EXTREME DEEP: Mission to the Abyss sponsored by John Hancock Financial Services and Discovery Channel presents a total immersion environment in which visitors get a firsthand look at the life forms which, until recently, few even thought existed in the deep sea. Based on their findings in the ocean’s depths, some scientists theorize that life may await discovery in outer space.

It’s all detailed in an engaging video, a mural display and a three-dimensional diorama based on an artist’s conception in EXTREME DEEP, a new, blockbuster traveling exhibit presented by Evergreen Exhibitions in collaboration with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI).

The ocean/outer space connection is based on the discovery of organisms at deep-sea vents, which suggests that life can exist wherever there are water, heat and nutrients. Hydrothermal vents create a life-supporting temperature gradient at a depth where the waters typically are near freezing. At these depths, where light doesn’t penetrate, faunae rely on a process called chemosynthesis, in which they partner with bacteria to process chemicals including hydrogen sulfide for their food.

Is that same process in play elsewhere in the solar system? Perhaps.

EXTREME DEEP will crisscross the country, showing in the nation’s finest science centers and museums for five years.