You can join Nathalie in the Bolivian Andes and see the still poorly known life that ekes out a living in lakes nestled at the summit of towering, altiplano volcanoes. With the High Lakes Project team, you will be among the very few who can investigate these analogs to the environment of the early Earth and Mars. You’ll fly to Antofagasta, Chile, and spend some days investigating the remarkable attractions of the Atacama desert, a renown Mars analog that NASA routinely uses for robotic mission simulations. You will eventually head for the team’s “Archaean Park” at the base of towering Licancabur. Depending on your level of interest and skill at mountaineering, there are three itineraries open to you.

Discovery: No mountaineering experience? Not a problem. Spend a week as Nathalie and the team walk you through sites at Laguna Blanca and Verde, lakes that are similar to Mars and the early Earth. You’ll also be able to take breaks in the warm spring basin of Termales.

Exploration: Not afraid of mountains, but only have limited time? Join the team for one ascent, for example to Licancabur: steep and high (19,000 feet), but non-technical. You’ll reach the highest volcanic lake on Earth and can study its unique ecosystem. Minimum recommended time: three weeks.

Expedition: An unrivaled experience as you travel, live, work, and ascend to both Licancabur and Aguas Calientes. You’ll document and record unique ecosystems for the generations that follow, leaving a significant legacy about Earth’s biosphere. Minimum recommended time: four to five weeks.

Planetary scientist Nathalie Cabrol would like to go to Mars, but until such time as she can book a seat to that intriguing world she’s more than making do by going to a place that’s ten thousand times closer. The high lakes on top of the Andean mountains expose life to cold, dry climates and an abundance of ultraviolet radiation – all characteristic of living conditions on Mars (and, one presumes, on many other planets as well).

Combining exploration with the observing skills of a scientist, Nathalie investigates the life in these unusual lakes by diving in – literally. The biology she studies here have made adaptations that martian life – if it exists – will also have made. The volcanic peaks of the Andes are Nathalie’s Petri dish for experimenting with “alien” life.

While she’s not yet been to the real Mars, Nathalie and her scientist husband, Edmond Grin, were the principal supporters of the decision to send the Spirit rover to Gusev crater, in Mars’ pockmarked, southern highlands. This was because the crater gives the appearance of being the bed of an ancient lake, making it a prime target for understanding the hydraulic history of the Red Planet.

For more information on how to adopt this scientist
Please call us toll free at 1-866-616-3617 and ask for Karen Randall.