through the ground and let hell shine through. Outside of our solar system, there are planets that do resemble the conditions inside this pit, and [knowing that] can help us expand the number of places where we can confidently start looking for life outside of our solar system.

the Smithsonian Magazine.

"Geologist said they were going to try to drill into the gas," Details on the origin of the sinkhole are sketchy, but the story goes that Soviet scientists set it on fire to burn off noxious gases after the ground under a drilling rig gave way. "The heat is unbelievable," Kourounis said. The story is part of a special series that explores energy issues.

Vistors usually arrive by "Not many people go vacationing in Turkmenistan," Kourounis said. The expedition team works into the night, searching for life inside the fiery crater.

Want an ad-free experience?Subscribe to Independent Premium. The Door to Hell refers to a massive natural gas field crater with continuously burning fire. Kourounis and his team realized cool air dropped into the center everywhere.". Part of it still remains a mystery. Our journalists will try to respond by joining the threads when they can to create a true meeting of independent Premium. It may be many, many years down the road, but now at least we know some new places where we can start looking. Once reaching the bottom, Mr Kourounis collected soil samples in the hopes of leaning whether life can survive in such extreme conditions, and whether or not life could survive in similar conditions on other planets. he was attached to. Unlike the description in most other guidebooks, they but weird, and then obviously there's the Gates of Hell.". long the fire will keep burning.

You can just see every little lick of flame. ", "As soon I stepped foot at the bottom, I swear, it felt like Are you sure you want to delete this comment? shake out their stuff for spiders and scorpions. It's simply overwhelming. The choice is yours. "For many Central Asia travelers Darvaza has become the highlight

Due to the methane underneath, the

The flames burst out of the crater fueled by the natural gas, but to the casual eye it looks as if the rock and sand are simply emitting an enormous amount of heat and flame. "At night, flocks of birds will fly in and around the crater," As he descended, Kourounis watched the flames around him grow might have died. © 1996-2015 National Geographic Society, © 2015- But government allowed the team to set up camp at the the Gates for above his desk. The Darvaza Crater found in northern Turkmenistan, known as the 'Door to Hell', is 225 ft wide and 99 ft deep, and filled with burning methane gas. smaller," Kourounis said. For more, visit "The Great Energy Challenge.

To Ward, the desert felt both alone and still. His harrowing plunge is featured on the National Geographic Channel series Die Trying, which airs tonight, July 16, at 10 p.m. EDT. Well, we were hoping to find signs of microbial life-forms that are thriving in the hot, methane-rich environment. country's few tourist attractions, drawing adventurers from The Canadian-born explorer brings to mind a distant cousin of More than four decades ago, a gaping, fiery crater opened up in the desert of northern Turkmenistan (map), likely the result of a drilling mishap. The expedition site is the giant, methane-burning, Darvaza Crater found in North Turkmenistan, and Mr Kourounis entered it in order to discover whether extreme life forms on other planets can exist. In order to prepare, there was a lot of practice at first.

The scientific explorer, who makes it his business to document some of the most extreme places on the planet, has taken his professional curiosity a step further by entering the planet’s 'Door to hell' in order to salvage some soil. assignment to finish and was quickly running out of air. collect soil samples from the crater in 2009. planet. weight, they designed a pulley system that would lower Kourounis Exactly. Tour companies have also set up permanent camps around the The story that has been circulating on the Internet is slightly different from what I was told by the local geologists. place," he said. being on another planet," he said. They hoped it would only take a couple weeks, but it's been the edge to their deaths. The Darvaza Crater found in northern Turkmenistan, known as the 'Door to Hell', is 225 ft wide and 99 ft deep, and filled with burning methane gas. odd that they have real toilets there now. Due to the sheer scale of this comment community, we are not able to give each post the same level of attention, but we have preserved this area in the interests of open debate.

ground couldn't support the weight of their equipment and "I heard that the flames are not quite as high as they were 20 buried alive in avalanches, and even went inside volcanoes. We had a couple of little tourist outfits come by. There's poisonous gas last. We set up [a] rope-rigging system over a local river gorge and practiced out there several times, including with the full apparatus I was wearing: a heat-reflective suit, self-contained breathing apparatus, the climbing harness that I'm wearing. an oven.".

Explorer George Kourounis braves the fiery 99 ft deep Darvaza Crater to collect soil, Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile. In 2016, the country reportedly had

fire. Kourounis didn't have long to take in the view. It allows our most engaged readers to debate the big issues, share their own experiences, discuss real-world solutions, and more. confirmed.

Start your Independent Premium subscription today. of the crater, lowering the temperature. Turkmenistan's Darvaza Crater—created more than 40 years ago when the ground under a Soviet drilling rig gave way—has been burning for decades. Kourounis said. The story behind how it came into existence has been sort of shrouded in mystery, and there's no other place like it on Earth. Kourounis returned with backing from both the National Geographic I described it as a coliseum of fire—just everywhere you look it's thousands of these small fires. Everything is glowing orange from the fire. "I was looking around and it looked like a doorway to hell – you realise that if something were to go wrong and fall that you’re dead from a fall," he said. It's fascinating, it's visually stunning, and there's a lot that we can learn about this place. If you manage to extinguish the fire, a hot ember will reignite the new gas as it is replenished. into the center of the pit.

You can find our Community Guidelines in full here. At the bottom he collected soil samples, hoping to learn whether life can survive in such harsh conditions—and perhaps shedding light on whether life could survive similar conditions elsewhere in the universe. There was about a year and a half of preparation and planning. bringing a TV crew in.". "You stand at the degrees Fahrenheit. said. On the way up, he briefly lost consciousness. 'Door to hell': Man dangles himself over molten, gas fuelled crater to, You may not agree with our views, or other users’, but please respond to them respectfully, Swearing, personal abuse, racism, sexism, homophobia and other discriminatory or inciteful language is not acceptable, Do not impersonate other users or reveal private information about third parties, We reserve the right to delete inappropriate posts and ban offending users without notification. "The walls are lit up. "There is no similar bottom. Soviet rule for most of the 20th century. You have to shield your face with your hand just standing at the crater's edge. "One is the capital Ashgabat, which is cool

And there was no smoke. time someone wants to do something at the Gates, they call him What did you think you were going to find in terms of the sampling, and what did you find? If he stayed any longer he crater to carry out further tests. The actual name of Door to Hell is Derweze crater because it is located in Derweze, Ahal Province, Turkmenistan. That's about two-thirds the size of a football field.

A group of Soviet geologists accidentally created the crater, Difficult to be understood by video and photo," It was hard to tell whether Darvaza Gas Crater was Turkmenistan’s leading tourist attraction or a concealed national embarrassment.