SA is about to be hit by an invasion from Mars.
For the next month, a group of scientists will set up shop in the far north of the State to prepare for the day when an astronaut actually sets foot on the Red Planet.
The action begins this weekend when the Mars Society holds its annual conference in Adelaide.
What is the Mars Society?
Patrick Emmett has been finding out.
VOICEOVER (FROM THE MOVIE 'RED PLANET'): Mars I, Houston, you have acquired orbit!
Congratulations on 182 days of smooth sailing, and welcome to Mars.
PATRICK EMMETT: From prehistoric times, mankind has been fascinated with Mars.
The closest planet to Earth and has spawned countless books and movies.
One of these, 'Red Planet', was filmed near Coober Pedy in 2000.
And those barren landscapes are again drawing Martian devotees from around the world -- this time it's the rugged hills around Arkaroola.
JON CLARKE, MARS SOCIETY: Aspects of the landscape are very Martian.
We have dune fields at Arkaroola and up in the Stezlecki Desert, we have springs, we've got big outwash fans from the creeks in the Flinders Ranges, we've got dry lakebeds, and all these features we have seen in images from Mars from orbiters and from rovers.
PATRICK EMMETT: Jon Clarke is a member of the Mars Society, a group of scientists from around the world devoted to putting humans on Mars.
JON CLARKE: In some ways we're very close.
In some ways there's probably 10 to 20 years of testing and thinking that needs to be done before we're ready to go, but we need to start thinking about it if we want to go.
PATRICK EMMETT: The work at Arkaroola will build on experiments already conducted overseas.
They'll be testing equipment and techniques for what is, by any estimates, an enormous and dangerous task.
In January, when NASA landed two rovers on the planet, it took them six months to get there.
It's estimated a human mission would take 2.5 years in total.
How you feed and and water a crew for that long poses many problems -- and how you stop them from cracking up is another one.
PHIL KRINS, MARS SOCIETY: The main thing is that you're in an isolated group, more isolated than any other group has ever been.
PATRICK EMMETT: Phil Krins will be conducting psychological experiments at Arkaroola to see how groups cope with a 36-month trip.
One huge problem will be boredom -- there's no movies or theatres in space.
And those pressures have already pushed crews over the edge on much shorter space missions, like 'Skylab'.
PHIL KRINS: The crew turned off all the cameras, turned off all the microphones, turned off all the incoming transmissions, and basically said, "We've had enough of you for a while, "we're going to have a day off!
"Stop telling us what to do!" sort of thing.
So here's an example of a complete breakdown between interrelations.
PATRICK EMMETT: Once on the ground, any Mars crew would have its work cut out getting around on a planet where gravity is around half what it is on Earth, and some mountain ranges are 24km high.
The Arkaroola expedition will be testing a new generation of spacesuits to make that easier.
JAMES WALDIE, MARS SOCIETY: The first problem with the current suits is that they're not flexible enough -- the current suits are filled with gas, so they're inflated into this rigid shell.
PATRICK EMMETT: This new elasticised suit will be getting its first test at Arkaroola.
It's more like a wetsuit than the traditional spacesuit.
It weighs half as much, it's a lot more flexible, and it's a lot safer.
JAMES WALDIE: If you scratch or tear the elastics, what you create is localised effects to the body, which are painful, but it doesn't affect the rest of the body, so you maintain the life of the astronaut so he or she can go back inside the airlock.
PATRICK EMMETT: One of the main reasons why Mars creates so much interest is that it seems the planet most likely to have had life on it.
Even though its average temperature now is now -55 degrees Celsius, it used to be a lot warmer.
And there's evidence there may be water there.
JAMES WALDIE: The great scientific question is are we alone in the universe?
Travelling to Mars, exploring Mars, may answer that question.
PATRICK EMMETT: To help unravel that question, scientists hope to find more clues in the Paralanna hot springs.
The springs are unusual because of their high radiation level.
JON CLARKE: The surface of Mars is a relatively high-radiation environment, so by looking at the microbes and other organisms that live in the Paralanna hot spring, we can look at the strategies they've evolved to cope with such an environment, and then better understand the limits and possibilities there might be for Martian life in Martian springs, or Martian surface, or just beneath it.
PATRICK EMMETT: The information the group gathers on its 4-week expedition will be published, and they hope it will eventually be used to turn science-fiction into fact.
JON CLARKE: At the moment, Australia spends less on space than Malaysia, so we don't have a lot of interest from the Australian political scene, but we hope that groups such as us can help change that.
PATRICK EMMETT: Do you hope that one day you'll be wearing one of your suits on Mars?
JAMES WALDIE: I think that's the dream of all Mars Society people.
IAN HENSCHKE: And the Mars Society conference is being held at the University of SA.