Recently, a space suit prototype that may eventually be used for a manned mission to Mars by NASA was studied in the harsh, windy conditions of Antarctica. The average temperature on Mars is -200 degrees Farenheit, which is not colder than Antarctica, but the 47 mile per hour winds do help create similar cold conditions or at least as cold as you can get in a natural Earth setting. The suit was tested while users did various activities similar to what they would do on Mars.
It is not the first time Antarctica has been used as a Mars-like habitat for space study reasons. Back in 2007, an Inflatable Habitat was tested at McMurdo for potential use on the moon and Mars. The dry valleys of Antarctica have also been studied as an Earth equivalent to the dry valleys on Mars.
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