The Salar de Pocitos ("little holes salt flat") takes its name from the countless small holes (pocitos) filled with water that has dissolved the surface salt.
« Pocitos Ghost » - Salar de Pocitos, Argentina, n.d.
The backgroundThe Andes mountain range, spanning the border between Argentina and Chile, presents an unavoidable obstacle for air travel between the two countries and, more broadly, between the Atlantic and Pacific sides of South America.
Our records document more than fifty cases of aircraft disappearances in this region, making it a particularly compelling area of study, from the Caribbean to Patagonia.
Pocitos Ghost
In the Salar de Pocitos region of Salta Province, Argentina, our research has identified an anomaly that is challenging to interpret.
Although the area is relatively uninhabited, traces of human activity complicate the analysis. These anthropogenic traces are primarily linked to mining (salt and lithium extraction), tourism (natural parks), and transportation infrastructure (Socompa Pass, Sico Pass, and the Tren a las Nubes railway).
The search area lies between Ruta Provincial 27 (RP27) and the Chilean border.
At radar frequencies, the anomaly exhibits stable characteristics resembling those of an aircraft crash site, yet no reports of missing aircraft exist for the region.
In optical and infrared frequencies, the anomaly appears intermittently, likely influenced by environmental changes such as rainfall, snow, or sand deposition.
The mission
The Pocitos Ghost mission seeks to enhance and diversify satellite observations in the region to determine the origin of the anomaly.
