What is NASA Searching for in DEEP SEA
Deep sea
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00:00What is NASA looking for at the bottom of the ocean?
00:03Yes, 10 km below the surface of the ocean, in deep water.
00:08What is the secret that NASA desperately wants to find out?
00:13Very few people know that a little far from the Florida coast,
00:17at a depth of 20 meters,
00:19there is the world's only underwater lab,
00:22named Aquarius Reef Base.
00:25Every year, NASA's 5 to 6 researchers and astronauts
00:29are sent for many weeks for a special project,
00:34named Project NEEMO,
00:37NASA's Extreme Environment Mission Operations.
00:41These NASA scientists are specifically called Aquanauts.
00:45Not only this,
00:46NASA's autonomous underwater vehicle, named Orpheus,
00:51is researching deep diving 10 km below the surface of the ocean.
00:57But what is a space agency like NASA doing in the depths of the ocean?
01:02After all, America has a separate organization for ocean research,
01:07the NOAA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
01:12So, has NASA found evidence of an alien life form under the ocean?
01:18Or is there going to be a big accident on Earth,
01:21which NASA scientists have already realized?
01:28Well, a famous geophysicist, Edward Bullard,
01:31once said a very interesting thing.
01:33Two-thirds of the Earth is filled with the water of the oceans.
01:37But even today, we know more about the moon,
01:39and each map of Mars,
01:41and its environment, than our oceans.
01:45Which basically means,
01:46it is so difficult to reach the bottom of the ocean,
01:48and go there and do research.
01:51And even knowing this,
01:53NASA has set a two-month deadline for this unique ocean mission.
01:59So, what is going to happen,
02:01due to which NASA has to set a two-month deadline?
02:04Let's understand,
02:05what exactly is going on in the minds of NASA scientists,
02:08and should we not worry about it?
02:11See, in today's time,
02:13NASA is planning a very dangerous mission.
02:16A mission for which I have been personally waiting for 6 years.
02:20Do you see this?
02:21Out of all the species of animals that live in the water,
02:2490% of the organisms live in this sunlight zone.
02:27Do you know why?
02:28Why is such a small part of such a big ocean,
02:30the most populated?
02:32Well, its main reason is that,
02:34as you go deeper into the water,
02:36the pressure starts increasing.
02:38At every 10 meters,
02:40the water pressure increases by 1 atmosphere.
02:421 atmospheric pressure,
02:44which is the pressure that our body normally feels in the ground.
02:48Or you can say,
02:49it feels in the atmosphere of the earth.
02:51Do you remember the story of the Titan submersible?
02:54That submarine was 3.5 kilometers from sea level,
02:57when it imploded.
02:59And the people inside,
03:01within a millisecond,
03:02were completely, literally vaporized.
03:05Instantly.
03:06They must not have even felt the pain.
03:08Because to feel the pain sensation in the brain,
03:11it takes at least 25 milliseconds.
03:13Before they could even feel anything,
03:16everything was destroyed in an instant.
03:18But this depth,
03:20the depth in which the Titan imploded,
03:22NASA is going 3 times deeper than that.
03:26Because very soon,
03:28NASA is planning a large-scale alien exploration mission.
03:31That too, in a space object of our own solar system,
03:35where we got the signs of alien life.
03:39We just have to go there and confirm.
03:42Now, which mission is it?
03:44In our own solar system,
03:45exactly where is NASA going to find the aliens?
03:48Do you know this?
03:50Well, we will know about this in a little while.
03:53But before that, first things first.
03:55Let's understand,
03:56what can an alien mission have to do with the deep ocean of the earth?
04:00Well, you know that life began in the deep ocean of the earth.
04:05And this fact is a big proof of concept for NASA.
04:09Actually, according to NASA scientists,
04:11there are three basic criteria
04:13by which life like ours is born,
04:15in any environment.
04:17Number one, water.
04:18Number two, energy.
04:20Number three, chemistry.
04:22No matter how advanced and intelligent we become,
04:25but in the end, we are all made of non-living atoms.
04:28And the same laws and forces of nature are applicable to all of us.
04:32There are some specific elements
04:34that are absolutely necessary to give birth to life,
04:36like carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, sulfur, etc.
04:40When these elements combine with each other in a special way,
04:43then their interactions, which is called chemistry,
04:46give birth to life.
04:48But if all the elements are put together,
04:51will they combine on their own
04:53and give birth to life?
04:55Well, let's put it this way.
04:57If we have tea leaves, sugar and ginger,
04:59will it be possible to make tea by putting them together in a pot?
05:03Not at all, right?
05:04To make tea, you need a medium,
05:06which is water.
05:08And then you need energy
05:10to make them interact with each other.
05:12Like we transfer the heat energy derived from gas
05:15to tea and tea is made.
05:18Now, in the early days of the earth,
05:20these elements also needed water and energy
05:23to combine in a specific way,
05:25which was present in our oceans at that time.
05:28Maybe you are wondering
05:30where can you get energy in the deep ocean?
05:32The rays of the sun do not reach
05:34the deep dark corners of the ocean.
05:36And on earth, every living being
05:38is primarily dependent on the sun for energy, right?
05:42Well, this is a very common misconception
05:45that we can't live without sunlight.
05:47Actually, we can't live without energy.
05:50And sunlight is just one of the other energy sources.
05:55Life on earth did not begin with sunlight.
05:58And that's why NASA's interests
06:00are in a special zone below the ocean
06:04where life was born for the first time.
06:06The Hadal Zone.
06:08Now, what is this Hadal Zone?
06:10And how does science solve
06:12the riddle of the origin of life with it?
06:14Before understanding this,
06:16let's take a minute and discuss
06:18how we can fix crooked teeth
06:20with the help of science today
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06:24Until now, there was only one way to fix them.
06:26Put on metal braces.
06:28But there are many problems in this,
06:30which are very painful.
06:32They take 4 to 2.5 years.
06:34And they have a lot of food restrictions.
06:36But today, a much better alternative
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07:41Now let's come back to the topic.
07:43We were discussing why scientists
07:45suddenly started taking interest
07:47in the Hadal Zone.
07:49So the Hadal Zone is the lowest part
07:51of the ocean.
07:53It touches the seabed.
07:55At many places, it reaches
07:57the surface and is filled with dangerous terrain.
07:59Here we find hydrothermal vents.
08:01Now hydrothermal vents
08:03are basically underwater volcanoes.
08:05When they explode,
08:07boiling water and
08:09minerals and lava steam are released.
08:11These are like underwater geysers
08:13or hot springs.
08:15The temperature of the water released from the vents
08:17reaches approximately 400 degrees Celsius.
08:19Which can melt even solid metal.
08:21Once again, not from the sun,
08:23but from the extremely hot core
08:25of the Hadal Zone,
08:27energy gave birth to life on Earth.
08:29Due to this energy,
08:31complex biomolecules
08:33like proteins, lipids, RNA, etc.
08:35were first created.
08:37Which then gave birth to the first
08:39unicellular bacteria and viruses.
08:41Which then, after millions of years
08:43of mutations and evolution,
08:45evolved into multicellular plants
08:47and animal species.
08:49This is how life began
08:51on our Earth.
08:53Inspired by this,
08:55NASA is also looking for life on other planets.
08:57So now comes the next question.
08:59What is the space object
09:01on which we can find
09:03similar conditions?
09:05Mercury is very close to the sun.
09:07Venus is very acidic.
09:09We are already studying Mars.
09:11And so far, we have not found
09:13any liquid water there.
09:15And the planets after that are all gas giants.
09:17There is no water there.
09:19Well, you are right.
09:21They are not gas giants.
09:23But their moons are solid.
09:25One of those moons is
09:27the perfect candidate, Europa.
09:29This is Jupiter's
09:31fourth largest moon.
09:33According to NASA's data,
09:35there is a similar saltwater ocean
09:37like the oceans of our Earth.
09:39In 1979, Voyager missions
09:41and in 1989, Galileo missions
09:43were launched.
09:45When we took close-up images of Europa
09:47and studied spectroscopic data,
09:49we found that
09:51Europa's surface is covered with solid ice.
09:53But due to Jupiter's
09:55strong gravity,
09:57Europa's surface is stretched
09:59and squeezed.
10:01This is called tidal flexing.
10:03Due to this constant push and pull,
10:05the core of the planet is active
10:07and massive geothermal energy
10:09is generated in it.
10:11Because of this, the water below the surface
10:13remains in a liquid state.
10:15And the signatures of its magnetic field
10:17also proved that
10:19there is a globally
10:21saltwater ocean there.
10:23Scientists also calculated
10:25that Europa's ocean
10:27contains twice as much water
10:29as the Earth.
10:31Just like the Earth,
10:33Europa's core is also filled
10:35with geothermal energy.
10:37The composition of its oceans is also similar.
10:39And because of this,
10:41the chances of finding
10:43hydrothermal vents here are
10:45very high.
10:47Alternate studies also proved that
10:49in Europa's environment and surface composition,
10:51there are fundamental elements
10:53that can support the biochemistry of life.
10:55Like carbon, oxygen,
10:57hydrogen, sulphur, etc.
10:59And because of this, NASA
11:01is sending its space probe here
11:03to study it in more detail
11:05and find evidence of alien life
11:07here.
11:09Now, this mission
11:11is going to be so amazing
11:13that I was personally waiting for it
11:15for 6 years.
11:17Don't take it as a normal mission.
11:19For all space agencies,
11:21this is going to be a grand, inspiring mission.
11:23Just to give you an idea of it,
11:25let's compare it with our Chandrayaan 3 mission
11:27which was a successful and highly
11:29celebrated mission.
11:31To reach the moon, our rocket
11:33went around the Earth
11:35so that it could add momentum
11:37to reach there through a slingshot effect.
11:39But to reach Europa,
11:41NASA literally
11:43used to play a game of pinball
11:45in which the ball fell from the sky,
11:47got stuck in the date palm,
11:49ate it up and exploded everywhere.
11:51They are going to use the same strategy.
11:53There are going to be mind-blowing calculations.
11:55Jupiter's moon, Europa's distance
11:57is almost 1600 times more than
11:59Chandrayaan 3's lunar mission.
12:01Just imagine for the sake of scale
12:03that the moon is in the building next to you.
12:05So, Europa's distance will be approximately
12:07all the way from Mumbai to Delhi.
12:09And in this journey,
12:11the strong gravity of the big gas giants,
12:13the gravitational interference of their
12:15hundreds of moons, the asteroid belt
12:17in which there are lakhs of space objects,
12:19escaping them and their gravitational
12:21influences, and not to forget
12:23the gravity of the sun and the solar winds.
12:25This is going to be a super complicated
12:27mission. What to say,
12:29let me show you a glimpse of it.
12:31So look, the first phase of the Europa mission
12:33is Europa Clipper Satellite.
12:35The expected timeline is that
12:37Europa Clipper will be launched
12:39from Earth in just 2 months,
12:41on October 2024.
12:43And then it will reach Mars,
12:45take a slingshot of it,
12:47and come back to Earth like a boomerang.
12:49Then it will take a slingshot of Earth
12:51and catch speed towards Jupiter.
12:53To which it will literally
12:55shoot like a ping-pong
12:57and travel towards Europa.
12:59And this is just the beginning.
13:01Scientists have calculated a journey
13:03of about 7 years to reach Europa
13:05and imagine, in this entire time frame,
13:07calculating the present position
13:09and future position of each planet
13:11and space body,
13:13exactly from which angle to launch
13:15the spacecraft,
13:17because the planets and moons are
13:19rotating in their own orbits,
13:21so in which direction and how much time
13:23to reach at each step,
13:25all these things have been calculated
13:27and predicted by NASA to program
13:29its mission. Now the entry of this
13:31satellite to the Europa moon is even
13:33more filmy. After reaching close to Jupiter,
13:35to enter the orbit of Europa,
13:37Europa Clipper satellite
13:39is going to enter the orbit of Europa
13:41by doing multiple flybys
13:43of Jupiter's four largest moons.
13:45And that's why
13:47I'm personally so excited.
13:49Okay, when in
13:512031, its space journey
13:53will end, then this probe
13:55will start studying the surface
13:57and environment of Europa.
13:59After which, its gravity values,
14:01temperature readings, atmosphere,
14:03winds, etc. data
14:05will be sent to Earth.
14:07And after this, the operation
14:09will be no less than a sci-fi movie.
14:13A few days after reaching Europa,
14:15cryobots, i.e.
14:17snow-penetrating robots,
14:19will be sent to the surface of Europa
14:21to conduct a detailed survey
14:23of its surface.
14:25According to current estimates,
14:27Europa will have a minimum
14:29of 10 to 20 km thick
14:31layer of snow.
14:33After penetrating it, the probe
14:35will have to reach deep water,
14:37which can take years to do.
14:39That cryobot will melt the snow
14:41with nuclear power and
14:43reach the depths of the ocean.
14:45And along with it, it will take 48
14:47micro-robots, which will be
14:49deployed below, which will then
14:51swim in different places
14:53in the depths of the ocean
14:55and explore life.
14:57It's a sci-fi, right?
14:59And if, let's say, we find alien life,
15:01then how will its biology
15:03be?
15:05Just imagine, how it will feel
15:07if we finally find out
15:09that we are not alone
15:11in this universe.
15:13It's a very deep and exciting thought, right?
15:15In your opinion,
15:17what are the chances of finding life
15:19in Europa's deep waters?
15:21What are the chances of finding
15:23an alien life form there?
15:25If you ask me, just imagine
15:27how many space agencies
15:29from all over the world
15:31have been trying to find alien life
15:33for centuries.
15:35Europa is still very close to us.
15:37We have such instruments like
15:39Kepler Space Telescope, Hubble
15:41and James Webb Space Telescope,
15:43just to name a few,
15:45with which we can find
15:47evidence of life for millions
15:49of light years.
15:51But so far, unfortunately,
15:53we are trying to study life
15:55in the same way
15:57as life evolved on Earth.
15:59But there is no other
16:01self-replicating complex molecule
16:03like DNA that is born
16:05in the style of Earth,
16:07is water-based.
16:09There can be many other ways
16:11of life, which we don't know yet.
16:13We are only exploring
16:15based on the model of Earth,
16:17which can be extremely rare.
16:19And we might just be barking
16:21at the wrong tree.
16:23But, you know what?
16:25Even after knowing all this,
16:27the world's best brains,
16:29best scientists,
16:31have come together
16:33to forget their nationalities,
16:35their colors, their castes,
16:37their religions, their self-doubts,
16:39and have come together
16:41to turn that 1% chance
16:43into success.
16:45And this is the beauty of humanity.
16:47This is humanity at its very core
16:49which has created the most modern civilization.
16:51It is just pure curiosity.
16:53And we know this very well
16:55that even if we fail,
16:57such unbelievable missions
16:59bring out the best
17:01of human potential.
17:03We humans have a lot of potential,
17:05but it is not easy
17:07to bring out that best potential.
17:09Such curiosity-driven
17:11revolutionary missions
17:13give us that existence,
17:15that meaning,
17:17that keeps pushing us
17:19to make our civilization better.
17:21And history is witness
17:23to the fact that whenever
17:25a revolutionary mission comes up,
17:27the science and technology
17:29developed for that mission
17:31benefits all domains of
17:33human civilization.
17:35So, with that said,
17:37let curiosity be the ultimate
17:39driver of your life.
17:41Because there is always so much to learn,
17:43so much to explore,
17:45Gaurav Thakur signing off.
17:47Jai Hind!