an April 4-7 simulation of a manned mission to Mars provided the opportunity for successful tests of some of the technology needed for such an ambitious undertaking, Spanish scientists said.

Participants in Mars Spanish Mission 0, carried out in the semi-arid Los Monegros region, discussed the simulation at a press conference here in Zaragoza.

The exercise was preparation for another simulation to be conducted next year in the Utah desert under the auspices of the Laboratory for Experimentation in Space and Microgravity and the Spanish chapter of The Mars Society, an organization founded in 1998 by NASA engineers and scientists.

"Our objective is to advance in this type of mission, because the voyage to Mars is something very complex, apart from being expensive, and requires the involvement of all countries," simulation coordinator Juan Antonio Fernandez said.