Soil found in the Atacama Desert is similar to that on Mars, say scientists

New light on Martian mystery
By Helen Briggs
BBC News Online

Soil in one of the oldest and driest deserts in the world is a close match to the rocky red soil of Mars, say scientists.

The discovery of Martian-like soil in Chile's Atacama Desert could shed light on the landings of the Viking spacecraft on Mars in the 1970s.

Dry and largely devoid of organic material or microbial life, it has similar chemical properties to Martian soil.

The finding could explain why tests conducted by the Mars Viking missions raised false hopes in the search for life on another planet.

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Very interesting. Reminds me of that Twilight Zone episode where these astronauts crashed into the desert and thought they were on another planet.