NASA Scientists Discover 60,000-year-old Microbes In Mexican Mines That Makes Hope Of Alien Organisms
The living microorganisms inside crystals for up to 60,000 years have been revived by NASA. This makes hope that alien organisms could be found in extreme environment on other planets.
According to The Telegraph, NASA's Astrobiology Institute, and her team have spent years exploring Mexico's Naica Mine in Chihuahua.They are looking for extremophiles, which contain caves as large as cathedrals.
The living organisms were discovered in the Naica mine, a working lead, zinc, and silver mine in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua. The mine is famous for its huge crystals, some as long as 50 feet.
Penelope Boston, the director of the research team was astounding, was that inside the crystals, tiny bugs were discovered in a state of 'geo latency'.The living organisms remain viable in geological materials for long periods of time.
Phys has reported that around 100 different bugs, which were mostly bacteria, were found inside crystals. They had been belonged to between 10,000 and 60,000 years. From them, around 90 percent bacteria had never been seen before.
The discovery has not yet published in a scientific journal. But the scientists have believed that living organisms may also have survived in the extreme environments of other planets and moons in our solar systems.
These microbes have survived raises the possibility that dangerous bugs could hitch a ride back to Earth when spacecraft's return from other planets. According to the researcher, some of the "sparkling white" giant crystals are as long as five meters.
The scientists have also worry about the risk that Earth organisms could contaminate other planets in the course of missions to places like Mars. The several US robots have already been visited the place.
However, NASA has plans to bring back rock and ice samples from Europa, an icy moon of Jupiter. The Europa is one of the best targets in the solar system for life because it has a salty ocean beneath its crust.
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