Searching for Life Where the Sun Don’t Shine, part 3: Explorations to the Seafloors of Earth and Europa

This is Part 3 of a 6-part series telling the story of humankind’s efforts to understand the origins of life by looking for it in extreme environments where life thrives without relying on the sun as an energy source. It follows an oceanographic expedition to the Mid-Cayman Rise led by Chris German of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and NASA’s efforts to plan a future mission to Jupiter’s moon, Europa. By understanding how life can live without the Sun, we may discover how life began on our planet and whether or not Earth is the only place in the universe capable of supporting a biosphere.