Why Is NASA Interested In This Upside Down Cave?

Below the Chihuahuan Desert in southeastern New Mexico, lies an extensive system of limestone caves, among them the pristine Lechuguilla Cave and the famed Carlsbad Cavern, home to one of North America's largest underground chambers. But there’s more to this subterranean world than gigantic geological formations. It's also ground zero for a microbial war that’s been raging for thousands of years, right beneath our feet.
Untold Earth explores the seeming impossibilities behind our planet’s strangest, most unique natural wonders. From fragile, untouched ecosystems to familiar but unexplained occurrences in our own backyard, this series chases insight into natural phenomena through the voices that know them best.
Untold Earth is produced in partnership with Atlas Obscura and Nature.
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Пікірлер: 248

  • @nathanbemo1063
    @nathanbemo1063Ай бұрын

    "What doesn't kill you mutates and tries again"🧐🤔🤣🤩

  • @pollytiks3885

    @pollytiks3885

    Ай бұрын

    Amazon and Etsy both have these tee shirts!

  • @UsenameTakenWasTaken

    @UsenameTakenWasTaken

    Ай бұрын

    ​@@pollytiks3885 So what you're saying is that they've changed in response to their environment to have a better chance of taking your resources? Weird, that feels topical for some reason.

  • @pollytiks3885

    @pollytiks3885

    Ай бұрын

    @@UsenameTakenWasTaken 🤣

  • @danquaylesitsspeltpotatoe8307

    @danquaylesitsspeltpotatoe8307

    28 күн бұрын

    @@UsenameTakenWasTaken Her jumper is false and ignorant!

  • @SheSweetLikSugarNSavage

    @SheSweetLikSugarNSavage

    28 күн бұрын

    😂😂🤣🤣

  • @DrachenGothik666
    @DrachenGothik666Ай бұрын

    Can we just give a shoutout to her shirt: "What doesn't kill you mutates and tries again"? That's just an awesome sense of humour!

  • @OGRE_HATES_NERDS

    @OGRE_HATES_NERDS

    Күн бұрын

    shoutout to that lady's shirt

  • @Suriyavanna
    @SuriyavannaАй бұрын

    3:15 HER SHIRT!! hahaha I need one

  • @pollytiks3885

    @pollytiks3885

    Ай бұрын

    Thinking the same thing!! I got one from Etsy, but Amazon has them too.

  • @zainazyar4505

    @zainazyar4505

    Ай бұрын

    OMG I was saying the exact same thing!

  • @jamesjaudon8247

    @jamesjaudon8247

    29 күн бұрын

    I had to go back and see.👍

  • @allisonshaw9341
    @allisonshaw9341Ай бұрын

    Science, archeology, and history are so cool. How anyone can think they're boring is beyond me.

  • @LightBlueVans

    @LightBlueVans

    Ай бұрын

    exactly! i think the same way and about conspiracies too. how can you believe such fanciful things when REAL LIFE is so magical!!!

  • @Tripleat117

    @Tripleat117

    Ай бұрын

    I imagine trying to get to these places in the first place is the boring part.

  • @JKTCGMV13

    @JKTCGMV13

    Ай бұрын

    So much of it is just about your teacher in high school

  • @allisonshaw9341

    @allisonshaw9341

    Ай бұрын

    @@JKTCGMV13 Actually, my family have always been interested in all of it, and we were encouraged to learn everything we could. Plus, we have a lot of caves in our area and as kids, my cousins and I explored every one we could. Our older cousins and some of our adult relatives loved exploring cages as well.

  • @XOguitargurlOX

    @XOguitargurlOX

    Ай бұрын

    it's normally because of the environment. Some people are afraid to enjoy the sciences because they put a lot of focus in social status and are afraid of being seen as a nerd. Some have had bad experiences with science as in a snooty professor or peer who was condescending when they didn't know a fact correctly. I haven't met one person who isn't into science, just some people who aren't aware their passion contains science. Same with math...that stuff is EVERYWHERE!!

  • @RoxaneJ14
    @RoxaneJ14Ай бұрын

    This Diana Northup lady has THE BEST VIBE 🥰

  • @seanstewart8942

    @seanstewart8942

    Ай бұрын

    😊 I was just thinking this grandma is cool and smart 😎 👌

  • @taxesdeathandtrouble.1886

    @taxesdeathandtrouble.1886

    Ай бұрын

    @seanstewart8942 Smart is cool.

  • @literaterose6731
    @literaterose6731Ай бұрын

    Carlsbad Caverns! I thought that’s what I was seeing in the thumbnail. We went there a bunch of times when I was a kid in the 60s and 70s during visits to my grandparents in El Paso TX. I found them endlessly fascinating and beautiful. This was wonderful to watch, really brought me back to the sense of awe I had touring those amazing spaces. Thank you!

  • @Dhi_Bee
    @Dhi_BeeАй бұрын

    2:53 This lady seemed cool but it’s confirmed she’s awesome as soon as I saw her shirt😂❤

  • @RoxaneJ14

    @RoxaneJ14

    Ай бұрын

    I knooooowww! I fell in love with her, I want her to tell me stories about science every day forever!

  • @Dhi_Bee

    @Dhi_Bee

    Ай бұрын

    @@RoxaneJ14 yeah, if she needs a grandson, I volunteer lol

  • @retronation9744

    @retronation9744

    27 күн бұрын

    She was my boss in college at my research job and she is exactly like this 😂 like she still goes caving at like 80 years old

  • @Kirhean

    @Kirhean

    26 күн бұрын

    @@retronation9744 I'd love to listen to her talk with John Michael Godier, just talking about the cave and how it contributes to our understanding of life off Earth.

  • @huldu
    @hulduАй бұрын

    It really makes you wonder if all planets and moons in our solar system are truly devoid of all life or if there are caverns like this far below the surface(or under ice sheets). Where bacteria and simple organisms have been going at it for millions if not billions of years.

  • @jandrews6254

    @jandrews6254

    Ай бұрын

    Given that earth life exists inside active volcanos and in the deepest parts of the ocean where there is incredible pressure, absolutely no light, no oxygen, just black smokers, I’d say the planets and moons mostly have life just not 9’ tall blue humanoids with boobs. We need to see past our own egos and recognise alien life when we do eventually find it.

  • @mrexists5400

    @mrexists5400

    Ай бұрын

    Scientists aren't filmmakers trying to connect an audience to characters in a story, so probably not a big an issue as you think

  • @jamesjaudon8247

    @jamesjaudon8247

    29 күн бұрын

    We'll see. I believe the type of life that exists here is special. Anything found out there will be equally special. But until we go there it's all just vivid imagination.

  • @ellielynn8219

    @ellielynn8219

    28 күн бұрын

    @@jandrews6254well said.

  • @Uncanny_Mountain

    @Uncanny_Mountain

    25 күн бұрын

    When you learn the precambrian explosion wasn't the start, but an end of an even longer proto life period of viruses, bacteria, and "stuff"

  • @dasstigma
    @dasstigmaАй бұрын

    2:52 Best sweater ever.

  • @allisonjones-lo6795
    @allisonjones-lo6795Ай бұрын

    I live in northern New Mexico and I have been to Carlsbad Caverns many times since I was a teenager. I will be taking my grandchildren next year. The Caverns always amaze me!

  • @KatieKatTG
    @KatieKatTGАй бұрын

    I finally visited recently, and it truly is breathtaking. It's kind of like seeing the Grand Canyon in person. You can look at a million gorgeous pictures of the place, but it doesn't do justice compared to seeing it in real life. I would easily recommend this for a bucket list visit, at the very least. Just a few tips, when visiting. Wear comfortable but supportive shoes and get ready for a serious calf workout. The trail down there is miles long and almost none of it will be level. If you have breathing conditions such as asthma, please be aware that there will be pockets where it isn't as easy to breathe. I definitely regretted not bringing my inhaler with me. PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING. Keep it beautiful for future generations to enjoy. Be safe and have fun!

  • @RobinTheBot

    @RobinTheBot

    28 күн бұрын

    Isn't there a stumpy little stalagmite in the middle of a path you can touch? It's black with all the oil from people touching it iirc

  • @KatieKatTG

    @KatieKatTG

    28 күн бұрын

    @RobinTheBot The ranger told us to avoid touching anything aside from the handrails. This was back in February 2024. I did see that column and I'm sure people still touch it but I don't know that they are allowed to anymore. The rangers seemed pretty serious about it, talking about preserving the biological climate down there.

  • @janetross1900
    @janetross1900Ай бұрын

    I was there with my family as a child on vacation. I’m so glad that my father took us to places like this. It was so cool.❤

  • @ryans4877
    @ryans4877Ай бұрын

    I was just at Carlsbad a couple of weeks ago, awesome timing

  • @MemphiStig
    @MemphiStigАй бұрын

    I didn't know caves could do this. Very cool.

  • @robertmitchell5646
    @robertmitchell5646Ай бұрын

    Carlsbad Cavern is awe inspiring. It put me in perspective to nature! Beautiful beyond my words.

  • @lovelifeeeeok
    @lovelifeeeeokАй бұрын

    Thumbnail upside down 🙃 nice

  • @rebz8805
    @rebz8805Ай бұрын

    I want her sweatshirt! (What doesn't kill you mutates and tries again) Brilliant!

  • @ezrahopkins1913

    @ezrahopkins1913

    Ай бұрын

    At least she not trying to promote evolve,but mutate,it's at least makes this digestible

  • @mascadadelpantion8018
    @mascadadelpantion8018Ай бұрын

    Science is the coolest confusing thing in the world

  • @ickmonster73

    @ickmonster73

    26 күн бұрын

    Science is the study of the confusing things in the world

  • @Uncanny_Mountain

    @Uncanny_Mountain

    25 күн бұрын

    Wait til you find out about the Zodiac Calendar and the Phoenix Cypher of 216

  • @Grynslvr2
    @Grynslvr229 күн бұрын

    My family toured the caverns when I was about hand high to my dad. I say it that way because, I got too close during the tour and he turned suddenly, accidentally striking me in the mouth. I lost a "baby" tooth in Carlsbad Caverns and as far as I know, that small part of me is now a very small part of the cavern system. Even with loosing a tooth, that visit to the caverns awed me at the time, and have ever since. I'm 67 and still remember the beauty of Carlsbad.

  • @toughenupfluffy7294
    @toughenupfluffy7294Ай бұрын

    750 feet below the surface, the Big Room is the largest cave chamber by volume in North America.

  • @chippysteve4524
    @chippysteve4524Ай бұрын

    Hahaha-I love her jumper @ 3:18!

  • @chefscorner7063
    @chefscorner706328 күн бұрын

    My dad and I visited Carlsbad Caverns back in 1976. I couldn't believe how big and open it was. It was still relatively new in that they were still making discoveries in areas that hadn't been researched or even found yet. While I had a hard childhood I was lucky in that the rare good times I did have were of incredible people, places and things. Good thing I always try to find the silverlining. ;)

  • @lts_Bubba
    @lts_BubbaАй бұрын

    Youngn mustache killn it

  • @2headedcow5252
    @2headedcow5252Ай бұрын

    I love learning when there is no test 🥹

  • @moosebrandon8665

    @moosebrandon8665

    29 күн бұрын

    Lol right

  • @elainekay8325

    @elainekay8325

    28 күн бұрын

    Absolutely

  • @megansfo
    @megansfoАй бұрын

    I would love to see this someday! Also, it's great to see a fellow boomer featured here. She's great! 🌺

  • @TeagueChrystie

    @TeagueChrystie

    Ай бұрын

    She seems cool as hell.

  • @Lichlord
    @LichlordАй бұрын

    Diana Northup is one of the best science communicators I’ve ever heard. Can we hear from her more often?

  • @user-iy9cy4tl2h
    @user-iy9cy4tl2hАй бұрын

    Wow I haven't seen a short doc this good in quite some time 👍👍👍💛

  • @psychosis7325
    @psychosis7325Ай бұрын

    Diana N's Jumper/sweater is bloody awesome 🤣👌

  • @howardX81
    @howardX81Ай бұрын

    You have to see it in person. It will blow your mind!

  • @Jianju69
    @Jianju6927 күн бұрын

    So much thought-provoking material in just five minutes!

  • @Mr2Reviews
    @Mr2ReviewsАй бұрын

    I hear potential for new antibiotics.

  • @macsnafu
    @macsnafuАй бұрын

    3:14 What doesn't kill you mutates and tries again!

  • @clemguitarechal
    @clemguitarechalАй бұрын

    I wish this video was 2 hours long ! This subject, and all its collaterals, are fascinating

  • @graemebrumfitt6668
    @graemebrumfitt6668Ай бұрын

    Cool cave! TFS, GB :)

  • @lexloose2112
    @lexloose2112Ай бұрын

    so beautiful, I'd love to visit its timeless beauty, the same as the crystal caves in Peru. Another stunning show of nature's magnificent glory.

  • @ronkirk5099
    @ronkirk5099Ай бұрын

    I really like visiting caves, but a wild cave tour of Jewel cave in S. Dakota where there is a very restrictive bottle neck you have to crawl through was just about too much for me. Dark and tight at the same time was pretty scary.

  • @AdventuringwithTrevor
    @AdventuringwithTrevor26 күн бұрын

    Just was here on April 7th on my way to Texas for that eclipse, was an insane experience. Highly recommend it

  • @MossyMozart
    @MossyMozart29 күн бұрын

    Dr Diana Northrup is completely adorable, especially with that sweatshirt. I knew Carlsbad Caverns was big and the home of so many bats, but I never knew how beautiful it is.

  • @evilginger013o_o
    @evilginger013o_o29 күн бұрын

    Take nothing but pictures, Leave nothing but footprints, Kill nothing but time.

  • @astrinymris9953
    @astrinymris995326 күн бұрын

    2:52 I want that sweatshirt! It's great! 🤣🤣🤣

  • @vladdevener5586
    @vladdevener5586Ай бұрын

    Absolutely incredible🤍🤎.

  • @wilhelmmeyer89
    @wilhelmmeyer8910 сағат бұрын

    Nice. Usually you don't hear this at school.

  • @mikejettusa
    @mikejettusaАй бұрын

    Extremely interesting. I really hope they actually think about protecting the environment of places we go beyond our planet because we certainly have not done this here 😢

  • @ARCavingandOutdoors
    @ARCavingandOutdoors26 күн бұрын

    What a gorgeous cave

  • @HouseboundPerspectives
    @HouseboundPerspectivesАй бұрын

    kartchner caverns has a pretty interesting history, very VERY similar stories

  • @marka0014
    @marka0014Ай бұрын

    In Pennsylvania I have been to both Lost River Caverns and Crystal Caves, both were awesome.

  • @Melody-mt5im
    @Melody-mt5im24 күн бұрын

    5:28 RIGHT as the narrator says “undisturbed” while talking about the importance of not introducing anything to a newly discovered environment, a BARE HAND reaches out and touches the cave formation. 😭 (Edited to adjust timestamp)

  • @tinknal6449
    @tinknal644927 күн бұрын

    Man will never set foot on mars.

  • @marklivingstone3710
    @marklivingstone3710Ай бұрын

    Check out the Caves on Kauai in Hawaii where the trees grow downwards from the upper surfaces.

  • @garybeasley4885
    @garybeasley488529 күн бұрын

    I’ve seen both caves in person. Theres no comparison to hydrologically formed caves, a wild beauty all their own. The gypsum formations are mind bending to say the least!

  • @MariaMartinez-researcher
    @MariaMartinez-researcherАй бұрын

    "(gentle inquisitive music)" 😘

  • @MartinBrabi
    @MartinBrabi27 күн бұрын

    In the halls of the mountain king 😉

  • @MrExel47
    @MrExel4728 күн бұрын

    "Uh there is a giant cave with trillions of bat in it. Let´s install lights everywhere!"

  • @teehasheestower
    @teehasheestowerАй бұрын

    Obviously its in Australia, like all the other upside down caves.

  • @MaryAnnNytowl
    @MaryAnnNytowl11 сағат бұрын

    Here I was thinking, from the thumbnail, there was some cave somewhere that had been turned on its head due to odd geological processes. Still, not disappointed. That shirt, though... it couldn't be truer, in many situations, LOL! I mean, many microbes would rather you live, to spread more of them, but others just want a nice big meal. 😂 Now I need to find a copy of the shirt, LOL!

  • @yukit119
    @yukit1193 күн бұрын

    3:17 Love her tshirt

  • @exploringdixie
    @exploringdixie28 күн бұрын

    I started caving 2 years ago and it feels like you're on another planet!

  • @steveheuser7382
    @steveheuser738228 күн бұрын

    It shows the pole flip Costou found one with 112 reversals , try and find that episode some time. You can’t

  • @sleverlight
    @sleverlight25 күн бұрын

    lmao love her shirt "What doesnt kill you mutates and trys again"

  • @orcinusvox5107
    @orcinusvox510729 күн бұрын

    0:37 for a sec thought u said a microbial worm was raging for thousands of years

  • @Norfolk250
    @Norfolk25028 күн бұрын

    That face!!! 0:05

  • @Yezpahr
    @YezpahrАй бұрын

    I truly believe one of these days we'll find a second genesis of life in caves just like these. It would be so wild.

  • @Moeistic
    @Moeistic27 күн бұрын

    These people are the real heroes of humanity. Civilization is possible because of their work and sacrifice. Yet the rest of us spend our lives worshiping celebrities and politicians and making them rich.

  • @DDDSquid
    @DDDSquidАй бұрын

    1:22 And it was as that moment that he became the Batman.

  • @Kurtlane
    @Kurtlane29 күн бұрын

    Are the bats still there at Carlsbad Caves? Are they there all year round, or are they seasonal?

  • @russ549
    @russ549Ай бұрын

    The natural world is actually cooler than anything we've made

  • @li_celly
    @li_celly11 күн бұрын

    I remember touring the Carlsbad cavern and we were supposed to be quiet to prevent waking up the bats. some teen behind me whistled Rue's and Katniss's tune and I whistled back. I think everyone giggled like the book nerd we were.

  • @fajarsuryantoro7025
    @fajarsuryantoro7025Ай бұрын

    I want that professor sweater 😮😮😮

  • @callinglast
    @callinglast26 күн бұрын

    Heyyyy! Dewey escaped Woodsboro and went to the caves!!!

  • @kt6332
    @kt633226 күн бұрын

    Everything has life. Most people can’t recognize it because they were taught differently in schools. Meaning, taught to think the way they want you to think instead of you thinking for yourself!

  • @nmtumbleweed5320
    @nmtumbleweed5320Ай бұрын

    Discovered😂

  • @jamiegallier2106
    @jamiegallier2106Ай бұрын

  • @danjohnston9037
    @danjohnston9037Ай бұрын

    Thumbnail worked

  • @alexritchie4586
    @alexritchie458629 күн бұрын

    I've always been fascinated by the concept of para-life. That there may well be other forms of life completely different from our evolutionary tree right here on Earth.

  • @retronation9744
    @retronation974427 күн бұрын

    Aye I worked on this project

  • @NathanCabs
    @NathanCabs25 күн бұрын

    We will never find life in another planet using Earth's stabdards

  • @gabiporter6552
    @gabiporter6552Ай бұрын

    The shirt, what doesn't kill you , mutates and tries again ! I need that!

  • @DavidCraig-go1zv
    @DavidCraig-go1zv28 күн бұрын

    Bioelectrochemical. I love her t-shirt. "What doesn't kill you, mutates and tries again. 😄

  • @Zach-ku6eu
    @Zach-ku6euАй бұрын

    Seed them over the equatorial methane zones of Mars!

  • @chronicfatiguehermithiker3022
    @chronicfatiguehermithiker302210 күн бұрын

    Giant creature.

  • @buckmazz
    @buckmazz28 күн бұрын

    They want to see how their hardware will perform in Australia.

  • @e.manaka2140
    @e.manaka214027 күн бұрын

    looks like... Antoni Gaudi's Sagrada Familia to me!

  • @debracarter7290
    @debracarter729025 күн бұрын

    When I saw her shirt I thought of Covid.

  • @Melody-mt5im

    @Melody-mt5im

    24 күн бұрын

    Viruses are an excellent example for her shirt. 😉

  • @joseville
    @joseville28 күн бұрын

    5:52 what is the frosted looking thing there?

  • @Stealth86651
    @Stealth86651Ай бұрын

    Nooo, don't fall for it NASA, stay away from The Caves.

  • @katieharrington2845
    @katieharrington284513 күн бұрын

    Maybe thats where we find the upside down lol

  • @ericpierce3660
    @ericpierce366027 күн бұрын

    If you visit Carlsbad Caverns, be sure to take the natural entrance if you are able. If you take the Visitor Center entrance instead, you'll just go down an elevator and step out into the Big Room. Kind of anti-climactic and boring. It won't be _nearly_ as impressive as going down the natural entrance, where following in the footsteps of explorer Jim White, you'll go down and down and down and down, entering chamber after chamber, each one bigger than the previous one, until you finally end up in the Big Room, so large that when White held up a lantern, he couldn't see the roof of the cavern. That's how you experience a little bit of the wonder he experienced!

  • @manaliajudiya
    @manaliajudiya23 күн бұрын

    Possibly Bats like species lived here.

  • @br2266
    @br226626 күн бұрын

    Where is the part where nasa was involved in the video or where a spokesperson from nasa said “yup this is not clickbait video at all…”

  • @Melody-mt5im

    @Melody-mt5im

    24 күн бұрын

    4:04 This is where the relevance to nasa/space/mars is discussed. 👍

  • @user-dt9qc5uv2m
    @user-dt9qc5uv2m29 күн бұрын

    Seems NASA is also becoming more interested in our oceans. Anyone watching the Ocean's ROV channel? Incredible life forms, many transparent. But one the "Barrelhead" is so bizarre, body of a normal looking fish but a transparent head! One of the creepiest is the "Sling-jaw fish" with a normal looking jaw but it shoots out like a telescope really creepy. There's also a sea slug that can chop off its own head and grow a new body!

  • @daleh1234
    @daleh1234Ай бұрын

    "What doesn't kill you mutates and tries again." Ha, ha, ha, life according to Nietzsche if he had been an evolutionary biologist!

  • @moemoney7773
    @moemoney7773Ай бұрын

    So batman was actually in New Mexico? That make waaay more sense 🤣🤣🤣

  • @moemoney7773

    @moemoney7773

    Ай бұрын

    When did the comic come out first? And when did the word about this cave go viral in the news paper and radio?

  • @MikeDuckwall
    @MikeDuckwall26 күн бұрын

    Where was the Upside Down Cave?

  • @GooseTronics
    @GooseTronicsАй бұрын

    where can I get that ladies shirt???

  • @jasonwinters2708
    @jasonwinters270828 күн бұрын

    As long as there is water dripping it really does not take that long for those stalactites and stalagmites to form they try and tell us they took millions of years to form when actually they could form in just a few hundred years

  • @Melody-mt5im

    @Melody-mt5im

    24 күн бұрын

    I’m sure they have actual evidence to back up the millions of years claim. 👍 That is the type of thing that can be pretty easily measured, and as scientists, I would expect they wouldn’t just throw around numbers like that willy nilly. 😉

  • @ZhihaoLou
    @ZhihaoLou26 күн бұрын

    This is a very cool video. But it didn't cover why or how it is upside down at all. I feel a bit disappointed (only a bit)

  • @user-wd2sh6tu3g
    @user-wd2sh6tu3g26 күн бұрын

    Wouldn't want to use your elytra in this cavern...🙃

  • @SammyGDude
    @SammyGDude24 күн бұрын

    Literally everyone loves her shirt. LOL

  • @orinburnham4388
    @orinburnham438825 күн бұрын

    so whats the end game in all this ,is it going to improve our way of life ,is it going to to solve issues like famine , health and fix the major problems people are in at this time.is it research for medicines ,what is all this for?its a cave ,so?

  • @anoobyproaz5616
    @anoobyproaz5616Ай бұрын

    Fungus bogs