Trip to La Joya – A mars desert analogue research site

La Joya, situated in the South of Peru is one of several places around the world which are used as Mars Analogue Sites. The desert is used by various types of scientists, among them geologists and astro-biologists who are trying to gain a better understanding of the geological processes that took place on Mars and that made it, what it is today. The desert’s climate ranges between 0°C and 50°C. The climate is very dry and there is hardly any rainfall.

In the morning at 7am we set out with a 4x4 jeep on our trip. Along the way we stopped at a couple of sites that seemed to be interesting for Dr. Ortega. He explained us the various processes that shaped the landscape of the desert. Among other details he improved our understanding of which formations clearly point out previous existence of water in this area. This kind of knowledge is essential for us to understand processes on Mars and also to scientifically prove that there has been water on Mars.

Later we inspected an area with a high percentage of salt in its soil. Dr. Rene Condori explained us that these are sites where life can potentially be found. Indeed, after a couple of close-up examinations we did discover greenish lines enclosed within salt clumps, which were bacteria that live on salt. As Dr. Renee Condori will soon travel to NASA Ames Research Centre for his further research, he will bring this data for investigations that are conducted there.

With our 4x4 jeep we quickly reached all the data points. At first I was surprised as there were no signs of any sensors or stations for measuring environmental data. It turned out that these scientists had to come up with smart methods of hiding their sensors as they otherwise might get stolen in this part of the world. The solution was simply to burry them in the sand of the desert. The only one sensor that was actually visible was that for temperature. Digging out the area around it we came upon the other sensors. A serial plug allowed us to download the data, which was recorded in intervals of 2 min, very quickly. As we reached the last data point, technology and a lack of preparation led to a dying battery. So some of the data needs to be gathered another day. That’s the way it goes, even in the world of Mars Analogue Research.

In order to make sure that sufficient media coverage of this event and the accompanying astrobiology conference was ensured, we gave a live TV interview. In this interview we had the chance to explain to the population of Arequipa (ca. 1 Mio.) the basic ideas of Mars Analogue Sites but also what the Austrian Space Forum’s flagship project PolAres is all about and why sites like La Joya are of immense interest to the Mars community.