May 25, 2010 From May 24-31, a team of scientists will be
analysing one of the most Mars-like places on Earth -- Chott el
Jerid in South West Tunisia -- in preparation for future
missions to the Red Planet. The field campaign has been
organised by the Europlanet Research Infrastructure (RI). Chott
el Jerid is a seasonal lake that is completely dry for most of
the year. Its sun-baked surface, composed of a hard crust of
sodium chloride, conceals sources of underground water and the
area has a vivid red colour due to the high iron content. This
environment appears to resemble closely layered deposits of
chloride salts discovered at Martian high latitudes by recent
missions, such as Mars Odyssey, using data from Thermal Emission
Imaging System (THEMIS), Mars Global Surveyor and Mars
Reconnaissance Orbiter. The Europlanet project, which links
planetary scientists from more than 100 laboratories and
institutes in Europe and around the world, offers scientists
access to a range of planetary analogues -- places on E