A new laboratory deep underground is looking to answer questions about the habitability of other planets. Researchers from the National Observatory of Japan, the University of Tokyo, and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency are creating the Underground Astrobiology Laboratory (UAL) in Japan’s second-largest cave, the Muro-Ji Cave. This lab, located 1,000 meters underground, is designed to simulate the extreme environments of other planets, such as Mars. By doing so, the researchers hope to gain a better understanding of the limits of habitability, and the conditions that allow for the evolution of life. Such knowledge could be invaluable in the search for life beyond Earth.

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source: Phys.org