Cette mission a révélé l'existence, dès le 3ème millénaire avant J.-C., de populations dans le vaste désert du Taklamakan, où toute trace de vie a disparu.
Using satellite images, the mission teams were able to go back in time by analyzing the fossilized course of the Keriya River, which was formerly a north-south passageway between the Hotan region in southern Xinjiang and the oases of the Tarim Basin, a region deemed to be particularly inhospitable.