Looking a day into the future, tomorrow's Sunday Mail has an article on the new research station being built in Australia.

The MARS-OZ project reads like a blueprint for space exploration to the Red Planet – how humans will live and study for weeks and months in a hostile environment.

MARS-OZ will recycle water and waste through chemical and biological devices still to be tried out. Incineration will be used to eliminate human waste.

Those involved in the MARS-OZ project will grow plants under conditions similar to those expected for the first Martian explorers. Soil will be used but some vegetables will be grown hydroponically under simulated Martian light.

Experiments will vary from small-scale test plots to fully self-sufficient gardens.

MARS-OZ will also become a laboratory for a new skin-tight, counter-pressure space suit.
The MarsSkin suit will be insulated against Martian temperatures, which rise to 25C and plunge to -125C.

The project will also study the human factors of life on Mars.

Gender balance, crew dynamics, entertainment, relaxation and workloads will all come under scrutiny.