What NASA Is Looking for in Yellowstone National Park | Untold Earth

The Grand Prismatic Spring is the most recognizable thermal feature of Yellowstone National Park, but some of its most fascinating features are invisible to the naked eye. Below the surface there is a diverse ecosystem of microbes that scientists have been studying for decades. Could these microbes be the key to discovering life on other planets?

Explore the seeming impossibilities behind our planet’s strangest, most unique natural wonders in Untold Earth, a new series from Atlas Obscura, in partnership with Nature and PBS Digital Studios. From fragile, untouched ecosystems to familiar but unexplained occurrences in our own backyards, this series chases insight into natural phenomena through the voices of those who know them best.