The hunt for aliens is well and truly on!
Guided by the principles of SETI (or, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence)
so many of the world’s top minds, working at (and with) our planet’s top facilities,
are peering out into the cosmos in the hope of finding life.
But, alongside all of that, there’s some suggestion that we needn’t be looking quite
so far out.
Instead, should we turn our gaze inwards?
This is Unveiled, and today we’re taking a closer look at how the real search for alien
life is happening in our oceans.
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The famous Fermi Paradox asks; where are all the aliens?
And, despite decades of research up until this point, the only answer humanity can give
is still; nowhere to be found.
By “alien” or “extraterrestrial” we, of course, ordinarily mean life that’s not
of this world; creatures that are born of another planet.
And, with so many planets out there - multiple trillions at the last count - it looks and
feels impossible that Earth should be the only one with life on it.
We do at least know what makes our planet so suitable for life, though…
namely the abundance of liquid water, plus temperate climates, atmospheric stability,
and a workable strength of gravity.
So much so that we might imagine that if there were a watching alien race somewhere, they
might well view Earth as something of a haven that they would like to sample, as well.
And so, it’s not exactly surprising that there have been so many conspiracy theories
over the years along the lines of; “the aliens are already here”.
Alongside all of those, though, there have also been many genuine, academically driven
proposals that aliens could survive on Earth, unbeknownst to us.
And even that an alien presence (of some kind) really could be here now.
Of all of Earth’s environments, however, one stands out as the most likely to host
it.
The ocean is notoriously underexplored and, while the statistics have improved slightly
in the twenty-first century, the very vast majority of it has still never been mapped
or sampled.
If aliens are hidden anywhere, then, it’s probably here.
The Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb has made headlines in recent years following his claims
that an apparent meteor over Papua New Guinea, in 2014, might actually have been a piece
of crash-landing alien technology.
As such, Loeb and his team are campaigning to properly scour the nearby oceans, to try
and retrieve whatever it was that splashed down there.
At present, there’s no suggestion across mainstream science that aliens really were
hitching a ride… but a mistaken asteroid does figure as one mode of potential transport
by which they could arrive here.
The proposed spread of alien biomass like this is known as panspermia, and it can be
either deliberate or accidental.
In either case, there are other debated examples on Earth of potential panspermia in action.
The hubbub around the Allan Hills 84001 Martian meteorite reached fever pitch in the mid-1990s,
for instance, when even the then US president Bill Clinton appeared to support the eventually
quashed claim that it could have carried alien life to us.
Meanwhile, the discovery (in 2022) of bizarre markings on the seafloor prompted another
brief flurry of alien speculation.
Images of the markings were released by NOAA (the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
and their uniform formation quickly set social media talking - although the more likely explanation
is that the apparent “tracks” were probably still made by a known, terrestrial species.
Nevertheless, NASA is entering the fray for future exploration of the ocean.
This, in itself, has been received by some as proof that the authorities already believe
that there could be a true alien presence down there.
Although, really, NASA’s increased interest in the sea is more to do with its preparation
for deep space.
Today, we’ve identified various locations across the solar system where it’s thought
especially probable that alien life could exist… but none more so than in the subsurface
oceans of some moons, including Jupiter’s Europa and Saturn’s Enceladus.
At present, just getting to these far-off worlds is a massive challenge, let alone accessing
the underground oceans while we’re there, and trawling through them hunting for foreign
creatures.
But, scientists believe that in some parts of Earth’s oceans, the conditions are actually
quite similar as to what they would be on Europa, and elsewhere.
Leading the charge is a new and cutting edge submersible known as Orpheus.
This incredible vehicle is autonomous and extremely durable, meanwhile its name gives
away much of the mission that it was built to tackle.
In Greek mythology, Orpheus staged a heroic and rare journey down into the underworld…
and, really, that’s where Orpheus the vehicle is headed, too.
At the deepest parts of the deep sea, we eventually encounter what’s known as the Hadal Zone,
which in itself is named after Hades - the Greek god of the underworld.
Up until the 1970s, it was widely thought that the Hadal Zone would be devoid of life,
but actually there’s a lot of life down there.
It’s life not as we usually know it, though, seeing as it survives without any input via
photosynthesis… and it’s even been found to have rebuilt its own cellular structure
to cope with the intense pressure of its environment.
On a fundamental level, then, life in the Hadal Zone is already unlike anything else
we know of.
The comparisons to what we might imagine alien extraterrestrial life to be like are, then,
simple and justifiable to make.
Similarly, there have been multiple deep dives in recent years to reveal the undersides of
glaciers, another previously untouched location, sometimes miles beneath the waves.
And, again, against all the odds, it’s been found that life - in the form of sponges,
sea cucumbers, tiny fish, and bacteria - not only survives down there, but flourishes.
Could these bizarre life forms provide us with our first true glimpse at what real alien
life will be like?
NASA seemingly thinks so, although the uncovering of new species isn’t the only reason that
it’s headed underwater.
Or even the primary reason.
If nothing else, then the Hadal Zone is the ideal testing ground for technology.
Because, before Orpheus there was another top-of-the-range, leader-in-its-field research
submersible, known as Nereus… only Nereus was destroyed in 2014 after it imploded due
to pressure during one of its own deep sea journeys.
Naturally, the hope is that Orpheus will not suffer the same fate… and that it will then
become a viable design for a future vehicle stationed off-Earth on the likes of Europa
and/or Enceladus.
Orpheus is really just the beginning, as well.
It’s been designed and built as part of a joint venture between NASA’s Jet Propulsion
Laboratory and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
It is the first in a whole new class of underwater vehicles, and there are plans to soon launch
multiple Orpheus subs at the same time… to finally (and possibly quickly) take an
up close look at the entire ocean floor.
You might imagine that the Orpheus would be a hugely complex and specialist machine, but
actually it’s been specifically designed to be relatively simple to use.
Yes, there is some serious technological power packed into it, and yes it can operate autonomously
without human input… but it’s also practical to launch and control, first and foremost.
Again, this will be crucial in the future, when there are multiple machines in our oceans…
and should we ever send Orpheus to anywhere else in the solar system.
It’s hoped the simplicity of the design will yield clear and workable results.
Data and images that remove all uncertainty, so that we know exactly what it is that we’re
looking at.
All of which means that if there is alien life already in the oceans of Earth, then
we will find it… and soon.
For centuries, our waters have been a source of untold mystery and intrigue, and a go-to
environment for conspiracy theories and the unexplained.
Now, though, with even NASA on board to finally explore the unexplored, that veil is lifting…
and our understanding of Earth will dramatically improve as a result.
Our understanding of space and alien worlds could well improve just as much, as well.
What do you think about these latest plans and proposals?
Will the Orpheus vehicle succeed in its mission?
Let us know in the comments!
For now, that’s how the real search for alien life is happening (in part) in our own
oceans.
What do you think?
Is there anything we missed?
Let us know in the comments, check out these other clips from Unveiled, and make sure you
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