The Atacama Desert in northern Chile as an analog model of Mars

A Azua-Bustos, C Gonzalez-Silva… - Frontiers in Astronomy …, 2022 - frontiersin.org
The Atacama Desert is by far the driest and oldest desert on Earth, showing a unique
combination of environmental extremes (extreme dryness, the highest UV radiation levels on …

Health and safety effects of airborne soil dust in the Americas and beyond

DQ Tong, TE Gill, WA Sprigg, RS Van Pelt… - Reviews of …, 2023 - Wiley Online Library
Risks associated with dust hazards are often underappreciated, a gap between the
knowledge pool and public awareness that can be costly for impacted communities. This …

Utilizing martian samples for future planetary exploration—characterizing hazards and resources

C Whetsel, JS Levine, SJ Hoffman, CM Luckey… - Proceedings of the …, 2025 - pnas.org
One of the most surprising and important findings of the first human landings on the Moon
was the discovery of a very fine layer of lunar dust covering the entire surface of Moon along …

The dust load and radiative impact associated with the June 2020 historical Saharan dust storm

D Francis, N Nelli, R Fonseca, M Weston… - Atmospheric …, 2022 - Elsevier
In June 2020, a major dust outbreak occurred in the Sahara that impacted the tropical
Atlantic Ocean. In this study, the dust load and radiative forcing of the dust plumes on both …

Leave no stone unturned: individually adapted xerotolerant Thaumarchaeota sheltered below the boulders of the Atacama Desert hyperarid core

Y Hwang, D Schulze-Makuch, FL Arens, JS Saenz… - Microbiome, 2021 - Springer
Background The hyperarid core of the Atacama Desert is an extremely harsh environment
thought to be colonized by only a few heterotrophic bacterial species. Current concepts for …

The COSPAR Planetary Protection Policy for robotic missions to Mars: A review of current scientific knowledge and future perspectives

K Olsson-Francis, PT Doran, V Ilyin, F Raulin… - Life Sciences in Space …, 2023 - Elsevier
Planetary protection guidance for martian exploration has become a notable point of
discussion over the last decade. This is due to increased scientific interest in the habitability …

Dust and aerosols in the Atacama Desert

F Arenas-Díaz, B Fuentes, M Reyers, S Fiedler… - Earth-Science …, 2022 - Elsevier
Abstract The Atacama Desert is one of the driest and oldest deserts on Earth. The extreme
scarcity of rainfall and hence very limited runoff, paired with endorheism, allow sediments …

Inhabited subsurface wet smectites in the hyperarid core of the Atacama Desert as an analog for the search for life on Mars

A Azua-Bustos, AG Fairén, CG Silva, D Carrizo… - Scientific Reports, 2020 - nature.com
The modern Martian surface is unlikely to be habitable due to its extreme aridity among
other environmental factors. This is the reason why the hyperarid core of the Atacama Desert …

Characteristics of atmospheric aerosols over the UAE inferred from CALIPSO and sun photometer aerosol optical depth

N Nelli, S Fissehaye, D Francis… - Earth and Space …, 2021 - Wiley Online Library
This study provides insights on the composition and variability of atmospheric aerosols over
the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by analyzing the atmospheric conditions together with 14 …

Diverse viruses carrying genes for microbial extremotolerance in the Atacama Desert hyperarid soil

Y Hwang, J Rahlff, D Schulze-Makuch, M Schloter… - Msystems, 2021 - Am Soc Microbiol
Viruses play an essential role in sha** microbial community structures and serve as
reservoirs for genetic diversity in many ecosystems. In hyperarid desert environments, where …