The photographs in this essay were taken in the summer of 1998. I was photographing an assignment for National Geographic magazine about a group of scientists who were doing field work at Haughton Crater. They were interested in the site as an analog to early Mars and as a location to test equipment for a future human Mars mission. I tried to photograph as many of the scientific experiments as possible -- work in drilling, ground penetrating radar, stereo cameras, geology, etc.

 Along with their scientific inquisitiveness, many in the group shared a sense for adventure. We would ride on ATVs to explore different regions of the crater as possible sites for future experiments. I was inspired by the dedication to exploration of many of the team members. I feel that photography can be a great tool to share the joy of exploring a new place.

 The landscape at Haughton Crater was unlike any I had ever encountered. The polar desert environment and the formations caused by results of the meteor crater make an unusual combination. The graphic designs of the polygons, pingos, shatter cones, rock outcropings and valley networks offered many photographic possibilities. Although the impact occurred 23 million years ago, many of the photographs document a landscape that could have been present on the Earth millions or even billions of years before that. It is this feeling of a primeval world that most attracted me -- a place distant in time but near in spirit.

All images Copyright Peter Essick ©1999, All Rights Reserved.