A Chinese expedition last winter found a mummy on the edge of the Lop Nur salt basin, at a spot where a well-known scientist went mysteriously missing nearly 26 years ago.

Now, another expedition is prepared to ascertain the identity of the mummy, which was found near the place where recognized biochemist Peng Jiamu went missing.

Members of an expedition team preparing to find out the identity of the mummy put up a tent near Lop Nur salt basin west China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on April, 13, 2006. [sina]

Shaped like a human ear, Lop Nur is located in west China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and considered the driest spot on Earth. In the past, the region also had yielded other mummies, according to other reports.

A number of pathfinders in history have lost their lives or went missing in the 100,000-square kilometers place, where it is extremely hot during daylight and fatally chilly at night.

Peng Jiamu [sina]

Peng was leading a scientific investigation across Lop Nur, when he was reported missing after he sent a message to be rescued in search of drinking water.

Xia Xuncheng, a former deputy to Peng, said yesterday,, "We're not sure about the identity of the mummy, but it's really near the place where we lost Jiamu."

Xia, 72 years old, and his expedition team are scheduled to leave their base in Dunhuang City, northwest Gansu Province, for a mission to retrieve the mummy in the desert of Lop Nur, a former nuclear weapons experiment site.

The note leaving by Peng saying: "I'm going eastward for wells, Peng, at 10:30 June 17." [sina]

Peng and his fellow scientists were stalled in June 1980 in the southeast edge of Lop Nur, out of edible water and fuel. After asking for rescues via telegram, Peng decided to look for water sources on his own. He left their camp on June 17, leaving a note: "I'm going eastward for wells, Peng, at 10:30 June 17." He has never been heard from since.

Peng was born in 1925 and was the vice president of the Xinjiang Branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Another CAS scientist Dong Zhibao last winter reported he discovered the mummy in an unrelated research voyage.

Xia quoted Dong as saying that there were no belongings scattered around the mummy.

Xia said, "Jiamu wore furry shoes and took two cameras and a water bottle with him while leaving the camp."

"If we are able to find any of this evidence," he said, "we might assume that the mummy was Jiamu."

"But we still need to do some DNA matching," said Xia.