Scientists will drill a well to the center of the Earth in search of the origins of life

About 20 years ago, at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, a well was drilled to the center of the Earth. In April of this year, scientists plan to deepen it by more than 600 meters. About this edition of The Wall Street Journal told the leader of the new expedition, geologist Peter Blum.

He noted that in the spring it is planned to deepen the hole in the massif in the North Atlantic Ocean, which rises about 4.3 thousand meters above the bottom surface. To do this, drilling tools will be immersed to a depth of about 1,645 meters.

The array was not chosen by chance. It is a tectonic window where the sliding plates expose the deeper layers of the earth's crust. By drilling into these rocks, scientists can study parts of the Earth's internal structure that would otherwise be difficult to access.

This time it is planned to penetrate to a depth where sea water and minerals, and find out if this compound could become the source of the origin of life on Earth and other planets.

If organic molecules are found at such a depth, then this will confirm the theory that such a reaction contributes to the emergence of living organisms, even despite the very high temperature. And it can be more than 200 degrees Celsius at the new deepest point of the well.

Deepening the well will be difficult. Engineers will have to lower heavy drilling rigs to great depths and find a hole about 38 centimeters wide on the seabed. Joides engineers likened the process to trying to lower a pencil tied to the end of a string down the neck of a soda bottle with a fan while standing on a chair.

Now the depth of the well is 1,400 meters. Its target depth is 2,057 meters. To do this, the drilling rig will have to approach the center of the Earth by more than half a kilometer.