I’m not sure if this is scientific research or just a new twisted reality TV series.

A private group known as The Mars Society has created a real-life simulation of what it would be like to live on Mars in the middle of the dessert in Utah. Their mission “to further the goal of the exploration and settlement of the Red Planet.”

And like most experiments involving small groups of people living in close quarters, there’s plenty of drama to be found. On the day after Valentine’s Day, the bickering got so bad that according to their journal, it looks like they were screaming at each other.

From the commander’s report:

The lack of dedication to the mission of some people overloads the others and it had to be spoken out. The problem was already there from the first day, when it came out that some people didn’t prepare anything for the mission, didn’t look at the manuals, which were send to them months ago and didn’t even prepare the tasks for their own role.

The accusation into my direction that I didn’t brief enough about the systems was too much. Nicky almost exploded. Arjan reacted double: At one hand he couldn’t stop criticizing the incompetence of some others during last week, but during the discussion he acted as if he was from Barcelona (don’t know anything). He has his own mission and own world.

They have space madness! Don’t laugh. Simulated habitats like the Mars Desert Research Station are invaluable for testing how people deal with harsh climates and their ability to deal with each other. Now if we could put in the Jersey Shore folks and make Snookie their captain, it will be the ultimate reality TV series.

– Read the whole breakdown on GeekoSystem. or read all the mission reports here.