NASA will visit an undersea volcano in Hawaii to figure out how to hunt for aliens

NASA will soon visit Hawaii’s Lo’ihi volcano, which sits more than 3,000 feet beneath the Pacific Ocean, all in the name of one day hunting for life out in the solar system. 

The NASA expedition, called SUBSEA, endeavors to visit underwater volcanoes — which are often rich in colorful mats of microbial life — to better grasp how life might exist in deep, harsh, lightless places in our solar system. 

Lo’ihi is an active volcano sitting about 50 miles off the coast of the Big Island. 

NASA — which plans to launch the mission in August — will use the rocks and bacteria it collects from the volcano to plan ambitious robotic explorations of these water worlds, should the agency get funding. Read more…

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