Analog Studies

Explorer School Teachers Set To Visit Atacama

By Keith Cowing
May 25, 2006

Live TV of NASA Explorer School Teachers at Atacama Desert Moon/Mars Analog Research Site, NASA ARC Quest

“What are seven NASA Explorer School teachers doing in the Atacama desert in Chile? They are studying side-by-side with NASA scientists who search for life in extreme environments, closely approximating what they expect to find on other planets. Why the Atacama — an inhospitable, seemingly lifeless, sun drenched spot that is probably the driest place on Earth? This natural environment on Earth poses some of the same challenges for human explorers as would a seemingly lifeless planet.”

Biologist, Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA Space Biologist and Payload integrator, Editor of NASAWatch.com and Astrobiology.com, Lapsed climber, Explorer, Synaesthete, Former Challenger Center board member 🖖🏻