Greenhouses in extreme environments: The Arthur Clarke Mars Greenhouse design and operation overview

Abstract Since its deployment on Devon Island, Canadian High Arctic, in 2002, the Haughton Mars Project’s Arthur Clarke Mars Greenhouse (ACMG) has supported extreme environment related scientific and operation research that is relevant to Mars analogue studies – each at a specific level of fidelity and complexity. The Greenhouse serves as an initial experimental test-bed supporting field research, from which lessons may be learned to support the design and implementation of future field facilities, and enabling higher fidelity demonstrations. This paper provides an overall description of the ACMG, describes the different subsystems, explains its operational modes, details some results over the three years of operation and discusses future development plans.