Andean Bioexpedition To Highest Lake Mimics Old Mars

An anonymous reader writes "The analogy between the highest lake on Earth and extremes on Mars has NASA Ames and the SETI Institute collaborating to analyze microbial samples. The combination of high ultraviolet radiation, low oxygen, low atmospheric pressure approximates the closest one can come to what Mars was like 3.5 billion years ago when it was wet and warm. The expedition page has a running schedule for the next 3 weeks."