.

The conditions on the fourth planet from the sun will be mimicked by MARTE, including the infamous Martian dust. Temperature, pressure, gas composition, and radiation are some other conditions on Mars that will be created by the chamber to allow testing of instruments in real environmental operating conditions.

Many NASA and European Space Agency missions have been targeting Mars because of its potential of being a good place to learn about planets similar to earth.

"Our group is primarily involved in the Mars Science Laboratory mission to construct a meteorological station intended for future use on a rover to further explore Mars' surface", said Jose Angel Martin-Gago, a research professor at the Instituto de Ciencias de Materials de Madrid, in a statement.

Vacuum chambers were previously used by researchers to test equipment like the meteorological sensors on the Curiosity rover. But the current challenges for the team include study of things present in Martian atmosphere, like the Martian dust.

Jesus Sobrado, the scientist in charge of the machine's technical development, said the simulation of the Martian conditions is very important to gain deep insight into problems for planetary exploration.

Apart from MARTE, researchers have also created chambers to simulate other environments like that of Jupiter's frozen moon Europa.

The credit for creation of MARTE goes to a research team in Spain, which will certainly help test latest and new electromechanical gear for their potential use in the Red Planet future mission. Mars has always been a matter of interest for scientists as it is touted to be a planet that supports life.