Mock Mars Mission Photos: Life on a Simulated Red Planet

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Diaz-Rubin and Jessup in 'Airlock'

Elizabeth Howell

Crew 133 crew members Pedro Diaz-Rubin (left) and Joseph Jessup in the "airlock" before departing on a "Marswalk" at Utah's Mars Desert Research Station, Jan. 17, 2014.

Extra-Vehicular Activity Room

Elizabeth Howell

The "EVA" or extra-vehicular activity room downstairs at Utah's Mars Desert Research Station, with an airlock at left.

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Elizabeth Howell
Elizabeth Howell
Former Staff Writer, Spaceflight (July 2022-November 2024)

Elizabeth Howell (she/her), Ph.D., was a staff writer in the spaceflight channel between 2022 and 2024 specializing in Canadian space news. She was contributing writer for Space.com for 10 years from 2012 to 2024. Elizabeth's reporting includes multiple exclusives with the White House, leading world coverage about a lost-and-found space tomato on the International Space Station, witnessing five human spaceflight launches on two continents, flying parabolic, working inside a spacesuit, and participating in a simulated Mars mission. Her latest book, "Why Am I Taller?" (ECW Press, 2022) is co-written with astronaut Dave Williams. 

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