Oman desert doubles as Mars for red planet simulation tests

The desolate desert in southern Oman resembles Mars so much that more than 200 scientists from 25 nations have chosen it as their location for the next four weeks to field-test technology for a manned mission to Mars.

Public and private ventures are racing towards Mars - both former US president Barack Obama and SpaceX founder Elon Musk declared humans would walk on the Red Planet in a few decades.