We’ve been on the search for alien life for a while, but it turns out that the extraterrestrial could be lurking beneath the surface.NASA recently shared an image of an “unusual” hole found on the surface of Mars that scientists believe could “contain Martian life”. This image was actually taken by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter back in 2011 as part of a bigger series of images. Scientists have been thoroughly studying it ever since and speculate that this hole could be an opening for a larger underground cavern.“Analysis and follow-up images revealed the opening to be about 35 meters across,” NASA scientists Robert Nemiroff and Jerry Bonnell wrote in a post shared on their official website along with the photo. They also mention that the cavern seemed to be about 20 meters deep and thus could shield any potential alien life from uninhabitable conditions of light and heat on the surface. “Holes such as this are of particular interest because their interior caves are relatively protected from the harsh surface of Mars, making them relatively good candidates to contain Martian life,” they said.Even as they’re examing all the possible reasons this hole may exist, scientists also can’t seem to understand why it’s surrounded by a circular crater and say that further examination would be needed to understand what is lurking beneath the surface.This conclusion is important as it will shape future missions to Mars. "These pits are therefore prime targets for possible future spacecraft, robots, and even human interplanetary explorers,” the scientists say. The hole could also be a potential place for humans to hide out from the planet’s harsh conditions if we were to migrate to Mars, as well as provide material that could help us understand the history of the planet.The great unknown is a mystery we are yet to unfold, but hopefully with discoveries like these, we can better understand the unexplored.Follow Shamani Joshi on Instagram.
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