Question: Why where you work is it called 'White Mars'?

Beth Healey answered on 12 Oct 2015:

Good evening! This is Adrianos from Greece, I am Beth’s predecessor as a research doctor at Concordia Station, Antarctica and I am filling in for her today due to connectivity problems over there. Having lived at Concordia Station, in the heart of Antarctica for a year, i could tell you that the surroundings do generate the feeling that you are in a different world, far away. Concordia is a “space analogue”, a place that simulates many of the challenges that astronauts have to face in space. It is particularly similar in many aspects to a future human base on the planet Mars: like the Concordia crew, Mars astronauts would live in isolation, far from other people, unable to receive help. They would see no animals outside, as is the case in the Antarctic mainland too. During their journey to Mars, astronauts would experience unusual day and night patterns, like in Antarctica, where there is no sunlight at all in the winter. The similarity of Concordia to a future Martian base is why the European Space Agency conducts biomedical research there. But Concordia lies amidst the ice, so there you have it: White Mars!