The Atacama Desert is a plateau in South America, covering a 1,000-kilometer strip of land on the Pacific coast, west of the Andes Mountains. It is famously known as the driest non-polar place on Earth. Some weather stations in the Atacama have never recorded a single drop of rain in their history. This extreme aridity is caused by a double rain shadow: the Andes block moisture from the east, and the Chilean Coastal Range blocks it from the west. The landscape is so otherworldly that it has been used by NASA as a testing ground for Mars rovers. Despite the lack of rain, a unique ecosystem thrives here thanks to 'camanchaca'—thick coastal fogs that provide moisture for lichens and cacti. The desert is also a global hub for astronomy, housing some of the world's most powerful telescopes, like the ALMA observatory, due to its high altitude, low humidity, and lack of light pollution.