If Mars had hot tubs, Iceland would be like Mars. To experience extraordinary landscapes like red rocks, black sand, and subglacial volcanoes, visitors don’t need a spacecraft, according to a sly premise behind a new pitch from Iceland’s tourism authority. Additionally, they add that Iceland has a lot of oxygen.
They released a promo video and a space billboard with the motto, “Drive Home the Message,” to emphasize the point “Iceland. superior than space.”
For years, space travel has been in the news. But tourists can have a comparable experience in Iceland, says Sigrur Dögg Gumundsdóttir, CEO of Visit Iceland, for a fraction of the price and without the burden of a significant carbon impact.
As it prepares astronauts for new flights off the planet, NASA agrees and is once again using Iceland as a stand-in for the Moon.
According to NASA’s Kelsey Young, who studies the exploration of planetary surfaces and has conducted geologic fieldwork in Iceland, “Iceland is an incredible analog for both the Moon and Mars.”
Space vs. Iceland
On Earth, according to Gumundsdóttir, “there are new sensations of joy and amazement just waiting to be found,” from seeing the Northern Lights in Reykjavik to unwinding in a geothermal spa to dining in a tomato greenhouse.
You wouldn’t like these experiences as much if you were wearing a space suit, she continues.
People can, of course, escape the gravity of Earth in space. Overrated, according to Gumundsdóttir.
She adds, “For one thing, gravity gives you water. “There are no relaxing geothermal pools without gravity. On the other side, geothermal pools make you feel weightless.”
Iceland unveiled a satellite billboard.
Recently, the nation unveiled a space billboard as a part of its new marketing campaign for travel. The “Better than space” message was photographed against the curved surface of the Earth by a weather balloon that carried an electronic tablet with an advertisement on it into space.
