In 2023, an all-female Spanish crew spent two weeks at a research station in Utah’s desert, simulating some of the conditions of living and working on Mars. The Hypatia I team had to manage limited resources, work in isolation and adapt when problems disrupted their plans. Three of its members are now sharing those lessons with children and teenagers through Mission to Mars, an illustrated book published by Shackleton Kids in 2026.
Ariadna Farrés, Helena Arias and aerospace engineer Cesca Cufí use the book to explain the practical and scientific challenges of a journey to the Red Planet: preparing a crew, producing food and energy, securing water and landing safely. It also introduces readers to the everyday realities of life in a confined habitat, where people must work together for extended periods.
The Utah station belongs to the Mars Desert Research Station. During the simulation, the crew followed strict procedures and worked with limited water, while practising isolation, logistics and decision-making under pressure. The setting could not reproduce every Martian condition, including its gravity, but it offered a way to test how a team might respond to challenges away from ordinary support systems.
The crew’s plans sometimes changed abruptly. After strong winds damaged the fabric tunnels connecting station modules, Cufí had to set aside her scheduled work to help make repairs. Limited privacy was another difficulty: the small living space meant team members were almost never alone, making it harder to concentrate or complete daily reports.
A real mission would bring an additional constraint: communication with Earth would not be immediate. The book explains that radio signals can take between three and 22 minutes to travel between the planets, depending on their distance. During landing, the crew would also have to act without real-time help from Earth.
Mission to Mars includes activities that introduce readers to scientific methods, such as comparing tomato plants grown in Earth-like and Martian conditions. Participants are asked to observe, form a hypothesis, measure growth and assess the results. The book also explores how a Martian base might combine living areas, laboratories, water storage, repair workshops and greenhouses.
The experience is part of a wider series of analogue missions. Hypatia II took place in 2025, while Hypatia III is planned for an Arctic base in 2027. Farrés says psychological support is planned for the next mission to help the crew manage confinement.
The researchers also want young people to see that space exploration is open to more than astronauts, engineers and scientists. Cufí says curiosity and a desire to discover are valuable starting points, and that people with many different abilities can contribute to science and space-related work.
Sources: El País Economía.