Question: what kind of extreme life are you studying?

Rosie Cane answered on 15 Jun 2017:

I am studying extreme life from the bottom of the ocean! This life exists around ‘hydrothermal vents’ which are essentially chimneys on the ocean floor heated by the activity from volcanoes. The life around there has to survive low temperatures as it is very cold at the bottom of the ocean, it may have to survive high temperatures if it is right next to these hydrothermal vents, high pressure as there is a large body of water above pushing down on the organism and high amounts of salt!

The interesting thing about studying life in the ocean is that we think there may be other planets or even moons out there with their own oceans. One of Saturn’s moons, called Enceladus, is believed to have an ocean underneath its surface. It is possible that some kind of similar life could exist on that moon than in our own oceans here on Earth!