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There are plans to send humans to Mars with the intention of setting up a colony as soon as in 2025.

But until we can put down roots on the red planet, a desert research centre in Utah that mimics Mars' rocky, barren landscape is the next best thing.

There, space enthusiasts spend a fortnight living in isolated 'habitats,' dressing in space suits, surviving on food rations, conducting research experiments and showering just once every three days, just like they would if they were living on the red planet.

Space enthusiasts spend a fortnight living in isolated 'habitats,' at the Mars Desert Research Station, dressing in space suits, surviving on food rations, conducting research experiments and showering just once every three days, just like they would if they were living on the red planet. Here, Florian Commans, crew biologist and greenhab officier, of Crew 153, studies a collection of rocks

Circular structures at the centre in Hanksville resembling water tanks are home to the 'astronauts' who dress in appropriately heavy duty clothing.

A team of six Belgian students is the 153rd group to travel to the rocky outpost and adopt the roles of commander, sub-commander, astronomer, geologist, biologist, journalist and engineer.

These are roles that the Mars Society, which runs the centre, thinks will be essential on a real mission, phys.org reported.

Tasks for the crew's biologist include studying bacteria from a soil sample at the Mars Desert Research Station, while the geologist studies rock formations.

Most of the simulations, such as taking magnetic readings and surveying the terrain, require volunteers to imagine conditions on the red planet, such as lower gravity, and suspend the reality around them.

Circular structures at the centre in Hanksville resembling water tanks are home to the 'astronauts' who dress in appropriate clothing. They travel on quad bikes (just shown) and have little contact with the outside world

A team of six Belgian students is the 153rd group to travel to the rocky outpost and adopt the roles of commander, sub-commander, astronomer, geologist, biologist, journalist and engineer.These are roles that the Mars Society, which runs the centre, thinks will be essential on a real mission. Here, crew geologist Auriane Canesse takes magnetic readings

Most of the simulations, such as taking magnetic readings and surveying the terrain require volunteers to imagine conditions on the red planet and suspend the reality around them. The habitat is located in a barren landscape that looks a little alien

Everything is simulated as much as possible, so the residents don't go outside without space helmets and suits, which come with their own air-conditioning, radio units, heavy helmets, and boots.

They always wait several minutes in a mock decompression room between the outside and inside of their 'habitat'.

This is because on Mars, 96 per cent of the atmosphere is carbon dioxide and less than one per cent is oxygen, meaning astronauts will have to wear suits at all times. 

This compares to Earth, where 21 per cent of the atmosphere is oxygen and less than 1 per cent carbon dioxide.

One of the group must always stay inside the habitat in case of an emergency and participants don't go outside alone.

They all live together in the habitat, which has two levels including six coffin-like beds, a work station and a shower which they only use every three days, as if they were on Mars.

Visitors have to travel to the Mars Desert Research Station on a buggy, down an unmarked path littered with boulders, at a speed of just 5mph (8km/h). Here, the buggies are shown

Everything is simulated as much as possible, so the residents don't go outside without space helmets and suits (pictured left and right), which come with their own air-conditioning, radio units, heavy helmets, and boots

While 'drawbacks', such as the presence of gravity, water and oxygen, stop the volunteers experiencing exactly what life on Mars would be like, the Utah desert has been home to simulation centres for a decade, as we set our sights on making the seven month, 140 million mile (225 million km) trip to Mars. Here, Florian Commans studied bacteria from a soil sample, as he would do on Mars

They cook with freeze-dried and dry food, surviving on rations.

Contact with the outside world is strictly limited, with a very slow internet connection restricted to allow just a few emails in and out each day.

Most communication is with 'mission control', who ask the crew for reports on every aspect of their lives during their two-week shifts, as would likely be the case on a Martian mission. That includes details on their food intake, exercise, and psychological status.

Visitors have to travel to the Mars Desert Research Station on a buggy down an unmarked path littered with boulders, at a speed of just 5mph (8km/h).

More than 900 people from all over the world have undertaken two week missions in the Utah desert and one in five of them reportedly work for Nasa.

While 'drawbacks', such as the presence of gravity, water and oxygen, stop the volunteers experiencing exactly what life on Mars would be like, the Utah desert has been home to simulation centres for a decade, as we set our sights on making the seven month, 140 million mile (225 million km) trip to Mars.

The Mars One mission aims to set up a colony on the red planet in 2025, although a lot of experts remain sceptical this will be possible.

Nevertheless, 24 shortlisted candidates who want to make Mars their home – and die on the red planet - are expected to go into full-time astronaut training, spending three months of every year inside a simulation habitat with three other people, to become familiar with the people and the systems.

The Mars Desert Research Station is based in Hanksville, Utah (shown on this map with a red marker) because of the red, rocky desert environment, which resembles that of the red planet

Mars has an inhospitable habitat and the Utah centre doesn't simulate dangerous radiation levels that future astronauts would have to endure. It does, however, give people a flavour of what their daily lives may be like on Mars, from cramped living conditions to jobs such as studying bacteria from soil samples (pictured)

This will be ramped up until the mission is set to blast off and would-be colonists will learn everything from medical to electrical skills in the Arctic and desert training facilities - possibly in Utah.

Interestingly, unlike the 100 shortlisted Mars Once candidates, five of whom are British, none of the six Belgian students are interested in living on Mars without the prospect of returning to Earth.

'I could die for science, but at 70 years old and not at 30,' said 23-year old Romain Compere.

'I don't want to die without oxygen and thousands of kilometres from my home with no one to love me.'

Mars has an inhospitable habitat and the Utah centre doesn't simulate dangerous radiation levels that future astronauts would have to endure.

While the Utah desert (pictured) gets cold in the winter, the chilly temperatures pale into insignificance compared to what would-be colonists would experience on Mars. The average temperature on Mars is -62°C (-81°F), with lows reaching -176°C (284°F)

The Belgium students spending time at the centre (pictured) said they have no wish to go to Mars while it's not possible to return to Earth. They didn't mind living in close confines in the 'habitat' (shown) and even planted a symbolic Belgian flag outside (shown)

Astronauts venturing into deep space on their way to Mars would face radiation from high-energy galactic cosmic rays spewed by distant supernova explosions and sporadic bursts of charged particles hurled by the sun.

Earth's magnetic field helps to deflect much of that radiation, but space explorers would be bombarded with as much radiation as getting a full-body CT scan about once a week for a year, according to researchers who reviewed data from a radiation sensor aboard a rover during the journey to Mars.

In some cases, that dose would exceed Nasa's standards and be enough to raise an astronaut's cancer risk by three per cent.

While the Utah desert gets cold in winter, the chilly temperatures pale into insignificance compared to what would-be colonists would experience on Mars.

The average temperature on Mars is -62°C (-81°F), with lows reaching -176°C (284°F). By comparison, Earth's average temperature is 14°C (57°F), with the coldest temperature ever on record being minus -87°C (-126°F).

And of course, visitors to the research centre do not experience Martian gravity, which is 63 per cent weaker than on Earth so that someone who weighs 100lbs (45kg) here, would only weigh 38lbs (17kg) on Mars.