Real Sci-Fi

We’re all used to seeing incredible sci-fi animals and environments on tv, but they are usually ambiented in Earth-like worlds with Earth–like conditions, producing animals and fauna that… well… looks like Earthlings. NASA and SETI decided to try creating two worlds based off science… not science fiction.

Blue Moon
Oxygen levels on Blue Moon are four times higher than on Earth; carbon dioxide levels are 30 times higher. As a result, animals with supercharged muscular strength rule the skies, and plant growth is rampant. Frequent electrical storms ignite fires in the dense, interconnected pagoda tree forests, and massive winged creatures glide through the thick atmosphere on oceanlike currents.

Balloon Plant: A cluster of sacs at the base of the plant’s large bladder convert atmospheric moisture to hydrogen gas, which keeps the balloon plant aloft. The outer membrane is photosynthetic, and large groups of the plants grow in the sunny clearings left by forest fires.

While looking at the pictures and descriptions really makes me want to see them in use in some movie, they also made me think of Nausicaa. Also, the Mudpod looks like the ancestor of Jar Jar Binks. More about the two worlds and pictures of the animals they created for them in the Wired news.