The Licancabur Expedition is taking place between October 16th and November 9th, 2002. Check the Abbreviated Expedition Schedule.

The Licancabur volcano (5916 m) located at the boundary of Chile and Bolivia hosts the highest and one of the least explored lakes on Earth. The lake environment combines low-oxygen, low atmospheric pressure, and high-UV radiation. Sediments are formed in volcanic material. It is ice-covered most of the year but the bottom water temperature remains above freezing. These conditions make Licancabur a unique analog to ancient Martian lakes. Despite the extreme environment, living organisms are thriving in the lake.

The Licancabur project aims at exploring and understanding this unique environment through two high-altitude expeditions in 2002 and 2003 that will provide:

(1) Critical astrobiological information about the limits of life on Earth

(2) Scientific clues about potential analogous sites on Mars

(3) Elements to design science mission strategies for planetary exploration and search for life in the Solar System.