Mysterious 'portal' discovered on Mars by NASA that could lead to new world of alien life
NASA has admitted that an over 300-foot-wide hole in the surface of Mars could be a 'portal' leading to an underground world of alien life.
The American space agency shared the shocking image of a massive opening in the Martian landscape on Sunday for its Astronomy Picture of the Day.
Rather than leave people with a mystery, NASA speculated that the giant hole appears to lead to a mysterious 'lower level' that may support life.
'Holes such as this are of particular interest because they might be portals to lower levels that extend into expansive underground caves,' NASA researchers said.
'If so, these naturally occurring tunnels are relatively protected from the harsh surface of Mars, making them relatively good candidates to contain Martian life,' they added.
It's quite a statement by NASA, which has consistently tried to manage the public's expectations of finding extraterrestrial life both on other planets and here on Earth.
So far, the focus has been on microbial life that may be hiding in frozen oceans on Earth's neighboring planets and moons.
However, researchers noted that there could be 'expansive underground caves' on the other side of this hole, adding that this area could soon become a major target of future astronauts landing on Mars.
NASA released an image of a massive hole in the surface of Mars on April 13 as part of the agency's Astronomy Picture of the Day series
NASA pointed out that this image, originally taken in 2017 by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, actually shows several holes in the planet's surface.
'There are numerous holes pictured in this Swiss cheese-like landscape, with all-but-one of them showing a dusty, dark, Martian terrain beneath evaporating, light, carbon dioxide ice,' the researchers wrote.
That most noticeable ditch is the perfectly rounded hole in the upper-right portion of the satellite photo - a giant cavity spanning roughly 328 feet.
Making the discovery even more mysterious is the fact that this hole also has a circular crater surrounding it.
As for what caused it, the NASA team speculated that it may have been created by a meteor impact, but the bigger question now is what's sitting at the other end of this pit.
'These pits are therefore also prime targets for possible future spacecraft, robots, and even human interplanetary explorers,' NASA added.
Although scientists believe Mars was once more Earth-like billions of years ago, the best hope of finding signs of life today rests in NASA's rovers, satellites, and future astronauts discovering underground caves or lava tubes in the long-dead Martian surface.
Since Mars now lacks a strong magnetic field and thick atmosphere, its surface is constantly bombarded by high levels of cosmic and solar radiation, which can be deadly to life as we know it.
Mars is believed to have several similar holes that may be craters from meteor impacts, potentially leading a vast system of underground caves and lava tubes
The USGS Astrogeology Science Center has mapped hundreds of possible sites that experts believe could be entry points to subterranean caves on Mars
However, life may have been able to survive below the soil thanks to the natural shielding of these caves and tubes - meaning astronauts might be able to find evidence or even fossils of living organisms here.
America's experts on underground mysteries and seismic activity - the US Geological Survey (USGS) - were even brought in to find these caves.
In 2019, the USGS Astrogeology Science Center revealed a stunning map detailing over 1,000 candidates that their experts believe could be cave entrances scattered throughout the surface of Mars.
Unfortunately, USGS noted that their review used data coming in from probes flying 250 miles above the Martian surface.
Glen Cushing, a space scientist from the USGS Astrogeology Science Center, said: 'It is impossible to see how far any of them extend beneath the surface.'
'Not knowing which instances are caves and which are merely alcoves with modest lateral extent, we are careful to express that these are 'candidate' cave entrances,' he added in the 2019 release.
Other space missions, including the European Space Agency's Mars Express, have also found evidence of ancient lava tubes beneath the planet's dormant volcanoes.
However, this newly released photo makes it undeniably clear that there's at least one hole on Mars which leads to an unknown subterranean layer.
The soonest human astronauts may be able to see this enormous hole for themselves could be in 2028.
SpaceX founder Elon Musk recently appeared on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, where he rapidly accelerated the timeline for people arriving on the Red Planet.
Previously, the goal was to land the first astronauts on Mars by 2030 at the earliest.
Musk said that SpaceX's 'default plan' was to 'launch several Starships to Mars at the end of next year.'
These are the same type of space vehicles SpaceX has been testing, with some of the recent tests ending in a fiery explosion.
These missions would also have no crews and would see if the vehicles could successfully land on the Red Planet. Musk added that he's hoping his company will launch a total of five of these remote-controlled starships to Mars in 2026.
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