National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) utilises Devon Island for Mars simulation research

Key facts

• Devon Island, located in Nunavut, Canada, is the world's largest uninhabited island and serves as a primary site for Mars research.
• The island is classified as a polar desert, characterized by freezing temperatures, extreme dryness, and a lack of vegetation.
• The Haughton Impact Crater, a 20-kilometre-wide formation on the island, is used to simulate the cratered terrain of Mars.
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) uses the island to test next-generation hardware, including analogue pressurised rovers, autonomous drones, and deep-drilling systems.
• The Haughton-Mars Project (HMP) conducts the Arthur Clarke Mars Greenhouse experiment to study plant growth in sterile, Mars-like soil.
• Scientists study endolithic colonisation on the island, a process where microorganisms survive extreme ultraviolet (UV) radiation by living inside rocks.