DESTINATION MARS. FIRST STOP... THE ARCTIC? Before heading to Mars, space scientists and engineers are traveling to the Canadian Arctic
to live and work in the Haughton impact crater. Its climate and geology are as Mars-like as
can be found on arth-cold temperatures, low precipitation, and permanently frozen
impact-ejected rubble. The Haughton crater provides opportunities to test new
technologies and field procedures and to study human behaviors that result from extended
contact in close quarters. The knowledge gained from these investigations is being used to
plan, design, and ultimately to conduct the first manned and continued robotic missions to
Mars and other planets and their moons.
-United States Arctic Research Commission
The author includes the description of the Haughton impact crater
most likely to -
a. prove that this is the only other place the new technologies will work.
b. show that Mars is very cold also.
c. explain why it has cold temperatures and low precipitation.
d. Illustrate how similar it is to the surface on Mars.
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