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Background The Haughton-Mars Project (HMP) is a NASA-led international field research program centered on the scientific study of the Haughton impact crater and its surroundings, Devon Island, Nunavut, Canadian high arctic, viewed as a Mars analog. The rocky polar desert setting, geologic features and biological attributes of the site offer unique insights into the evolution of Mars, the effects of impacts on Earth, and the possibilities of life in extreme environments. The opportunity of scientific field studies at Haughton is also used to support studies in exploration research, to investigate the technologies, strategies, humans factors and hardware designs relevant to the future exploration of Mars by robots and humans. HMP-2000 is the 4th field season of the HMP and will run through the first week of August. Mars Analogs Mars analogs are sites on the Earth where environmental conditions, geologic features, biological attributes, or combinations thereof approximate in some specific way those possibly encountered on Mars at present or earlier in that planet's history. No place on Earth is truly like Mars. Although Mars can be characterized at present as a cold desert, not even the polar deserts of the Earth achieve the extremes in minimum temperature, dryness, low atmospheric pressure and harsh radiation conditions that the surface of Mars currently experiences. Many aspects of the geologic and potential biologic evolution of Mars are likely to have been different or remain uncertain enough that any comparison with the Earth must be conducted with caution. The Earth, however, is our home planet and a world presenting a broad diversity of environments, geologic features and biology. It provides an important reference for studying other planets, a basis for conducting comparative studies critically. "Mars analogs", therefore, are not to be equated to any counterpart on Mars, but are to be viewed instead as an opportunity on our planet for possible approximations. Public Outreach This website is part of the HMP Education and Public Outreach Program. During the field season you can get daily field updates from Devon Island, see us in action, communicate with team members in the field, and follow along as we conduct scientific investigations and explore the Island.