Article Posted on : - Aug 07, 2010

LONDON (PTI): Planetary scientists are testing out suits for the first manned missions to Mars -- by boldly going to the snow-capped Alps.

This is because the scientists believe that conditions under Austria's Kaunertaler Glacier are ideal for replicating conditions facing astronauts on Red Planet, where temperatures can plunge to -113 degree Celsius, 'The Sun' reported.

"It's perfect. The permafrost conditions there closely resemble the climate on Mars," Gernot Groemer who has designed the 60 pounds space suit, said.

In fact, Russia last year announced its plans to build a nuclear-powered spacecraft for a manned mission to Mars.

Anatoly Perminov, Head of the Russian Federal Space Agency, told a government commission that the plan was crucial if Russia wanted to maintain a competitive edge in the space race, according to Russian media reports.

Perminov had said the basic design could be ready by 2012, but a final version would take another nine years, and would cost around US dollars 580 million to build.

"The project is aimed at implementing large scale space exploration programs, including a manned mission to Mars interplanetary travel, the creation and operation of planetary outposts," Perminov was quoted by the Russian media as saying.