Oman to host unique Moon/Mars mission

OMAN: Oman will host a special Moon/Mars analog mission from October 13 to 26, 2025, bringing together 17 simulated habitats across five continents, according to officials.

The mission will be coordinated by the Austrian Space Forum, a private space research institution based in Vienna, Austria. This marks the first time that 17 institutions simulating Moon and Mars missions across Africa, America, Asia, Australia, and Europe will collaborate to emulate human presence on the Moon or Mars.

Over 200 scientists from 25 countries will participate in the mission, which will be conducted at the Space Habitat Center in Oman’s Special Economic Zone, Zone 88.

The mission aims to simulate the experience of humans living on the Moon or Mars by conducting cross-disciplinary experiments in astrobiology, engineering, and planetary science. This builds on Oman’s previous analog mission, AMADEE-18, which took place in Dhofar in 2018.