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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[@nathanbemo1063]

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

[@pollytiks3885]

Amazon and Etsy both have these tee shirts!

[@UsenameTakenWasTaken]

​@@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]

@@UsenameTakenWasTaken 🤣

[@danquaylesitsspeltpotatoe8307]

@@UsenameTakenWasTaken Her jumper is false and ignorant!

[@SheSweetLikSugarNSavage]

😂😂🤣🤣

[@DrachenGothik666]

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]

shoutout to that lady's shirt

[@Kwambomb23]

i mean shes just awesome can tell she knows her shit and is very passionate about what she does

[@deborahdean8867]

Even better is " extinction is the rule, survival the exception "

[@allisonshaw9341]

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

[@LightBlueVans]

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

[@Tripleat117]

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

[@JKTCGMV13]

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

[@allisonshaw9341]

@@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]

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!!

[@Suriyavanna]

3:15 HER SHIRT!! hahaha I need one

[@pollytiks3885]

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

[@zainazyar4505]

OMG I was saying the exact same thing!

[@jamesjaudon8247]

I had to go back and see.👍

[@RoxaneJ14]

This Diana Northup lady has THE BEST VIBE 🥰

[@seanstewart8942]

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

[@taxesdeathandtrouble.1886]

@seanstewart8942 Smart is cool.

[@huldu]

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]

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]

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]

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]

@@jandrews6254well said.

[@Uncanny_Mountain]

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"

[@Grynslvr2]

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.

[@bexxiboo]

In 10000 years they'll re-find that cave and your tooth and wonder how a small boy came to be exploring that cave once upon a time. Wondrous

[@Grynslvr2]

@@bexxiboo In 10k years, I wonder what the Racoons at the top of the food chain will think of us humans. GRIN

[@TheSpaceMomma]

I’m jealous, you’re a part of history. I want to leave something behind that could be found in thousands of years…

[@deborahdean8867]

Theyll find that tooth and think you died as a child in there.

[@margaretcastellano3167]

Love your story. Living in NM I feel like I just take the Caverns for granted but when I do go there I’m in awe as well. Then I feel that everyone should see the caverns!

[@literaterose6731]

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]

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

[@RoxaneJ14]

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

[@Dhi_Bee]

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

[@retronation9744]

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]

@@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.

[@KatieKatTG]

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]

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]

@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.

[@allisonjones-lo6795]

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!

[@dasstigma]

2:52 Best sweater ever.

[@Lovelife86nj]

Thumbnail upside down 🙃 nice

[@rebz8805]

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

[@ezrahopkins1913]

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

[@ryans4877]

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

[@janetross1900]

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.❤

[@MemphiStig]

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

[@robertmitchell5646]

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

[@toughenupfluffy7294]

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

[@chippysteve4524]

Hahaha-I love her jumper @ 3:18!

[@mascadadelpantion8018]

Science is the coolest confusing thing in the world

[@ickmonster73]

Science is the study of the confusing things in the world

[@Uncanny_Mountain]

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

[@tinknal6449]

Man will never set foot on mars.

[@chefscorner7063]

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. ;)

[@2headedcow5252]

I love learning when there is no test 🥹

[@moosebrandon8665]

Lol right

[@elainekay8325]

Absolutely

[@megansfo]

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

[@TeagueChrystie]

She seems cool as hell.

[@Jianju69]

So much thought-provoking material in just five minutes!

[@Moeistic]

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.

[@user-iy9cy4tl2h]

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

[@psychosis7325]

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

[@lexloose2112]

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.

[@clemguitarechal]

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

[@marka0014]

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

[@Centerpieceofmind]

Everyone should experience Carlsbad Caverns. Truly amazing place. It's so big, the videos don't do it justice.

[@chrystal884]

I’ve been to Carlsbad Caverns so many times in my life but I enjoy it every time.

[@ronkirk5099]

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.

[@lts_Bubba]

Youngn mustache killn it

[@Lichlord]

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

[@MossyMozart]

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.

[@howardX81]

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

[@macsnafu]

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

[@louisanow]

Atlas Obscura and PBS make a fascinating team!

[@li_celly]

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.

[@Mr2Reviews]

I hear potential for new antibiotics.

[@graemebrumfitt6668]

Cool cave! TFS, GB :)

[@regolith1350]

3:14 "What doesn't kill you mutates and tries again." 🤣🤣🤣

[@garybeasley4885]

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!

[@AdventuringwithTrevor]

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

[@user-kt5cp7lv5e]

I watch this KZbin video and all I got was this T-shirt. I love it!

[@IRNoahBody]

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

[@TheSpaceMomma]

So awesome.

[@MaryAnnNytowl]

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!

[@vladdevener5586]

Absolutely incredible🤍🤎.

[@marklivingstone3710]

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

[@evilginger013o_o]

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

[@exploringdixie]

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

[@mikejettusa]

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]

What a gorgeous cave

[@wilhelmmeyer89]

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

[@Melody-mt5im]

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)

[@channel-eq6vr]

Just realized when mankind steps on Mars….. there will be the largest microbial pollution of another planet. Our intestines are a laboratory with intervalic dumping. So don’t be such purists or activists!

[@teehasheestower]

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

[@drewtwon7374]

Our ancestors ether lived or died and fueled these caves with their bodies. Nature is amazing.

[@astrinymris9953]

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

[@MariaMartinez-researcher]

"(gentle inquisitive music)" 😘

[@sharonkaczorowski8690]

More reasons to give her kudos…when she was young and hit her doctorate it was very hard for women to get into a graduate program…let alone complete it…I know I was one of them and the women who preceded us had it even harder. I too want the shirt!

[@Cudddlefish]

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

[@MartinBrabi]

In the halls of the mountain king 😉

[@Yezpahr]

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.

[@silvestrisvita]

This video could have been an hour and i would have watched it twice. I want to know more!!! Cave microbial warfare studied by multiple disciplines?! Yes pls!!!!

[@fajarsuryantoro7025]

I want that professor sweater 😮😮😮

[@sleverlight]

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

[@kt6332]

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!

[@stev838]

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

[@orcinusvox5107]

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

[@yukit119]

3:17 Love her tshirt

[@Kurtlane]

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

[@kingX777]

Be careful, The Falmer can be tough…

[@MrExel47]

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

[@nmtumbleweed5320]

Discovered😂

[@alexritchie4586]

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.

[@russ549]

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

[@callinglast]

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

[@danjohnston9037]

Thumbnail worked

[@ericpierce3660]

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!

[@jamiegallier2106]

❤

[@Norfolk250]

That face!!! 0:05

[@buckmazz]

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

[@katieharrington2845]

Maybe thats where we find the upside down lol

[@ramoncotton]

Is this under the Carlsbad lagoon?

[@iam_GOMPA]

0:43 Looks like someone is meditating

[@DavidCraig-go1zv]

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

[@Stealth86651]

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

[@NathanCabs]

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

[@user-dt9qc5uv2m]

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!

[@retronation9744]

Aye I worked on this project

[@gabiporter6552]

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

[@joseville]

5:52 what is the frosted looking thing there?

[@Zach-ku6eu]

Seed them over the equatorial methane zones of Mars!

[@chronicfatiguehermithiker3022]

Giant creature.

[@manaliajudiya]

Possibly Bats like species lived here.

[@TomCrosman]

What about the upside down cave? All I heard was a discussion about carlsbad.