The Arid Valley

The series of arid valleys that run off of Antarctica were created by retreats of glaciers through the Transantarctic mountains. These dry valleys have been free of ice for about four million years except for the few frozen over saltwater basins. NASA originally wanted to use this site to test robotic probes before sending them on interplanetary missions. "It's as close as Mars as we can get" one of the engineers said. While you were on the island you couldn't throw anything away without having to put it in a container to be shipped back to McMurdo. The waste regulations were so strict that you could even use the restroom or wash dishes without having to put it in a bottle.

Antarctic dry valley