Life in Lake Vostok? The link between Antarctica and extra-terrestrials

Late last week the Russian Arctic and also Antarctic Research Study Institute (AARI) revealed they had effectively drilled into the evasive sub-glacial Lake Vostok, a body of water lying under nearly 4km of Antarctic ice. The development is the outcome of 20 years of exploration at one of one of the most inhospitable places on Earth.

Much of the rate of interest in the 15,000 square-kilometre Lake Vostok revolves around the reality any type of micro-organisms within it have been isolated for anywhere up to 30 million years, trapped in an environment similar to that of the moons of Jupiter.

So what does a sub-glacial lake in Antarctica have in common with the alien moons of Jupiter? As well as what’s the importance of the Lake Vostok exploration when we take into consideration the look for extra-terrestrial life?

Whenever astronomers look at Jupiter with a various instrument they seem to uncover a couple much more moons. When I was a youngster I found out there were 16 moons– currently there are 66 as well as I’m just 28. Yet it’s the four largest of these moons that have actually attracted one of the most scientific focus.

They are now referred to as the Galilean moons, as they were uncovered by Galileo Galilei when he pointed his telescope toward Jupiter in 1610.

The moons are called, poetically enough, after the fans of Zeus (the Greek equivalent to Jupiter): Io, Europa, Callisto and also Ganymede.

The majority of what we know about the Galilean moons originates from a very successful NASA spacecraft.

The unmanned Galileo spacecraft was introduced in October 1989 and completed an eight-year scenic tour of Jupiter and also its moons. That objective generated photos of the surfaces of the Galilean moons and spectral information showing the chemistry of their surfaces.

Amongst the many explorations made by Galileo were the sulphur volcanoes of Io as well as a better expertise of Jupiter’s huge electromagnetic field.

Though Io is a sulphurous, unwelcoming environment, the various other 3 Galilean moons were found to have surfaces of water ice, with a number of various other salty deposits.

Perhaps one of the most appealing discovery was that under the icy crust of Europa exists what is believed to be a planet-wide ocean.

This was detected since the salts in this ocean triggered an adjustment in the electromagnetic field of Jupiter as the icy moon moved with the area. Discovery of this sea under 6-100km of ice highlighted the potential of a cozy and also mineral-rich play area– a feasible area for life to grow.

This was regarded so essential that, at the end of its scientific life, the Galileo spacecraft was plunged into the clouds of Jupiter, to prevent the possibility of the craft striking and also polluting the excellent setting of Europa.

The problem of contamination is chief on the minds of lots of scientists as drilling tools plunges into Lake Vostok.

In the lead-up to the advancement, some scientists were worried that fluid being made use of to stop the borehole from freezing over– a mix of kerosene and other hydrocarbons– would certainly leak right into as well as pollute the lake.

The Russian researchers have refuted such claims as well as the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat has actually considering that ratified the drilling approaches also.

Finding life in Lake Vostok would certainly be a significant scientific discovery. For a begin, any kind of microorganisms that live in the lake would certainly have been trapped under the ice for numerous years. Such a discovery would additionally have significant implications for our understanding of the sub-surface sea of Europa.

Any kind of micro-organisms making it through in Lake Vostok could be an unidentified type of life as well as an excellent candidate forever on Europa. The innovation established for the Antarctica project could be used to build a follow-up to the Galileo spacecraft– a craft that can arrive at Europa as well as delve right into the sea.

Certain, an objective of this sort might still be years away, but we are absolutely heading in the appropriate instructions.

In the meantime, we’ll await the results of the Russian exploration as well as expect December when a UK-lead team starts to pierce toward Lake Ellsworth– a similarly buried Antarctic lake.

The UK group will be utilizing a newly created approach of “hot-water” exploration, avoiding using kerosene entirely and allowing for tidy samples to be tweezed throughout the drilling.

Stay tuned.