Abstract EANA2026-22

Extreme environments, typically known as places hostile for life, have served as a baseline for astrobiology research, especially as planetary analogs to test the habitability of places like the Moon or Mars. A major part of this research has been held in countries from the global north such as the United States, the European Union, Russia, and China. On the other hand, apart from specific areas like the Atacama Desert, little to no exploration has taken place in Latin America, a location with a big potential in this field due to its geodiversity. This research shows the results of an extensive review about the different extreme environments located in Latin America, the work done in those environments, and the astrobiological potential that they carry. We found around 300 extreme environments, which we classified in the following categories: deserts and semi-arid environments, geothermal and hydrothermal environments, glaciers and high mountain environments, and hypersaline environments. Our review shows that a great part of those environments remains partially or completely unexplored, even when some of those places contain multiple extreme conditions, making them suitable places to conduct research in astrobiology, and to promote the development of this field in Latin America and the world.