As they complete their challenges, the teams leave Chuqui for the 71 mile route to the Valley of the Moon, the Valle de la Luna.
The road is rocky, sandy and pitted by wind and erosion. Vehicles can go at no more than 40 km an hour.
The Atacama is called the driest desert in the world. Composed of high altiplano plateaus, lava flows, rocks, sand and salt basins, the desert stretches from the Andes to the Pacific, both blocking rainfall. Constant wind erodes the landscape, about 181,300 square kilometers (70,000 mi²).
The Atacama is a great place for solar observation, and NASA has used its barren terrain for testing and training.