In pictures: Scientists simulate life on Mars in a rocky Israeli crater

Ramon Crater: From the door of the expedition base, a few small steps to the left an autonomous rover passes by. A few giant leaps to the right is an array of solar panels. The landscape is rocky, hilly, tinged with red. Purposefully it resembles Mars.

Here, in the Ramon Crater in the desert of southern Israel, a team of six - five men and one woman - have begun simulating what it will be like to live for about a month on the red planet.

The six astronauts from Portugal, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, and Israel will be cut off from the world for a month, from October 4-31, only able leave their habitat in spacesuits as if they were on Mars.

Their mission, the AMADEE-20 Mars simulation, will be carried out in a Martian terrestrial analog and directed by a dedicated Mission Support Center in Austria, to conduct experiments ahead of future human and robotic Mars exploration missions.

The AMADEE-20 habitat is tucked beneath a rocky outcrop. Inside they sleep, eat and conduct experiments. Outside they wear mock space suits fitted with cameras, microphones and self-contained breathing systems.

"We have the motto of fail fast, fail cheap, and have a steep learning curve. Because for every mistake we make here on earth, we hope we don't repeat it on Mars," said Gernot Gromer, director of the Austrian Space Forum.

A scientist participates in a demonstration (above) simulating a mission to Mars near Mitzpe Ramon.The Austrian association is running the project together with the Israel Space Agency and local group D-MARS.

A number of recent Mars probes have captivated astronomy fans across the world with robotic rovers like NASA's Perseverance and, for the first time, the helicopter Ingenuity, offering a glance of the planet's surface. But a manned mission is likely more than a decade off.

"The habitat, right now, is the most complex, the most modern analog research station on this planet," said Gromer, standing beside the 120 sq meter structure shaped like two large, connected yurts.

The six team members are constantly on camera, their vital signs monitored, their movements inside are tracked to analyze favorite spots for congregating. All this to better understand the human factor, Gromer said.

Outside, other engineers and specialists work with a drone and rover to improve autonomous navigation and mapping on a world where GPS is not available.

Altogether they will carry out more than 20 experiments in fields including geology, biology and medicine and hope to publish some of the results when finished.

"We are six people working in a tight space under a lot of pressure to do a lot of tests. There are bound to be challenges," said Alon Tenzer, 36, wearing the space suit that carries some 50 kg (110 lb) of equipment. "But I trust my crew that we are able to overcome those challenges."

A robotic rover that is part of a team from Europe and Israel moves during a training mission for planet Mars at a site that simulates an off-site station at the Ramon Crater in Mitzpe Ramon in Israel's southern Negev desert.

German astronaut Anika Mehlis (left) and Austrian colleague Robert Wild work use laptop computers ahead of a training mission for planet Mars at the site that simulates an off-site station at the Ramon Crater in Mitzpe Ramon.

A drone is used in a demonstration of an experiment led by Austrian and Israeli agencies simulating a mission to Mars near Mitzpe Ramon.

Israeli astronaut Alon Tenzer prepaers his spacesuit before starting a training mission for planet Mars at the site.