Simulate a Mission to Mars with TripAdvisor Experiences and Astroland Agency

Look at this world we live in today: who wouldn’t want to go to Mars?

TripAdvisor Experiences can’t actually take you to the red planet, but in conjunction with Astroland they can make it feel like you’re there. For the low price of just under $7000 you can spend 27 days training your body and mind for the rigors of space travel, before spending three straight days abandoned in some caves in Spain. You’ll have the barest minimum tools necessary to insure survival. It’s not really Mars, but it’ll simulate how hard it’ll be to survive on another planet, making it the next best thing. Or worst, depending on how you feel about going out of your way to test your endurance and comfort level.

Here’s what Astroland’s “mission to Mars” will get you for $6800. You’ll start with three weeks of physical training. During that time you’ll have “direct online access” to a variety of psychologists and aerospace experts, including “one of the few leading astronaut psychologists from Spain” Gabriel González de la Torre, as well as representatives from the European Space Agency. From there you’ll decamp to the Astroland Space Center in Cantabria, a region in northern Spain. You’ll spend three days learning how to do spacewalks, handle weightlessness, and explore caves. That last bit might not sound too critical for Martian exploration, but your last three days in Astroland’s program will be spent in a cave in Arredondo, Spain, so you should probably know at least something about spelunking. The cave is massive—almost 200 feet tall and just under a mile long—and “is believed to accurately replicate the hostile conditions of Mars.” You’ll have spacesuits, futuristic looking pods to live in, freeze dried food, and whatever else will make this Spanish cave feel like an alien planet. Basically you’ll be living in your own personal sci-fi movie, living out your astronaut dreams.

If this seems like something you could afford to drop several thousands of dollars on, you might want to know that space is limited. Five “missions” are scheduled through the end of 2019, and each one is capped to only 10 participants. They start on Sept. 22, Oct. 13, Oct. 27, Nov. 10, and Nov. 24, and if you do that last one you’ll be wrapping up right on Christmas Eve. If you’ve always wanted to spend Thanksgiving in a cave replicating the conditions of the Martian surface, now’s your chance.

You can sign up through TripAdvisor Experiences, and find more information both there and at Astroland’s site. Also here’s a short video about the adventure. Too bad it’s not an actual trip to Mars—that wouldn’t just be a fun, immersive bit of adventure tourism, but also a chance at actual salvation from this rapidly dying world we’re currently stuck on.