Ukrainian leads Mars Desert Research Station in US

Ukrainian engineer Serhii Yakymov has headed the Mars Desert Research Station, where experiments and research are conducted, simulating human presence on the surface of Mars. The station is located in the San Rafael Swell in Utah.

Source: The Voice of America

The research station is surrounded by numerous valleys, canyons, ravines, and plateaus of clay shale, limestone, and sand that formed here millions of years ago. All of this creates landscapes in this area that resemble otherworldly scenes.

Geological and social studies are conducted in conditions that closely mimic those found on the surface of Mars at the Mars Desert Research Station.

Quote: "We welcome various groups worldwide conducting experiments or testing equipment. And this Mars station is classified as a geological analogue because the landscape of the surrounding desert closely resembles that of Mars as much as possible," Serhii Yakymov says.

The rotation of research groups lasts for two weeks. They live in special modules, subsisting on vegetables and fruits from the "Martian" greenhouse. They only venture outside in spacesuits.

Serhii has also been a participant in several such expeditions. He dreams of becoming an astronaut and setting foot on Mars.

The man graduated from the Ihor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, majoring in Aircraft Control Systems. Eight years ago, he was selected from a hundred candidates for a future flight to Mars organised by the Dutch company Mars One. Ultimately, the company went bankrupt.

"I've been pursuing this dream my whole life. But you have to take some steps. Of course, you can just sit on the couch and say you want to become an astronaut. Having lived in America for several years, I worked as an engineer in a small company, but I still couldn't work in the field of human spaceflight there. And then the opportunity arose to get involved at the station," Yakymov says.

The journey to Mars is currently a distant prospect, the Ukrainian engineer says. The next step in his career, he envisions, is working at NASA –  at the Space Center Houston, where astronauts are trained. However, he first needs to obtain US citizenship for this.

Previously: A robot chemist found a way to get oxygen on Mars.

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