Architecture

Dubai announces giant Mars city simulation designed by Bjarke Ingels

Dubai announces giant Mars city simulation designed by Bjarke Ingels
The giant Mars Science City will be a simulation for a city on the Red Planet by 2117
The giant Mars Science City will be a simulation for a city on the Red Planet by 2117
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One of the design proposals offered earlier in the year for the 2117 city on Mars
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One of the design proposals offered earlier in the year for the 2117 city on Mars
One of the design proposals offered earlier in the year for the 2117 city on Mars
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One of the design proposals offered earlier in the year for the 2117 city on Mars
The giant Mars Science City will be a simulation for a city on the Red Planet by 2117
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The giant Mars Science City will be a simulation for a city on the Red Planet by 2117
Parts of the city will be 3D printed using sand from the Emirati desert
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Parts of the city will be 3D printed using sand from the Emirati desert
The city will host simulations testing long term living on the Red Planet
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The city will host simulations testing long term living on the Red Planet
Several domes will stretch out into the desert
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Several domes will stretch out into the desert
The UAE's new space agency has grand ambitions
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The UAE's new space agency has grand ambitions
One of the design proposals offered earlier in the year for the 2117 city on Mars
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One of the design proposals offered earlier in the year for the 2117 city on Mars
View gallery - 8 images

Dubai is not known for doing things by half, from the world's tallest building to the world's largest mall, this is a town that likes things big. Now the UAE government has announced it is building the world's largest space simulation city, and to top it off it will be designed by one of the world's flashiest architects, Bjarke Ingels, whose company is literally called BIG.

The project is called the Mars Science City and will cover 1.9 million sq ft (176,516 sq m) at a cost of nearly US$140 million dollars. The city will span several domes, including a space for a team to live for up to a year as part of a Mars simulation.

Several scientific laboratories will be included, focusing on developing methods for a Mars colony to produce food, energy and water. A museum exhibiting great space achievements will also be incorporated into the city with the walls of the museum being 3D printed using sand from the nearby Emirati desert.

Several domes will stretch out into the desert
Several domes will stretch out into the desert

"The UAE is a great country with vision and understanding of the challenges we face and the rapid changes our world is experiencing," says Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Prime Minister of Dubai. "We believe in the potential of space exploration, and in collaborating with global partners and leaders in order to harness the findings of this research and movement that seeks to meet people's needs and improve quality of life on earth.

"The new project is another step in the UAE's leading contributions to the global science movement; we seek to set an example and motivation for others to participate, and contribute, to humanity's march into space."

The city will host simulations testing long term living on the Red Planet
The city will host simulations testing long term living on the Red Planet

The project follows on from the UAE's big announcement early in 2017 that laid out a 100-year plan to get to Mars. The Mars 2117 Project is a long-term plan with several milestones to reach before ultimately founding a large city on the Red Planet early in the next century. The first step will be the launch of an unmanned probe in 2020 that would reach Mars the following year.

Dubai is increasingly looking like a town straight out of a sci-fi movie with robotic police and autonomous taxi drones already being rolled out, so why not add a futuristic Mars city simulation to the mix.

Source: Dubai Media Office

View gallery - 8 images
4 comments
4 comments
PaleDale
Wont be to long and we will need these on Earth.
Nik
The Dubai desert has as much similarity to Mars, as it has to Antarctica! Any structure like this, will be too cold for plants to germinate, insufficient light for them to develop, and insufficient water for them to grow. Coupled to this is the fact that, unlike Earth, there is little or no protection from radiation from space provided by Mars, so anyone or things exposed to the surface for any length of time could become seriously sick. The covering structure would also need to be pressurised, and kept that way, which given the frequent storms on Mars, could be difficult, or next to impossible. Building a structure such as this on Earth, may look like science fiction. Building it on Mars is science fiction.
Douglas Bennett Rogers
A low-lying, tented equatorial crater would provide a good environment for fast growing conifers and would produce a lot of oxygen. The path length of air would provide significant radiation protection. The overpressure from storms is a maximum of 20 mb. and usually much less.
Riaanh
A glass domed building in Dubai is going to require some serious airconditioning. It would be more realistic in Antarica.