Russian cosmonauts have discovered life clinging to the outside of the international space station. This is the first time living organisms have been found on the space station and scientists are not sure how they got there. The creatures were found during a spacewalk to clean the surface of the space station. The organisms seem to be a type of sea plankton and how they remained alive in space is what seems to be troubling scientists. According to Sploid, Russian scientists are both “shocked by the discovery and can’t really explain how it is possible.”
“The results of the experiment are absolutely unique,” Russian ISS Orbital Mission Chief Vladimir Solovyev told the ITAR-TASS News Agency. “This should be studied further.” To some of us we might already believe in aliens, others may not hold that belief. Either way, this is cool news because it further shows the possibility of life in space for those that currently don’t believe it’s possible. Some scientists believe that the organisms were carried from the ocean by uplifting air currents. Since the organisms are not native to Kazakhstan where the vessel took off, many don’t believe they were brought up during flight. This makes it very difficult to answer the question: “How did they get there?”
The organisms found on the vessel have a mouth, limbs, digestive tract, muscles, and a nervous system. They are definitely aliens – just not the typical sense we may picture when thinking about life in space. Known as tardigrades, these little creatures are amazing at enduring harsh conditions, which is why drawing the conclusion that they could have originated in space isn’t so tough.
No matter how you cut it, it’s cool. Like mentioned previously, there are those of us who fully believe in aliens. We may have studied all the evidence seen, seeing UFOs ourselves or have even had more profound experiences. For this group of people, this is a mainstream discovery that will help open the minds of those who deny any possibility of life in space.
For those of us who don’t believe in aliens at all, or life in space, this is the beginning of what can be a very interesting reflection point as to what truly is possible in our reality. Are we alone? The reality is, we do still have much to learn about our universe. Although I think personally that much is kept hidden from us, this marks a mainstream discovery that continues to open-mindedly search for extraterrestrial life.