But the real truth is that alien life on other planets could be even stranger than floating balloons or amorphous organisms ...

These creatures are so fragile that the moment they are pulled out from the water, they collapse and disappear.

British beaches have all the usual suspects like shells, seaweed, and maybe the odd crab scuttling for cover. But look a little closer, and the shoreline starts to feel more like another planet.

Socotra Island has been called the most alien-looking place on Earth, and with good reason. Sitting off the coast of Yemen in the Arabian Sea, it’s home to plants and landscapes found nowhere else.