A home in the desert — Paranal Basecamp

The Paranal Basecamp with the Mirror Maintenance Building (MMB) to the right of the centre, seen against the early morning sun. View towards the East with Cerro Armazonas in the background.

The Basecamp is located below the Paranal mountain. It is centre of the daily life at Paranal, with the various service buildings, laboratories and offices, as well as dormitories for staff and visitors. The new Paranal Residencia is now being constructed on the slope south of the Basecamp. When ready in 2001, it will house the offices and sleeping quarters. Some of the containers in the Basecamp will then be removed.