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Ikea redesigned a tiny research station meant to simulate life on Mars - see insidehttps://www.businessinsider.in/slideshows/miscellaneous/ikea-redesigned-a-tiny-research-station-meant-to-simulate-life-on-mars-see-inside/slidelist/72340231.cms2019-12-03T01:59:25+05:30

Ikea redesigned a tiny research station meant to simulate life on Mars - see inside

Dec 3, 2019, 01:59 IST

The research station is just eight yards across, built from materials meant to withstand the weather on Mars.

"For the habitat, we brought products on wheels for mobile living, stools for seating and table surfaces and stackable chairs for saving space," Ikea interior designer Christina Levenborn said in a release.

For the two weeks they spend at the facility, researchers aim to operate as if they were really isolated on Mars, surviving only on preserved food they've brought.

"We tried to work with products for small space living situation that could be arranged in a flexible and multifunctional way," Levenborn said.

The facility includes a lab, where researchers can test rock and atmospheric samples they've collected.

The space's round walls posed a design challenge, Levenborn said, as did the need for lightweight, sturdy furniture."

In a small space where many people have to share workspaces, it is important to be able to adjust to everyone's needs, whether they prefer to work standing or sitting," Levenborn said.

The facility includes greenhouses meant to grow food for survival on Mars.

Researchers also breathe using oxygen tanks whenever they leave the facility.

"It is necessary to have the whole crew on the same sleep-wake cycle. This is necessary anyway, to maximize the social space of the crew. When you want to be alone, you can go to your bunk and read," Mars Society president Robert Zubrin said in a statement.

"We hope to learn more about living in extremely small spaces and how our products can be used," Levenborn said. "Preparing for this kind of scarcity on Mars puts a focus on all the good things we have on earth that we take for granted."

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