For example, scientists investigate the hyper-dry environments found in Antarctica (but there is still a lot of water, compared with Mars) or Death Valley (dry enough, but much hotter than Mars).

CNN: Curiosity opening Martian frontier?

And even though everyone was far more at the effect of natural forces (a couple of dry years, or a run of the black death, and it was all over), there was still a fairly direct correlation between working hard and doing well.

FORBES: End the 19th Century! Treating Employees Like Owners

Down the road from the park visitor center at Furnace Creek is Death Valley Elementary school, a flat-roofed building beside a dry streambed, which blends easily into the gray-brown landscape.

NPR: Students Blossom in the Desert