Want to see what Mars looks like? Welcome to Atacama!
Located about 750 kilometers north of Santiago, chile's capital, the Atacama Desert is one of the driest regions in the world under the combined influence of subtropical high-pressure zone sinking currents, offshore winds and peruvian cold currents.
Atacama Desert
The Atacama Desert is 160 km wide and 1,000 km long, and it is said that there will be no drought in the Pacific Ocean, but the Andes Mountains next to the northern part of the desert are like a barrier to block the humid air of the Amazon River from going south, in addition, the offshore wind that prevails here parallel to the coast is also the place where the Peruvian cold current flows, the coastal air is in contact with the surface of the cold current, the lower layer is cooled, and the water vapor can only become foggy, and it is difficult to rise to the high altitude to condense the clouds and cause rain. There is a place in the area that scientists call an "absolute desert" and there has been no record of rain since the Spanish established the meteorological observatory in 1870.
The dry pole of the world - Atacama
Atacama is the closest natural environment on Earth to Mars, where the soil is barren, highly acidic, and even bacteria cannot survive, part of which is due to the lack of water, so the Takama Desert is called the world's dry pole.
Antofagasta, the most densely populated city in the Atacama Desert, has local meteorological records that the city has only 20 cloudy days in the year, the rest are all clear skies, with an average annual precipitation of three millimeters, and most of the surrounding areas have not rained for 40 or even 100 years.
Houses in the Atacama area do not have eaves to block the rain, the roofs are mostly flat, regardless of the slope of the drainage, some people also build a low wall on the roof to store household debris, and although the streets in the city are crisscrossed, there are no drainage channels on the roads. Most people do not know what umbrellas and raincoats are, there are no rainproof goods to sell in large and small shops, and due to the lack of rainproof facilities, even a little rain will cause a whole commotion and make people busy.
Scientists exploring in the desert
The bizarre nature of the Atacama Desert has attracted NASA scientists to explore, and natalie Cabrol, a planetary geologist at NASA and seti.'s Academy, said: "This is the best training ground for Mars exploration. With the help of the excursion guides provided by the local inn, four days later I began to explore this dry land, and in the colorful and magnificent Rainbow Valley, I collected a variety of minerals from green to pink. And the Valley of the Moon, as its name suggests, floats out of the world in a mist, and there are pale columns of salt rising from the ground in the valley, and because of oxygen and gravity, he is much friendlier than the moon," Caborol said truthfully.
In the Laguna Salada Salt Lake, there is a liquid flowing first, which is the third largest salt lake on the earth, and when the water evaporates, the entire salt lake basin will leave hard salt blocks, and the salt blocks themselves are uneven. Another benefit of coming here is the ability to look up at the clean sky, and in 2013 the famous Alma Telescope was put into use in the Atacama Desert, one of the most powerful astronomical devices to date. So why did you choose to establish it in this arid land north of Chile? The reason is simple, mainly due to the dry air, altitude and almost unpolluted sky, so it is the ideal place to look up at the stars, and this small local observatory, only 40 centimeters high, the sky here is so clear that you can use it to peek into the far end. The Atacama Desert is indeed remote, but it is far from civilization, so remoteness is also a reward.
Alma Telescope Group
When the solar system was young, the environment on Mars might have been like Earth today. "Ancient Mars is what we see today in the Six Thousand Meters Altitude and the Andes Mountains." Cabrol said, "For life, this is Mars 3.5 billion years ago. The discoveries of Rover Rangers, Courage and Opportunity all support this view. Their observations suggest that Mars was once a humid planet, with salty oceans and flowing rivers.
Experts hope that activities in Atacama will refine the technology of extra-life detection. Chemical tests to calibrate life signals are becoming more and more sensitive, and people expect to find those who live in the harshest environments. Adrian Pence, a scientist at the Jet Push Laboratory in Pasadena, California, said: "We are looking for the strongest life form on Earth. ”
Atacama Desert
Some bacterial species, which survive in the form of spores, are in a state of sleep to survive the most difficult years. This "hibernation shield" protects microbes from dehydration, radiation and nutrient deficiency. It also makes them super astronauts, with resilient spores exposed directly to space without any substantial protection.
The experts designed the instrument as a tabletop-like disk, and the probe had to be reduced in size and improved in performance, and he would not appear on Mars anytime soon. If this hardware passes testing in the Atacama Desert and is well funded, their instrument could reach the Red Planet around 2025 with the Mars Science Laboratory.
The surface of the Atacama Desert
NASA experts believe that the surface environment here is very similar to Mars, which is why they chose this place as the site to test the latest space rover. "We're here to test new space vehicles and try to find creatures in the Atacama Desert, which could come in handy in future Mars explorations," said Program Leader David Watergreen.
Scientists plan to let the space car in the desert, independently complete the task of collecting samples of water or other organic matter, and thus improve the space car's software control system. NASA officials said the space vehicle would need to fly nearly 160 million kilometers with a vehicle to reach Mars. After reaching the surface of Mars, it is necessary to drive nearly 160 kilometers of autonomous driving and complete many complex exploration tasks such as sampling and testing. Therefore, early testing is critical to the success of the task in the future.
The surface of Mars
In addition, chilean scientists who participated in the test also said that the climate of the Atacama Desert is very similar to the climate on Mars, and precautions can be taken against possible situations on Mars through investigation. Moreover, this test can also provide technical preparation for similar robots to investigate the moon and the Atlantic ocean floor.