Four pillars of light from the 4 Laser Guide Star Facility on ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT) are shown reaching into the Chilean night sky in this image from ESO Photo Ambassador Fred Kamphues, on September 2, 2016. The lasers are a key part of the adaptive optics system on the VLT. Adaptive optics allows astronomers to drastically reduce the atmospheric distortion present at even the best sites in the world for astronomy, including Paranal in Chile, the home of the VLT. (Photo by F. Kamphues/ESO)

At 10,582 square kilometres, the Bolivian salt flats – otherwise known as Salar de Uyuni – are the largest on the planet and contain between 50 and 70% of the world’s lithium reserves. After exploring Chile and Argentina, photographer Joel Santos decided to travel to Bolivia in January 2017 to check the salt flats off his bucket list. With an electrical storm rolling in, Joel and his two travelling companions were the only souls left on the vast flats and captured the eerie flats without a person in sight. (Photo by Joel Santos/Barcroft Images)

Marcelo Vieira of Real Madrid celebrates with Sergio Ramos after scoring Real's opening goal during the UEFA Champions League round of 16 second leg match between Real Madrid and Lyon at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on March 16, 2011 in Madrid, Spain.

In this Thursday, October 5, 2017 photo, Chile's singer-songwriter Mon Laferte performs in concert at the Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City. The 34-year-old artist, who just received five Latin Grammy nominations, performed three sold-out concerts at the National Auditorium, on consecutive evenings, beginning Thursday. (Photo by Eduardo Verdugo/AP Photo)

Guanacos sit during a signing ceremony in Patagonia Park, Chile, January 29, 2018. Chilean President Michelle Bachelet signed decrees Monday creating vast new national parks using lands donated by U.S. conservation organization Tompkins Conservation in what is believed to be the largest private donation of land ever from a private entity to a country. (Photo by Esteban Felix/AP Photo)

One of the two wooden rafts of the Kon-Tiki II expedition is prepared at the port of Callao prior to the departure to Pascua island in Chile, in Callao, Peru, October 30, 2015. Fourteen men from various parts of the world set out on rafts to commemorate the Norwegian navigator Thor Heyerdahl expedition 68 years ago. The original raft crossed the Pacific Ocean from South America to the Polynesian Islands. This rafts are a replica of ships used 6,000 years ago, but will be equipped with solar panel. (Photo by Mariana Bazo/Reuters)

The Mano de Desierto is a large-scale sculpture of a hand located in the Atacama Desert in Chile, 75 km to the south of the city of Antofagasta, on the Panamerican Highway. The nearest point of reference is the “Ciudad Empresarial La Negra” (La Negra Business City). The sculpture was constructed by the Chilean sculptor Mario Irarrázabal at an altitude of 1,100 meters above sea level. Irarrázabal used the human figure to express emotions like injustice, loneliness, sorrow and torture. Its exaggerated size is said to emphasize human vulnerability and helplessness. The work has a base of iron and cement, and stands 11 metres (36 ft) tall. Funded by Corporación Pro Antofagasta, a local booster organization, the sculpture was inaugurated on March 28, 1992.