What is NASA Really Looking for in Yellowstone?

Bright Side

NASA is keeping an eye on Yellowstone, but not for the reason you might think. While most people worry about the supervolcano erupting, NASA is more interested in its extreme environment. The hot springs, geysers, and unique underground life forms could help scientists understand what life might look like on other planets. Since Mars and some of Jupiter’s moons have signs of past or present geothermal activity, studying Yellowstone could give clues about alien life. Plus, NASA is also testing technology there that could one day be used to explore space. So, while Yellowstone is a hotspot—literally—NASA’s real mission is out of this world!  Credit: Tom Brock: By Steepcone, Viriditas, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25002018 Animation is created by Bright Side.  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/   Check our Bright Side podcast on Spotify and leave a positive review! https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD34jRLrMrJux4VxV   Subscribe to Bright Side: https://goo.gl/rQTJZz ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our Social Media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brightside Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brightside.official TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brightside.official?lang=en Telegram: https://t.me/bright_side_official   Stock materials (photos, footages and other): https://www.depositphotos.com https://www.shutterstock.com https://www.eastnews.ru ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information in this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgement, care and precaution if you plan to replicate.

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00:00We all know that space missions come with a hefty price tag.

00:04To break it down, a ticket to space for an astronaut starts at around $20 million and

00:09can soar up to $50 million.

00:12NASA may be a well-funded organization, but you can bet they're always on the lookout

00:16to cut costs and save millions wherever they can.

00:20Plus, NASA has long realized they do not need to go to Saturn's moon to study if there's

00:25life there.

00:26They already have the suitable conditions for extraterrestrial life in Wyoming.

00:31If that resonates with you, then you already understand why NASA is so interested in Yellowstone.

00:38To explore life beyond Earth, we need to study environments that mimic extraterrestrial conditions.

00:44That's where all those hot springs come into play.

00:46Now, it's not the entire park that piques NASA's interest.

00:50Let's leave the bears, moose, and other Earthlings to our local biologists.

00:55The real hot spot is the geysers, where microbial life flourishes.

00:59By the way, Yellowstone has more geysers and hot springs than the rest of the world combined.

01:06In some of them, water can reach temperatures as high as 192 degrees Fahrenheit.

01:11You might think, hey, that's only good for steeping tea.

01:15But here's the thing.

01:16Life in the form of microbes not only survives but thrives in these extreme conditions, having

01:22adapted specifically to them.

01:25So could these microbes help us find life on other planets?

01:29Absolutely!

01:30Now, let's shine the spotlight on the real superstar – the Grand Prismatic Spring.

01:36It's packed with silica, which gives it that stunning color.

01:40Silica reflects sunlight, especially the blue wavelengths, which is why it looks so vibrant.

01:46The coolest part, though, is not the color, but the fact that this spring can teach us

01:50a lot about how life evolved.

01:53Way back around 4.5 billion years ago, living things didn't know how to harness energy

02:00from sunlight yet, so they were using chemical processes instead, just like they do now at

02:06the Grand Prismatic Spring.

02:09But why are we talking about other planets?

02:11Well, if life on Earth kicked off in a comparable way to what we see in Yellowstone, there's

02:16a good chance we could find something similar elsewhere in the Universe.

02:21And if we could nail down exactly how life started here, we could really fine-tune our

02:26search for life on other planets.

02:29Geysers, very similar to those in Yellowstone, can be found on moons like Enceladus, which

02:35orbits Saturn, and Triton, which is a moon of Neptune.

02:39But how do they compare to the geysers we see in Yellowstone?

02:43While back in 1989, NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft made a groundbreaking discovery when it spotted

02:50geysers on Triton.

02:52This was the first time anyone had seen a geyser outside of Earth, not counting the

02:56volcanic eruptions on Jupiter's moon, Io, that were found by Voyager 1 in 1979.

03:02Since then, more geysers have been found on other moons in our Solar System.

03:08In Yellowstone, geysers are heated by hot water from deep within the Earth.

03:12However, geysers on some of the outer moons get their heat from tidal forces, the gravitational

03:18pull from the big planets they orbit.

03:20You know how ocean tides on Earth are affected by the Moon and the Sun?

03:24Well, these moons experience something similar, but on a much larger scale.

03:29Beneath the icy surfaces of these moons are warm, salty oceans that stay liquid because

03:35the thick ice above keeps them insulated.

03:37As the moons move closer and further from their parent planets, the constant tugging

03:42creates heat, causing the warm water below to shoot out into space whenever there's

03:47a crack in the ice.

03:50This icy crust and the warm water underneath are a bit like a frozen pond on Earth.

03:55But could there be life swimming around in these hidden oceans, just like there are critters

04:00thriving beneath the ice of a pond?

04:03That's something scientists want to find out.

04:07NASA hopes to send advanced spacecraft to explore these distant moons and look for signs

04:11of life.

04:12But those warm oceans are buried miles beneath the frozen surface.

04:16So how do we reach them?

04:18The answer may lie in geysers.

04:23In February 2019, a group of planetary scientists decided to visit Yellowstone in the winter

04:28to study the similarities between Earth's geysers and those in space.

04:33They know that Yellowstone's geysers are home to some tough little microbes called

04:37extremophiles, which thrive in extreme conditions like hot or acidic water.

04:43The researchers wanted to learn as much as they could about these microbes and the environments

04:48they live in.

04:49They brought along a bunch of scientific tools to measure things like temperature, pH levels,

04:54and oxygen in the water.

04:56They also used special instruments to analyze the chemicals in the ice and rocks and sniff

05:01the air for gases.

05:02Plus, they collected samples of rock, ice, and water from the geysers, catching tiny

05:07droplets on sheets of foil coated in geyser spray.

05:13Their main target was the Great Fountain Geyser in Yellowstone's Midway Geyser Basin, which

05:18puts on a spectacular show two to three times a day.

05:21However, visiting in winter posed some challenges.

05:25Some scientists were delayed by snowy weather, arriving late at night right before they were

05:29supposed to enter the park.

05:31Then their SUV got stuck in a snowdrift and had to be rescued by a snowplow.

05:37The next day, riding in a snow coach, the team had to trudge through deep snow for nearly

05:43a mile to reach the geyser, keeping an eye out for elk, bison, and even bears.

05:49As they made their way to the Great Fountain Geyser, they took breaks to gather samples

05:53and measurements from other interesting pools along the way, like Lemon Pool and Surprise

05:58Pool.

06:00Even though Yellowstone feels remote, it's not nearly as far away as places like Enceladus

06:05and Triton.

06:06It's a unique natural laboratory that can teach us a lot about life on Earth, and potentially

06:11beyond.

06:13Oh, as for labs, the Great Prismatic Spring may count as one.

06:18Look at these guys.

06:19Under the microscope, they look like matches.

06:22Their official Latin name is Thermus Aquaticus.

06:25They live in this hot spring, and these bacteria have saved millions of people's lives.

06:29Now, if you're skeptical about what I just said, then you need to know that these bacteria

06:34helped to create the basis of PCR tests, widely used in today's medicine to give fast and

06:40precise diagnosis.

06:42Back in the 60s, a microbiologist named Thomas Brock was exploring the park's superheated

06:47thermal pools and stumbled upon something amazing.

06:52Brock was super interested in bacteria that could thrive in extreme conditions.

06:57During his 10-year journey studying geysers and thermal springs, he found a microbe in

07:02a spring called Mushroom Pool that could survive in nearly boiling water.

07:07This little guy, Thermus Aquaticus, turned out to be a game-changer for science.

07:12Why?

07:13Well, it's crucial for a technique called PCR, also known as polymerase chain reaction,

07:20which is used to quickly make copies of DNA samples.

07:23Before Brock's discovery, this process was tricky because the heat could damage the enzymes

07:28that hold DNA together.

07:30But thanks to Thermus Aquaticus, scientists could now heat and cool DNA samples without

07:35breaking them down, making everything faster and easier.

07:39It all happened because researchers had purified an enzyme called tag polymerase out of this

07:45organism.

07:47Those Yellowstone microbes could also be your new go-to for a delicious and sustainable

07:52breakfast.

07:53A unique microbe was discovered there during some NASA-funded research, and it's now

07:57being transformed into tasty vegan breakfast patties and cream cheese.

08:03Originally found in a hot spring, this little wonder is called Fusarium Strange flavolapsis,

08:09and it caught the attention of space enthusiasts as a powerful protein source for long space

08:14missions.

08:15Plus, it requires way less water and land than beef, making it a smart choice for the

08:20planet.

08:22Researchers initially looked at this microbe for biofuel, but soon realized it could be

08:27cultivated into a complete protein with a texture reminiscent of chicken.

08:32Marked as FY, it can be turned into a variety of food products, all thanks to a fermentation

08:37process that keeps it free from contaminants.

08:40Oh, almost forgot, NASA is even working on a bioreactor to grow FY in space!

08:47Stay tuned!

08:49That's it for today!

08:53So hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your

08:57friends!

08:58Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!

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