Famous movie maker James Cameron just
returned from the Earth deepest point: the Mariana Trench. He
collected a sediment sample and took a few videos before running into
technical difficulties and returning back to the surface. According
to Cameron, the Mariana Trench looks like a lunar landscape. Because
of this technical difficulty, Cameron was not able to collect anybiological specimen, but he reports seeing small amphipods.
This type of expedition is relevant in
the context of research on our origins and extraterrestrial life.
Cameron was expected to find microbial life similar to what is
believed to exist on Europa, one of the moons of Jupiter with a huge
ocean under a thick coat of ice. More expeditions will probably
explore the Mariana Trench in the future, and will hopefully bring
back different samples.
Why is spending money on these
expeditions so important? It seems like we can hardly deal with
everyday issues, let alone evolve as a culture or a civilization.
Would finding a life on another planet help us? Would learning where
we come from unite us somehow? Because of the extreme conditions of
life under the sea, we can actually learn a lot from life forms able
to survive deep under the ocean. These harsh conditions are the
closest thing to space we can observe. Perhaps these discoveries and
innovations will help us find better ways to travel in space, for
instance with better spacesuits. Finding out where life comes from
might settle a lot of religious conflicts and helps humanity adopt
worldviews with a few common elements.
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