The net's mesh is designed to mimic the lichen hairs, because in this coastal strip of the Atacama desert they have a lifeline to moisture — the Pacific Ocean.
A clever upgrade of a humble but useful technology Every night, air cooled and moistened by the Humboldt current blows over Chile's northern coast and across the Atacama desert.
Chile has many of the largest research telescopes in the southern half of the world because of the clear skies above the Atacama Desert, one of Earth's driest places.