A new attraction is set for launch at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center's (KSC) Merrit Island visitor complex – sending visitors on a virtual trip 54.6 million km (33.9 million mi) to Mars.

Taking off on Saturday (10 February), the new Astronaut Training Experience (ATX) will use immersive simulation technology to make participants feel as though they have been transported all the way to the Red Planet.

In the experience, visitors will train to live and work on Mars, learning what it is like to travel to Mars, by using real NASA practices and science.

Two different experiences are available as part of ATX. The first allows guest to join a space crew as they undertake a mission simulation including launching, landing and walking on Mars. During the five-hour experience, visitors will get the chance to perform a spacewalk through an advanced microgravity simulation.

The second experience sees visitors transported to Mars to live and work on Mars Base 1. Set in a futuristic landscape, rookie astronaut teams will spend a full day managing an operations centre on Mars, where they will carry out activities including harvesting vegetables in the Botany Lab, programming robots to optimise solar energy intake and adapting to the challenges of thriving in the harsh Martian environment.

Two shorter training experiences of 30 and 45 minutes are also available, including spacewalk training and a Mars Exploration Simulator, which will allow visitors to experience the sensation of walking on Mars through virtual reality and pilot the Mars Rover.

“We’re offering something that most people thought they would never get to do in their lifetime,” said Therrin Protze, chief operating officer at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

“The new Astronaut Training Experience Center is the most interactive and technologically advanced experience at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. ATX and Mars Base 1 bring the future of space exploration to life.

"Guests looking to get as close to Mars as possible without actually becoming an astronaut will be able to have that opportunity.”