Rare find in Atacama desert could be linked to Mars research.
A team led by University of Colorado-Boulder has found extremely rare life on the soil at the top of two volcanoes in Chile’s Atacama desert. Results from the 2009 expedition, released last week, said unique microbes were discoveredthat may be linked to research on Mars.
Team member Ryan Lynch, a doctoral student at CU-Boulder, explained the significance of this discovery to The Santiago Times in an interview Wednesday.
“Mars is pretty different from Earth,” he said. “But one of the things this research could do is help us understand and find the limit to life here, how Mars could be favorable to life.”
The driest desert on earth, the Atacama is one of the most uninhabitable environments on earth. The desert spans 600 miles and is located from Peru’s southern border into northern Chile. During winter, temperatures can go as high as 79 degrees Fahrenheit but as low as 45 degrees Fahrenheit.
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Sumy Sadurni
Sumy is studying at Westminster University, in London, UK. Having lived all over the world has sparked a strong interest in international journalism, with a particular passion for South America. She has written for music and travel magazines, but her main goal is to report on current affairs, both foreign and national.
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