--- title: Deep Water Shrimp Offer Evidence of Life on Inhospitable Planets description: NASA scientists say that deep water shrimp, thriving in scorching hot water devoid of sunlight, could offer clues of how alien lifeforms might survive on a distant planet. canonical: https://time.com/3602075/deep-water-shrimp-evidence-life-planets-science/ author: Dan Kedmey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-11-24T14:46:56.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T02:19:08.342Z article:section: Science og:title: Deep Water Shrimp Offer Evidence of Life on Inhospitable Planets og:description: NASA scientists say that deep water shrimp, thriving in scorching hot water devoid of sunlight, could offer clues of how alien lifeforms might survive on a distant planet. og:url: https://time.com/3602075/deep-water-shrimp-evidence-life-planets-science/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7a657e553ca2a2f3/69876a832dce0169979dbf67/extreme-shrimp.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Extreme Shrimp og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Deep Water Shrimp Offer Evidence of Life on Inhospitable Planets twitter:description: NASA scientists say that deep water shrimp, thriving in scorching hot water devoid of sunlight, could offer clues of how alien lifeforms might survive on a distant planet. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7a657e553ca2a2f3/69876a832dce0169979dbf67/extreme-shrimp.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Deep Water Shrimp Offer Evidence of Life on Inhospitable Planets  by [Dan Kedmey](https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Nov 24, 2014 2:46 PM UTC  Shrimp, Pingtung, Taiwan, Asia Shrimp, Pingtung, Taiwan, AsiaGetty Images  by [Dan Kedmey](https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Nov 24, 2014 2:46 PM UTC NASA scientists [say](http://www.nasa.gov/jpl/extreme-shrimp-may-hold-clues-to-alien-life/#.VHND%5F6X%5FQ1f) that deep water shrimp, thriving in scorching hot water devoid of sunlight, could offer clues to how alien lifeforms might survive on a distant planet. The tiny shrimp cluster around thermal vents, which are submerged 7,500 feet below the ocean’s surface and spew scorching hot water at temperatures reaching 750 degrees Fahrenheit. The blind shrimp can move within an inch of the hot water by using thermal receptors in the backs of their heads, and feed on hydrogen sulfide, a chemical that is normally toxic to organisms, but can be converted into energy with the help of specialized bacteria in the shrimp’s mouth and gills. “It’s a remarkable symbiotic system,” says Max Coleman, senior research scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. “You go along the ocean bottom and there’s nothing, effectively, and then suddenly we get these hydrothermal vents and a massive ecosystem. It’s just literally teeming with life.” Scientists believe the shrimp offer proof of how an organism might survive on an inhospitable planet, such as Europa, an icy moon orbiting Jupiter. Astronomers have found evidence of an ocean beneath the planet’s surface. With the right amount of thermal energy, researchers say, it too may be teeming with life. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3602075/deep-water-shrimp-evidence-life-planets-science/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3602075/deep-water-shrimp-evidence-life-planets-science/"},"headline":"Deep Water Shrimp Offer Evidence of Life on Inhospitable Planets","datePublished":"2014-11-24T14:46:56.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T02:19:08.342Z","description":"The tiny shrimp survive without sunlight and crawl within an inch of boiling hot waters","url":"https://time.com/3602075/deep-water-shrimp-evidence-life-planets-science/","keywords":["animals"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7a657e553ca2a2f3/69876a832dce0169979dbf67/extreme-shrimp.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Dan Kedmey","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7a657e553ca2a2f3/69876a832dce0169979dbf67/extreme-shrimp.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Extreme Shrimp","caption":"Extreme Shrimp","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/animals/","name":"animals"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3602075/deep-water-shrimp-evidence-life-planets-science/","name":"Deep Water Shrimp Offer Evidence of Life on Inhospitable Planets"}}]}] ```