Mars exploration rover and drones by Paul Canavan

Picture of the Day 16/6/2019 - Painting of Mars exploration rover and drones by British fantasy artist Paul Canavan. More of his art here.

SpaceX. Raising the bar!

"Do it", as Elon Musk bluntly replied to the bragging of Boeing's CEO about "beating Elon Musk to Mars" 😁

These days SpaceX is the leading NewSpace company developing innovative and cost-effective rocket/space technologies and beating all the "space dinosaurs" in the field. Its ultimate goal is to colonize Mars. In the spirit of this reality Instagram user starjet_pilot has made this retro style poster (recalling the iconic photography of US soldiers raising the flag on Iwo Jima by Joe Rosenthal) of starmen raising the flag of SpaceX on Mars with the Starship in the background.

China's C-Space Mars simulation base in Gobi desert

On April 17, 2019 China opened it's second Mars simulation base - C-Space Project, located in the Gobi Desert 40km from Jinchang, northwest Gansu Province. Its aim is to educate and provide an environment for youths and tourists to experience life on Mars. The facility consists of several interconnected modules including a domed greenhouse, living quarters, a control room and a mock decompression chamber. It is developed by a private company C-Space and will be heavily focused on tourism, with additional investment and development of the surrounding area hoping to attract two million visitors a year by 2030.

Apparently China has serious plans to inspire its population about human colonization of Mars, as only a month ago it opened its first Mars simulation base - Mars Camp, located in a high-altitude desert - the Qaidam Basin in Qinghai Province.

Here is a collection of photos from the base by Reuters, AFP, EPA & East News:

Mars rover concept by Jort van Welbergen

Picture of the Day 31/3/2019 - Mars rover concept by Dutch concept designer Jort van Welbergen for upcoming massively multiplayer online (MMO) game Star Citizen. More of his concept art here.

China's Mars Camp in Qaidam Basin, Qinghai Province

On March 1, 2019 China opened its first Mars analog research station - Mars Camp, located in a cold high-altitude desert - the Qaidam Basin in Qinghai Province. It's already the most ambitious Mars simulation station built, costing about $22 million. Covering an area of 53,330 square meters, the base can accommodate 60 people in its capsules and hundreds in the base's tents.

"The red rock area in the Qaidam Basin in Qinghai has been called the most "Martian" place on Earth, with its natural features, landscape and climate all similar to those on the red planet, said Gao Junling, the project founder. The temperatures here vary greatly between day and night, similar to those on Mars, according to Gao. He said that participants could immerse themselves in the environment and try to solve problems they might face on Mars, such as planting potatoes on Mars for food supply and solar power generation."

As information in Western media about this base is quite scarce and photos even scarcer we collected all the best photos here. Most of them are from this blog post (in Chinese).

Mars truck by Pat Presley

Picture of the Day 10/3/2019 - Mars truck by American concept artist Pat Presley. More of his art here.

The truck on the move, accompanied by a pair of speeders:

D-Mars mission habitat in southern Israel

Astronauts returning to D-Mars mission habitat in southern Israel; photo by Niamh Shaw. D-Mars (Desert Mars Analog Ramon Station) is Israel's 1st Mars analog research station similar to Mars Society's Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in Utah, US where astronauts, scientists and space enthusiasts can train for future human missions to Mars.

The station is located in a desolate area in Israel’s Negev Desert near the 200 million-year-old, 25-mile-wide Ramon Crater. Although not an impact crater, but a rare form of erosion structures, it has a resemblance to a variety of terrain types relevant to Mars exploration. The surrounding area hosts many similarities to the Martian environment in its geology, aridity and isolation.

SpaceX explorers digging out Opportunity by Leonhard Loacker

Picture of the Day 25/2/2019 - Drawing of future SpaceX explorers digging out NASA's Opportunity rover on Mars by young Austrian artist Leonhard Loacker. More of his art on his Instagram profile.

Hovering Porsche 911 on Mars by Chris Labrooy

Picture of the Day 12/2/2019 - Hovering Porsche 911 on Mars by British design artist Chris Labrooy. More of his art here.

Another view from rear with a small Martian outpost visible:

Retro style Mars rover by David A. Hardy

Picture of the Day 11/1/2019 - a small ATV type, retro style Mars rover in front of NASA's lander (1981) by classical space artist David A. Hardy. More of his Mars art here.

Ice deposit in Korolev crater

Water ice deposit in Korolev crater at the northern polar plain on Mars. This recent image is taken by the European Space Agency's (ESA) Mars Express orbiter. Korolev crater is 81 kilometers (51 miles) in diameter and naturally traps the cold air in it continuously replenishing the ice deposit with fresh layers of ice. The ice sheet is up to 1.8 kilometers (1.1 miles) thick and it is estimated the crater holds about 2200 cubic kilometers (530 cubic miles) of water ice.

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NASA's InSight lander on Mars by Charlie Burgess

Yesterday NASA's InSight lander successfully landed on Mars at Elysium Planitia; to celebrate the landing British digital artist Charlie Burgess has created this picture of the probe. More of his art here.

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Mars transport by Pablo Palomeque

Picture of the Day 23/11/2018 - Mars transport vehicle by Argentinian concept artist Pablo Palomeque. More of his art here.

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Basejumping in Valles Marineris by Quentin Gautier

Picture of the Day 5/11/2018 - astronauts basejumping in Valles Marineris on Mars by Canadian concept artist Quentin Gautier. More of his art here.

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Elongated cloud on Mars at Arsia Mons

On September 13 European Space Agency’s (ESA) Mars Express orbiter spotted an elongated cloud on Mars near the Arsia Mons - a dormant shield volcano 12 miles high. The cloud stretches for about 930 miles (1500 kilometers) and hasn't dissolved for over a month. That's nothing extraordinary - similar clouds has been spotted on Mars in 2009, 2012 and 2015 at winter season. The giant Martian volcanoes, rising high into the atmosphere, are playing a role into creation of those kind of clouds.

Traveling Starman on Mars by Peter DeLuce

Picture of the Day 26/9/2018 - SpaceX's Starman on Mars with his Tesla Roadster and three Big Falcon Ships in the background - digital painting created by illustrator Peter DeLuce. More of his art here.

Olympus Mons erupting

Picture of the Day 6/9/2018 - Eruption of the Olympus Mons on Mars seen by an astronaut; created by Reddit user Jason251.

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Retro Mars rover illustration by Jack Coggins

Picture of the Day 4/9/2018 - Retro Mars rover illustration by Jack Coggins from "Rockets, Satellites, and Space Travel" book (1958).

Mars exploration rover by Alexandra Hodgson

Picture of the Day 19/7/2018 - Mars exploration rover by Canadian illustrator Alexandra Hodgson. More of her concept art here.

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Vintage poster "Expedition Mars" by Kip Ayers

Vintage style poster "Expedition Mars" featuring a family exploring Martian landscapes by freelance illustrator Kip Ayers.
More of his illustrations here.