Engineers from the Airbus Defence and Space in the UK have built what they have called a "Mars Yard" just outside London at a cost of about £500,000 ($832,000) to help European Space Agency (ESA) test rovers so they can put one on the Red Planet someday.
The pit contains 300 tons of sand (66,000 lbs) which has been created to match the color measured by NASA's rovers, according to CNN.com.
The light levels inside the facility have even been set to mimic those on Mars.
Basically the engineers tried their best to replicate some of the Red Planet's environment to help the ESA test a future rover which they believe they'll be able to autonomously navigate on Mars from Earth.
ESA has already outlined two missions as part of its ExoMars program to learn more about Mars and whether or not it could have ever supported life, and in preparation for a potential sample return sometime in the 2020's, according to CNN.
An orbiter and prototype lander are set to launch in January 2016 and a rover is planned to follow in 2018.
Scientists want the rover to be able to calculate its own safe route to an object, and they hope building the Mars Yard will help them prepare for such an act.
"It takes 20 minutes for a signal to reach Mars which is too slow for good control from the Earth," said Justin Byrne, head of Earth observation and science at Airbus Defence and Space, according to CNN. "This way the rover can get itself out of trouble. We are going to Mars to look for signs of life -- and this is an important step towards that goal."
The facility will be used up until launch but it will be kept available after the rover has landed in 2019 so that any issues can be simulated and solved at the yard.
The ESA's return to the Red Planet comes over a decade after its last attempt to land on Mars.
ESA's Mars Express is still orbiting the Red Planet, and has been sending back data to Earth for more than 10 years, according to CNN.
The agency's lander, Beagle 2, was was intended to search for evidence of life on the Red Planet, but it was lost in 2003 on Christmas Day after failing to make contact with the orbiter.
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