George - Large Dirty Mars Chamber

Photo of "George" Large Dirty Mars Chamber

Prof. Manish Patel standing on one side of the chamber deep in thought looking at the insider of the chamber — Prof. Manish Patel contemplating potential experiments in George

The Large Dirty Mars Chamber is a large, adaptable, environmental simulation chamber suitable for a wide range of scientific and engineering investigations. This facility is unique in its application to materials and processes not usually associated with vacuum chambers. Many studies involve the use of up to several kilograms of regolith simulants, as well as large volumes of water, brines and CO₂ ice. George is also suitable for testing large instruments and structures (e.g., rover mechanisms) under martian environmental conditions.

Ongoing research includes simulations of mud-volcanism, surface runoff of both water and brine solutions on sediment slopes, CO₂ sublimation-driven mass wasting on sediment slopes and CO₂ sublimation-drivenaraneiform and dust plume simulations, all under Mars atmospheric conditions.

Meso-scale experiment of subliminating CO₂ ice within Mass flows in George

Experiment investigating the role of viscosity on Martian mud flows and mud volcanism

Description

George is 1.8 m long and 0.9 m in diameter, with 11 large (20 cm diameter), adaptable ports used for feedthroughs and viewports. Temperatures inside the chamber can be controlled by a cryogenic sleeve down to -70°C. Lower temperatures (~-180°C) can be maintained using a 1.2 m long, 50 cm wide cryogenic cooling plate. Pressure is automatically controllable, between 0.8 mbar - 1000 mbar.

Specification

Length	1.8 m
Diameter	0.9 m
Pressure	1 mbar - 1000 mbar
Temperature	~-180°C - +20°C

Image of Dr Petr Broz and Dr Matthew Sylvest positioning video cameras outside the George chamber before running an experiment — Dr Petr Broz and Dr Matthew Sylvest positioning video cameras outside the George chamber before running an experiment

Instrumentation includes:

Automated temperature control
UV lamps
High definition video cameras
Photogrammetric camera array
High speed video cameras
Externally operated arm for manipulating equipment within the chamber whilst under a controlled environment
Ports can be used as viewports or with feedthroughs for electronics, liquid nitrogen etc.
LED adjustable lighting within the chamber

Contact

Prof. Manish Patel, Dr Matthew Sylvest and Dr Zoe Emerland discussing experiments by George - The Large Dirty Mars Chamber

If you are interested in conducting experiments with us, please see our Client Project Process for more information.

For all enquiries please Contact us!

Image showing layers of ice structures forming under low atmospheric pressures within George Chamber — Petr Broz's layers of ice structures formed under low atmospheric pressures

Recent Projects

2025

Open University PhD student Jessie Hogan - Jessie is looking at how ice grains of different concentrations, relevant to Enceladus, form under low pressure conditions. Her work is ongoing, so come back later for more details.

Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic Researcher Dr. Petr Brož - Petr has a three-year project investigating cryovolcanic features on the surface of icy worlds such as Europa, Titan, Enceladus, Triton and Ceres. They aim to investigate several aspects of freezing water under near-vacuum environments that remain unsolved in the community. Keep an eye out on upcoming publications for their results!

Image of Lonneke Roelofs and Susan Conway posed by the George Chamber viewport looking at their experiments — Lonneke Roelofs and Susan Conway with their H2O sublimation enhanced sediment flows

Utrecht University, Netherlands, PhD student Lonneke Roelofs & Université Nantes, France, research scientist Dr. Susan Conway - Experiments to investigate how sublimation of H2O ice changes the mobility of dry granular flows under Martian pressures. Keep an eye out for future publications!

2024

Arizona State University's Prof. Jacob Adler and Georgia Institute of Technology's PhD student Sharissa Thompson - A continuation from their work in 2022 remotely pouring slurries of different concentrations of water and Mars regolith simulants down slopes under Martian atmospheric pressures to investigate changes in sediment flow dynamics. See their AGU abstract here and some images on our X, Instagram or LinkedIn pages.

Utecht University, Netherlands, PhD student Lonneke Roelofs and Simone Visschers & Université Nantes, France, research scientist Dr. Susan Conway - Simulated the formation of Martian Linear Dune Gullies with burrowing blocks of CO2 ice by explosive sublimation-induced particle transport. Check out some impressive videos of this process on our Instagram or LinkedIn pages. Also see their publications & conference abstracts:

Image of Lonneke Roelofs standing next to George Chamber loading her experiments — Lonneke Roelofs loading her experimental apparatus into the George Chamber

Roelofs et al. 2025 (pre-print) "Burrowing blocks of CO2 ice create sinuous gullies on Martian dunes by explosive sublimation-induced particle transport"
Diamant et al. 2025 EGU "Effects of gravity in CO2-sublimation driven granular flows in laboratory experiments."

2023

Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic Researcher Dr. Petr Brož and Dr, Ondrej Krýza - ran experiments investigating whether the volume of mud changes when exposed to martian atmospheric pressures depending of pressure, thickness and presence of salts. See their publications for more information:

Kryza et al. 2025 (pre-print) "How salts affect mud mobility at low pressures: implications for Mars and other extraterrestrial bodies"

Prof. Jacob Adler and Sharissa Thompson posing in front of George Chamber during their experiments

Broz et al. 2023 "Volumetric Changes of Mud on Mars: Evidence From Laboratory Simulations"

2022

Arizona State University's Prof. Jacob Adler - They remotely poured slurries of water and Mars-like materials (basalt, kaolinite, bentonite, and MGS-1 regolith simulant) down slopes of different angles under Martian atmospheric pressures to investigate changes in sediment flow dynamics. See their AGU abstract here.

2020

Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic Researcher Dr. Petr Brož and Dr, Ondrej Krýza - Investigated how low viscosity mud propogates under Martian atmospheric pressures with rapid freezing and formation of ice crusts. See their publications for more information: