Reguengos de Monsaraz, Evora, Portugal, June 25, 2025 (Lusa) - A ‘space mission’ simulating Mars, but taking place near the Alqueva reservoir in the heart of Portugal's Alentejo region, includes ‘astronauts’ who collect soil for analysis in search of signs of life, with the help of a ‘rover’.
These ‘astronauts’ are part of a group of nine European schoolchildren who are taking part, until Friday, in the first space mission analogous to Mars in Portugal, at the Alqueva Lake Observatory in Reguengos de Monsaraz, in the district of Évora.
The EXPLORE 1 mission is also the first of the European EXPLORE project, which aims to “bring the future of space exploration into the classroom and inspire a new generation to pursue careers in science and engineering”, said the promoters.
Funded by the Erasmus+ programme, the project’s first mission kicked off on Monday with the participation of nine secondary school pupils, three from each participating country (Austria, Greece and Portugal).
“The idea of the mission is for young people to be astronauts for a week and everyone will have the opportunity to spend at least one day in the habitat, which is a simulation of the space environment,” Gustavo Rojas, project leader at NUCLIO, told the Lusa news agency today.
The non-governmental organisation (NGO) Núcleo Interativo de Astronomia e Inovação em Educação (NUCLIO) and the Alqueva Lake Observatory are the Portuguese partners in the EXPLORE project, coordinated by the Austrian Space Forum.
These days, according to Gustavo Rojas, the participants have the mission of “collecting soil samples to carry out microbiology experiments,” as if they were on Mars, “to see if they detect microorganisms,” that is, signs of life.
“Another exercise they are doing is trying to find traces of micrometeorites, because we know that meteorites can be found on Earth, but they can also be found on Mars,” he added.
To carry out these operations, the schoolchildren are equipped with astronaut suits and have at their disposal a small ’rover’, the name given to a space exploration vehicle that can be operated remotely to collect samples.
“These are things very similar to what an astronaut who goes to Mars will do one day. Of course, on a smaller scale, but it gives an idea of how space exploration will be done in the future,” he said.
The NUCLIO project leader also pointed out that the astronaut suits used in the simulations by the schoolchildren are only missing pressurisation and oxygen compared to those used in space.
However, the suits are equipped with a communication system, a camera and sensors that record the air quality and the heartbeat of the wearer.
“It is a more simplified version, but it contains the essential elements of an astronaut’s space suit,” he said.
Some of the participants are divided between the ‘space station’, located at the Alqueva Lake Observatory, while others are ‘astronauts’ and explore nearby areas.
“Each one has a very specific role within the mission,” said Rojas. For example, there are people responsible for flight director and for leading communications and safety operations, among other positions.
The three Portuguese participants are pupils from the Frei Gonçalo de Azevedo and Professor Agostinho da Silva secondary schools, both in the Lisbon district, and from Paredes, in the Porto district.
Launched in 2023 and lasting three years, EXPLORE, which also has as partners the Ellinogermaniki Agogi school in Greece and the international organisation Comité de Investigação Espacial, has a second mission planned for 2026.
SM/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
