Studying the Deserts
These days, modern technology makes arid areas more accessible. In various deserts around the world have become venues for endurance events like the sand marathon, a six-day foot race from erce to Kamu on the edge of the Sahara. It is regarded as the toughest race of its time. During seven days, men and women from 36 countries cover a total of 224 kilometers in very difficult condition. The terrain varies from year to year that generally covers rocky plains, lake beds, sand dunes and occasionally runs through small villages. The most recent race had a field of 757 competitors. There were two check points where runners were given a bottle of water.
Because of the harsh conditions, each person has to carry an obligatory survival kit containing sleeping bag, compass, food and water, brothers Muhammad and Lassam and Hansel from Morocco were fastest on day one. Back in the Atacama Desert in Chile, a combination of dry air and high altitude make it the ideal location for astronomical observation. A European consortium has established a complex of different telescopes known as the Paranal observatory at an altitude of 26 hundred meters. There are four large diameter telescopes and four smaller ones which glide on tracks. Images from the smaller telescopes can be combined to produce additional data using a technique called interferometry.
Until this complex was founded, it was thought that the best astronomical images could only come from an instrument orbiting above the distorting effects of the earth’s atmosphere. However, the very low levels of humidity exist year round in the Atacama Desert combined with a typical sophistication of a new observatory; mean the pictures of space delivered by the Paranal telescopes as superior to anything previously seen. The larger telescopes have reflecting mirrors 8.2 meters in diameter. It’s not just a desert aspect of the observatory location that is special but being in the earth’s southern hemisphere, it has a view of the Southern constellations that are not visible from European and American telescopes. Astronomers from around the world are coming to the Atacama to use the new instruments and other space researchers are using Atacama’s unique environment to develop robots for use on the surface of Mars.
Because of it’s extremely low organic content, the Atacama Desert is serving as the testing ground for systems designed to search for even the simplest of life forms. The robot called the hikarian will eventually be able to test materials on and under the surface of the ground to look for both water and living organisms on the red planet. Hikarian is one of a series of robots that will go to Atacama Desert were scientists perfect its design software and investigative abilities. The final version of the next generation Mars robot will need to survive the 160 million kilometer trip to Mars and travel autonomously to conduct a test of the Martian soil. Though NASA scientists thought the Atacama Desert was a good place to start.
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