When people think about extraterrestrial life, they typically think of UFOs or little green aliens roaming planets like Mars. What most people how aliens survive on other planets can be linked to a shocking discovery made back in 2019 right here in Idaho.

In that 2019 report, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientist revealed that he and his team discovered a “unique community of microscopic organisms known as Archaea” that were “thriving” deep inside of an Idaho hot spring. According to a study from the University of California in Berkeley, Archaea can survive under extreme temperatures and can even live in extremely acidic waters that would otherwise be fatal to any other organism.

USGS.gov
USGS.gov
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How is this proof that aliens exist and what’s the connection with Mars?

According to the USGS, Archaea’s food source is primarily hydrogen and carbon dioxide whereas the rest of us rely on oxygen and “organic carbon as a food source.” This means that the conditions on Mars or several other planets with “extreme” conditions could in fact harbor life.

Sure, we’re not talking about little green men… yet. But the fact that there are living organisms that can survive in those conditions should at least show us that there is much to learn about “extraterrestrials” and how they could potentially survive in extreme conditions. In this case, the Archaea can live deep under the earth and according to that 2019 report from USGS, are living in the hot springs of Idaho. Could this mean that there is something living beneath Mars?

How do we know there's anything beneath the surface of Mars?

The Astrogeology Science Center, which is a division of the USGS, released a map that shows over a thousand cave entrances that could potentially lead beneath the surface of Mars although, in the report, planetary scientist, Glen Cushing writes that “it is impossible to see how far any of them extend beneath the surface.”

USGS.gov
USGS.gov
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When one considers the extreme conditions and the other endless variables we haven't discovered yet, who's to say there isn't something much larger under Mars? For all we know, there could be other organisms that function and have a similar diet as the Archaea.

So, what do you think? Are the Archaea “living proof” that organisms can survive extreme conditions? What is actually lurking beneath the surface of Mars?

With that many cave entrances, it’s intriguing to think about what type of organisms, similar to Archaea or not, could be lurking in the caves of Mars. We’ll have to wait and see if we can learn more in the future but thanks to the 2019 discovery about Archaea thriving in the hot springs of Idaho, we now know that anything is possible.

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