ALIEN SEA LIFE [8b]
August 19, 2014. During a routine cleaning, Russian cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station discover something incredibly unexpected covering parts of the windows – living sea plankton. According to some mainstream scientists, the tiny organisms may have been carried to the station on air currents from the earth’s oceans, or perhaps launched into space on a contaminated rocket. But many say these are both highly improbable scenarios.
|
“In the previous episode of cleaning, which was only about a few weeks prior to that particular date, there was nothing found. And the space station was in orbit; there was no connection with the ground. So, I really think that there’s absolutely no chance that these are microorganisms that were somehow lifted from the Earth.” – Chandra Wickramasinghe, Ph.D. |
Astrobiologist Chandra Wickramasinghe believes the plankton is of extraterrestrial origin, and evidence of panspermia the idea that life exists throughout the Universe and is spread by comets and asteroids.
|
“I think what happened was that a small fragment of a comet that carried microorganisms, including plankton, landed on the window of the International Space Station. It’s not surprising if one accepts the idea that life is continuing to arrive at the Earth from space.” – Chandra Wickramasinghe, Ph.D. |
|
“There’s always been a problem about life on Earth. Did it actually start here on Earth or come here from somewhere else? Seeing as we don’t know how life began, it’s up for grabs.” – Paul Davies, Ph.D. (Theoretical Physicist / Astrobiologist, ASU) |
But whether life originated on Earth or somewhere else in the Universe, one thing is now certain: sea plankton can survive in outer space.
|
“Surviving space is very difficult, actually, primarily because of the vacuum of space and then the intense radiation. And so those things in general will sort of rip apart tissues. So the presence of-of plankton on the space station is remarkable.” – Kirsten Fisher, Ph.D. |
The discovery of plankton on the International Space Station has led Ancient Astronaut Theorists to ask the question: If sea life can thrive in the furthest reaches of space, could the reverse be true as well? Might there be undiscovered alien life-forms dwelling in the deepest regions of our oceans?
Portsmouth, England. December 21, 1872. The HMS Challenger sets out on a three-year scientific expedition to survey the Earth’s oceans and search for new marine life. At the time of its departure, the mainstream scientific viewpoint is that life cannot exist more than 1,800 feet beneath the surface of the ocean. But in March of 1875, after more than two years at sea, the crew of the HMS Challenger makes a remarkable discovery. Using a deep-sea dredge, they uncover an abundance of life at depths well beyond 1,800 feet.
|
“Every time they dredged the waters of the ocean, they kept bringing up weirder and weirder creatures at deeper and deeper levels. And it quickly became apparent that the oceans are teeming with life.” – William Henry (Author / Investigative Mythologist), |
|
“Throughout time, we tend to sort of, um, impose our own limitations and our own perspectives on, sort of, our view of the Universe, right? And so our idea of the deep ocean was similar to that, too. We thought that probably nothing else could live at great depths because we certainly couldn’t survive. Our bodies couldn’t take the pressure. It’s sort of biased, I think, our interpretation of life in the deep oceans.” – Kirsten Fisher, Ph.D. |
|
“They found over 4,700 different types of new life. It was a wealth of data so vast that it filled 50 volumes with 30,000 pages of information and was, essentially, a scientific revolution for its time.” – David Wilcock (Author/Filmmaker), |
|
“It was fascinating…that it only was five scientists! 220-plus crew. Only five scientists. And only five scientists in about three years…they made oceanography. They made modern science…and the reason for that, why they do it, is because they blindly go where no man goes before. And this is what scientists should do.” – Leonid Moroz, Ph.D. |
In addition to finding new species of marine life, the Challenger crew also made the first discovery of what are called cosmic spherules – nickel-iron micrometeorites from outer space. According to some scientists, these spherules could be capable of carrying extraterrestrial life.
|
“A lot of those rocks would have carried a microbial cargo. Cocooned inside of rocks, a microbe could be quite happy in the harsh conditions of space. In particular, it would be shielded from radiation by the depth of rock. It could probably stay in the dormant phase out in space for certainly thousands if not millions of years.” – Paul Davies, Ph.D. (Theoretical Physicist / Astrobiologist, ASU) |
|
“When scientists explored these nickel-iron spherules in depth, they discovered that they contained iron that was extraterrestrial in origin. Is it possible that this extraterrestrial substances were brought here by alien beings and deposited in the oceans of Earth, along with other forms of life?” – William Henry (Author / Investigative Mythologist), |
Is it possible that the Challenger discovered the conveyance of extraterrestrial life on the sea floor? Might the deepest parts of the ocean be as alien to us as the farthest reaches of outer space? Ancient Astronaut Theorists believe the answer is a resounding yes, and point to other strange creatures that have recently been found in the seemingly inhospitable deep.
March, 2005. Scientists off the coast of Easter Island discover the yeti crab, a furry crustacean that thrives on the sea floor near hydrothermal vents fissures that release geothermally-heated water. Using the hair that covers its body, the crab is able to filter out the toxic minerals the vents excrete. But as extraordinary as the yeti crab is, it is just one of many forms of marine life known to be able to exist in such extreme conditions.
|
“Because of the unique conditions that exists in the hydrothermal vents some really interesting and remarkable organisms can be found there.” – Kirsten Fisher, Ph.D. |
Another newly-discovered organism that puzzles scientists is the ctenophore, or comb jelly. When neurobiologist Leonid Moroz sequenced the DNA of this translucent creature at the University of Florida in 2007, he discovered they possessed a complex nervous system completely different from the entire animal kingdom.
|
“In fact, ctenophores have two neurosystems, not only one. And each of these neurosystems, is different from our neurosystems. And apparently, it’s evolved independently from neurosystems in the rest of the animals. So, ctenophores are masters of regeneration. They can regenerate their brain. In one of the animals, I did it four times. I removed its brains, let it live for two days, it regenerate. Then I removed again, and it grows back again. But what is most interesting is that it can also heal wounds, in two and a half hours, and no scar left. So, in fact, they not only can make neuron, independently from us, they can make it fast, and they can make it different.” – Leonid Moroz, Ph.D. |
How comb jellies function continues to baffle scientists, and their unique properties have led Dr. Moroz to dub them, quote, “aliens of the sea.”
|
“I call them, ‘aliens of the sea’…in terms of their reference to other animals. They’re different from the rest of the animals, much more than you are different from a sponge.” – Leonid Moroz, Ph.D. |
|
“We’re still finding incredible creatures in the ocean, creatures that we never even knew existed. Could be extraterrestrial life. It’s a big planet, and there are a lot of mysteries still here.” – George Noory (Radio Host, Coast to Coast AM) |
Could there really be alien life thriving in Earth’s oceans? Might they have traveled here on meteors, like the plankton found aboard the International Space Station? Perhaps further clues can be found by examining the legends of strange aquatic creatures that were said to have come to Earth from the stars.
Previous: Introduction | Next: Legends & Myths
References:
[1] Prometheus Entertainment. (2015). Ancient Aliens: Season 8. [DVD Back Cover]. Los Angeles, CA: A&E Networks, LLC / History™.
[2] History™. (2015). Ancient Aliens: 8.1 – Aliens BC.[Episode Description]. Retrieved: July 24, 2015, from http://www.history.com/shows/ancient-aliens/season-8.
[3] History™. (2015). Ancient Aliens: 8.2 – NASA’s Secret Agenda. [Episode Description]. Retrieved: July 31, 2015, from http://www.history.com/shows/ancient-aliens/season-8.
[4] History™. (2015). Ancient Aliens: 8.3 – Aliens & Robots. [Episode Description]. Retrieved: August 7, 2015, from http://www.history.com/shows/ancient-aliens/season-8.
[5] History™. (2015). Ancient Aliens: 8.4 – Dark Forces. [Episode Description]. Retrieved: August 14, 2014, from http://www.history.com/shows/ancient-aliens/season-8.
[6] History™. (2015). Ancient Aliens: 8.5 – The Alien Evolution. [Episode Description]. Retrieved: August 21, 2015, from http://www.history.com/shows/ancient-aliens/season-8.
[7] History™. (2015). Ancient Aliens: 8.6 – The Other Earth. [Episode Description]. Retrieved: August 28, 2015, from http://www.history.com/shows/ancient-aliens/season-8.
| [8] History™. (2015). Ancient Aliens: 8.7 – Creatures of the Deep. [Episode Description]. Retrieved: September 4, 2015, from http://www.history.com/shows/ancient-aliens/season-8.
[8a] Prometheus Entertainment. (2015). Ancient Aliens: 8.7 – Creatures of the Deep. [DVD Footage: Introduction]. Los Angeles, CA: A&E Networks, LLC / History™. [8b] Prometheus Entertainment. (2015). Ancient Aliens: 8.7 – Creatures of the Deep. [DVD Footage: Creatures of the Deep]. Los Angeles, CA: A&E Networks, LLC / History™. [8c] Prometheus Entertainment. (2015). Ancient Aliens: 8.7 – Creatures of the Deep. [DVD Footage: Legends & Myths]. Los Angeles, CA: A&E Networks, LLC / History™. [8d] Prometheus Entertainment. (2015). Ancient Aliens: 8.7 – Creatures of the Deep. [DVD Footage: Sea Monsters]. Los Angeles, CA: A&E Networks, LLC / History™. [8e] Prometheus Entertainment. (2015). Ancient Aliens: 8.7 – Creatures of the Deep. [DVD Footage: Underwater Wormholes]. Los Angeles, CA: A&E Networks, LLC / History™. [8f] Prometheus Entertainment. (2015). Ancient Aliens: 8.7 – Creatures of the Deep. [DVD Footage: Cenote Angelita]. Los Angeles, CA: A&E Networks, LLC / History™. [8g] Prometheus Entertainment. (2015). Ancient Aliens: 8.7 – Creatures of the Deep. [DVD Footage: Van Allen Belts]. Los Angeles, CA: A&E Networks, LLC / History™. |
[9] History™. (2015). Ancient Aliens: 8.8 – Circles From the Sky. [Episode Description]. Retrieved: September 18, 2015, from http://www.history.com/shows/ancient-aliens/season-8.
[10] History™. (2015). Ancient Aliens: 8.9 – The Alien Wars. [Episode Description]. Retrieved: September 25, 2015, from http://www.history.com/shows/ancient-aliens/season-8.
[11] History™. (2015). Ancient Aliens: 8.10 – The Forbidden Zones. [Episode Description]. Retrieved: October 9, 2015, from http://www.history.com/shows/ancient-aliens/season-8.
ancientalienpedia 