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The UAE did not announce a real city on Mars in 2017. The World Government Summit released a virtual-reality tour of an imagined settlement called the “City of Wisdom,” part of the UAE’s long-term Mars 2117 ambition. A separate proposal, Mars Science City, was planned as a research facility on Earth.
What did the 2017 VR tour show?
The World Government Summit published its announcement on February 14, 2017, describing a virtual-reality experience that let people explore a proposed future city on Mars. The concept included laboratories, a university, green spaces, and a projected population of 600,000 permanent residents. Those were design details for an imagined settlement, not evidence of a city built on Mars or a confirmed future population. World Government Summit’s 2017 announcement placed the concept within the UAE’s Mars 2117 vision.
The announcement also said the UAE would work with scientists internationally on technologies for travel to and life on Mars. It referred to a planned desert simulation to develop food, energy, and water systems. These were plans described in 2017; the announcement alone does not establish their present status.
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No. The “City of Wisdom” was a virtual concept for a possible future settlement. The 600,000 figure was the projected population in that design, not a count of residents. Mars 2117 was presented as a UAE goal to establish a human settlement on Mars by 2117—not as a prediction or an accomplished result. The summit announcement and the UAE government’s space missions page describe the broader ambition.
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How was Mars Science City different?
Mars Science City was a separate proposal for a facility on Earth, intended to simulate aspects of living on Mars and support research. The UAE government’s page, last updated December 30, 2024, gives the proposal’s stated cost as AED 500 million and its area as 1.9 million square feet. It describes laboratories for food, energy, and water, as well as agricultural tests. The UAE government’s description presents it as part of the Mars 2117 strategy.
Dubai Media Office’s September 26, 2017 announcement also listed the AED 500 million cost and 1.9 million square feet area. Its proposed features included agricultural testing, future food-security studies, a space museum, and educational areas; it said the museum walls would use 3D printing with Emirati desert sand. These figures and features describe the announced project, not verified construction outcomes. Dubai Media Office’s project announcement does not establish that the facility was completed.
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Can you still access the VR tour?
The 2017 announcement establishes that the tour was released as a VR experience, but the cited official material does not confirm whether it remains available, where it is hosted, or which devices or platforms support it. It also does not establish that a headset was required. Check the summit’s original announcement for any current access information rather than assuming a particular viewer or phone setup will work.
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