NASA's Unexplained Files (2012–…): Season 4, Episode 4 - NASA's Unexplained Files - full transcript
Astronomers detect a potentially habitable planet tantalizingly close to Earth. A chance discovery at NASA reveals a top secret military space program. The Apollo missions bring back ...
NASA's MISSION
IS TO EXPLORE THE UNKNOWN.
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE UNIVERSE
IS A TINY FRACTION
OF WHAT'S ACTUALLY OUT THERE.
IN THE SEARCH FOR ANSWERS,
IT LAUNCHES ITS SCIENTISTS
INTO SPACE,
ITS CRAFT BEYOND THE LIMITS
OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM.
WE HAVE NO IDEA
WHAT'S OUT THERE.
THERE MIGHT BE DANGERS
LURKING IN THE DARKNESS.
WE RUN ACROSS MORE MYSTERIES
THAN DISCOVERIES.
WE DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S
GONNA THROW AT US NEXT.
AN ASTRONAUT
BATTLES A RAGING FIRE...
200 MILES ABOVE THE EARTH.
RIGHT THERE, I SAY,
"WE HAVE TO GET THAT FIRE OUT,
OR WE'RE GONNA LOSE OUR LIVES,
AND WE'RE GONNA LOSE
THIS SPACE STATION."
STRANGE LIGHTS
IN THE SKIES ABOVE CHINA.
THIS WAS OBVIOUSLY NOT
NATURALLY OCCURRING.
NO ONE REALLY KNEW
WHAT WAS GOING ON.
AND A CLASSIFIED
AIR FORCE PROGRAM
TO PUT SPIES IN SPACE.
IT SOUNDS LIKE
A CRAZY CONSPIRACY THEORY.
BUT IT'S REAL.
THESE ARE
NASA's UNEXPLAINED FILES.
NASA's Unexplained Files - SEASON 4
EP - 4 - The Earth Next Door
Subtitles Diego Moraes
1995.
FOUR YEARS AFTER
THE FALL OF THE U.S.S.R.,
NASA DECIDES TO SEND
ITS ASTRONAUTS TO TRAIN
ON RUSSIA'S MIR SPACE STATION.
NASA, OF COURSE, UNDERSTANDS
PERFECTLY THAT MIR
IS VERY IMPORTANT
AS A FIRST STEP
TOWARD THE INTERNATIONAL
SPACE STATION.
DUE TO THE HISTORY BETWEEN
THE TWO COLD WAR RIVALS,
THE MISSIONS
ARE UNDER INTENSE PRESSURE.
THE PUBLIC AND THE CONGRESS
ARE VERY SKEPTICAL ABOUT
COOPERATION WITH THE RUSSIANS.
COLD WAR, OF COURSE, IS STILL
IN THE MEMORY OF MANY PEOPLE.
ONE OF THE ASTRONAUTS
CHOSEN TO WORK ON MIR
IS JERRY LINENGER.
IN FEBRUARY 1997,
HE IS JOINED
BY TWO RUSSIAN COSMONAUTS
AND A GERMAN.
SO, WE'RE ALL JUST
SITTING AROUND, EATIN' DINNER.
I GRAB SOME DEHYDRATED BORSCHT,
DEPART,
GO TO DO SOME WORK
IN A DIFFERENT MODULE.
AT 10:35 P.M...
...THE MIR SPACE STATION'S
MASTER ALARM SUDDENLY GOES OFF.
MASTER ALARM MEANS YOU'RE
HAVIN' A REALLY BAD DAY IN SPACE.
VASILI TSIBLIYEV COMES FLYING
FAST AROUND THE CORNER.
I SAID, "IS IT SERIOUS?"
AND HE SAID, "YES, VERY.
FIRE."
WE'VE GOT A FLAME COMIN' OUT
3 OR 4 FEET IN LENGTH,
BLOWTORCH-LIKE IN INTENSITY,
SPARKS FLYIN' OFF THE END OF IT,
COMIN' OUT
OF AN OXYGEN CANISTER.
WITHIN SECONDS,
THE WHOLE MODULE
FILLS WITH TOXIC FUMES.
I GRAB THE RESPIRATOR
OFF THE WALL,
FULL RUBBER MASK OVER MY HEAD,
ACTIVATE THE OXYGEN CANISTER,
BREATHE IN.
AND I GET NOTHING.
THE RESPIRATOR HAS FAILED.
LINENGER HAS TO SURVIVE
ON THE OXYGEN STORED
IN HIS BLOOD
UNTIL HE CAN GET TO ANOTHER.
I THINK TO MYSELF,
"GOT TO GET
TO THAT NEXT RESPIRATOR."
AND TO BE HONEST WITH YOU,
I WASN'T SURE
WHERE THAT NEXT RESPIRATOR WAS.
THE SUPERHEATED
FLAME BEGINS TO EAT
INTO THE STRUCTURE
OF THE SPACE STATION.
I SEE WHAT LOOKS TO BE A BALL
OF WAX BEING SPLATTERED
AGAINST THE FAR BULKHEADS.
REALIZE IT'S NOT BALLS OF WAX.
IT IS MOLTEN METAL.
THIS THING IS FIRING
MOLTEN METAL ACROSS.
GONNA PIERCE THE HULL.
RIGHT THERE, I SAY,
"WE HAVE TO GET THAT FIRE OUT,
OR WE'RE GONNA LOSE OUR LIVES,
AND WE'RE GONNA LOSE
THIS SPACE STATION."
THINKIN' ABOUT MY SON,
I YELLED OUT, "GOODBYE, JOHN.
YOU KNOW, LOOKS LIKE I'M NOT
GONNA BE MAKIN' IT BACK."
SAID GOODBYE TO MY WIFE.
STARTIN' TO FEEL AS
IF I'M SORT OF UNDERWATER.
STARTIN' TO GET A LITTLE FUZZY
PERIPHERAL VISION
FROM NEEDIN' OXYGEN.
BLINDED BY SMOKE,
LINENGER HAS TO FEEL HIS WAY
TO A WORKING RESPIRATOR.
BREATHE IN, AND I GET OXYGEN.
HYPERVENTILATE
THE NEXT 30, 40 SECONDS.
GET MY BLOOD-OXYGEN LEVEL
BACK UP.
AND I JUST SCREAM,
"WE'RE GONNA GET THAT FIRE OUT.
GONNA SEE MY BOY AGAIN."
LINENGER
AND VALERY KORZUN ATTEMPT
TO TACKLE THE BLAZE
WITH MIR'S FIRE EXTINGUISHERS.
THAT FLAME HAS INTENSITY.
EXHAUST
THREE FIRE EXTINGUISHERS.
I'M FINALLY HEADIN' IN THERE
WITH A FOURTH FIRE EXTINGUISHER.
AND THEN VASILI JUST SCREAMS,
"JERRY, FIRE'S OUT."
ADRENALINE REALLY FLOWIN'.
BIG SIGH OF RELIEF
WHEN THAT FLAME WAS OUT.
IT'S THE WORST FIRE TO
EVER HAPPEN IN EARTH'S ORBIT.
THE CREW MANAGES
TO FILM THE AFTERMATH.
BUT KEY INFORMATION ABOUT
THE BLAZE IS WITHHELD FROM NASA.
ALL COMMUNICATION IS VIA MISSION CONTROL,
MOSCOW.
THERE WAS
NO DIRECT COMMUNICATION
TO ANYONE DOWN AT NASA.
SO WE HAD
TO INDIRECTLY KIND OF HINT
AT THE SERIOUSNESS
OF WHAT'S GOIN' ON.
THE RUSSIAN
SPACE AGENCY TELLS NASA
THE FIRE WAS A MINOR INCIDENT,
LASTING JUST 90 SECONDS.
ON THE RUSSIAN SIDE,
THERE IS A TENDENCY
TO MAKE THIS ACCIDENT SOUND
AND LOOK NOT AS DANGEROUS
AND TERRIBLE
AS IT REALLY IS.
THE FOLLOWING DAY,
THE RUSSIAN VERSION
OF EVENTS BEGINS TO UNRAVEL.
WHEN TONY SANG,
THE U.S. OPERATIONS LEADER
IN MOSCOW, ARRIVES AT WORK,
HE IS KEPT IN THE DARK
FOR A WHILE.
IT'S NOT UNTIL HE OVERHEARS
A CONVERSATION IN RUSSIAN
THAT HE REALIZES THE FULL
EXTENT OF THE PROBLEM
AND THE FIRE THAT HAS OCCURRED.
TO GET THE TRUTH TO EARTH,
LINENGER HAS TO ASK
A DEPARTING COSMONAUT
TO SMUGGLE A LETTER TO HIS WIFE.
WE HAD VALERY
TAKE ONE OF MY NOTES
AND STUFF IT IN A SPACE SUIT,
AND KIND OF TOLD HER
THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE FIRE.
AND IT DESCRIBES
THE ENTIRE SITUATION,
INCLUDING THE FACT THAT
THE FIRE LASTS 14 MINUTES.
NOT THE SECONDS
THAT THE RUSSIANS CLAIM.
SINCE 1995, NASA HAS
INVESTED $400 MILLION IN MIR.
WHEN THE U.S. GOVERNMENT HEARS
ABOUT THE RUSSIAN COVER-UP,
THEY DEMAND A FULL INQUIRY
INTO SAFETY LEVELS
ONBOARD THE SPACE STATION.
NASA APPOINTS
SPECIAL AGENT JOE GUTHEINZ
TO LEAD THE INVESTIGATION.
CONGRESS WANTS ANSWERS.
THERE'S A LOT OF MONEY
INVOLVED IN THE MIR.
AND THERE'S RISK
THAT MAY BE UNACCEPTABLE.
GUTHEINZ UNCOVERS EVIDENCE
OF SEVERAL PREVIOUS
SAFETY BREACHES ON MIR.
THE RUSSIANS WERE NOT
BEING HONEST WITH US.
THEY WEREN'T TELLING US
ABOUT PRIOR FIRES.
NASA DIDN'T KNOW THAT THERE WAS
A FIRE ON OCTOBER 15, 1994,
INVOLVING THE SAME ISSUE.
NASA's FINANCIAL STAKE IN MIR
MEANS IT STORES COPIES OF
ALL MISSION SAFETY BRIEFINGS
AT JOHNSON SPACE CENTER.
BUT WHEN GUTHEINZ TRIES
TO ACCESS THIS EVIDENCE,
HE IS TOLD
IT IS NO LONGER THERE.
ON MARCH 14th, IT WAS DETERMINED
THAT 37 TAPES WERE MISSING.
THESE TAPES
WERE A NO-HOLDS-BACK ACCOUNT
ABOUT THE DISHONESTY
OF THE RUSSIANS,
THE DANGERS OF THE FIRE.
WITH KEY EVIDENCE MISSING,
GUTHEINZ HAS TO FIND ANOTHER
WAY TO GET TO THE TRUTH.
WHAT I NEED TO DO
IS TALK TO THE INDIVIDUALS
AND FIND OUT WHAT WAS SAID.
I WAS ABLE
TO RECONSTRUCT THE TAPES...
THE INCONVENIENT TRUTH
ABOUT HOW DANGEROUS
THE MIR ACTUALLY WAS.
THE EVIDENCE SUGGESTS
THE RUSSIAN SPACE AGENCY
HAS BEEN SYSTEMATICALLY
COVERING UP SAFETY ISSUES ON MIR.
THIS WAS THEIR CASH COW.
THE RUSSIANS KNEW THAT,
IF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC KNEW
HOW DANGEROUS THE MIR WAS,
THEY COULD NOT ENDORSE OUR
CONTINUED PRESENCE ON THE MIR.
THE INQUIRY FOLLOWING THE FIRE
TRACES THE INCIDENT
TO A FAULTY OXYGEN CANISTER.
A COMPREHENSIVE INVESTIGATION
REVEALS THAT THE FIRE WAS
CAUSED BY A PIECE OF LATEX GLOVE
CAUGHT IN THE OXYGEN CANISTER.
HOW IT GOT THERE, NOBODY KNOWS.
THE CREW ONLY LIVED
BECAUSE OF QUICK,
DECISIVE ACTION BY LINENGER
AND HIS RUSSIAN CREWMATES.
IT'S A MATTER OF SPLIT SECONDS,
LIFE AND DEATH.
YOU MAKE A WRONG DECISION,
THAT CAN GET YOU FURTHER DOWN
A SPIRAL
YOU DON'T WANT TO GO DOWN.
AMERICA'S
PARTNERSHIP WITH RUSSIA
SURVIVED THE INCIDENT.
AND MIR WENT ON
TO LAY THE FOUNDATIONS
FOR THE INTERNATIONAL
SPACE STATION.
BUT SOME SAY DISTRUST
STILL LINGERS
BETWEEN THE FORMER
COLD WAR ENEMIES.
I THINK IT IS A MIRACLE
THAT THE CREW SURVIVED.
BUT IT'S AN EVEN BIGGER MIRACLE
THAT THE SPACE STATION
DID NOT HAVE TO BE ABANDONED.
STILL TO COME,
ASTRONOMERS DISCOVER
A STRANGE NEW WORLD
CLOSE TO EARTH.
THE SUN WOULD NEVER RISE.
IT WOULD NEVER SET.
HERE IS WHERE
ALL THE ACTION WOULD BE.
IN GALACTIC TERMS, THIS PLANET
IS VIRTUALLY ON OUR DOORSTEP.
NASA DISCOVERS THREE
POTENTIALLY HABITABLE PLANETS
TANTALIZINGLY CLOSE TO EARTH.
WE'VE DISCOVERED POTENTIALLY
BUT NEVER ONE THIS CLOSE.
IN GALACTIC TERMS, THIS PLANET
IS VIRTUALLY ON OUR DOORSTEP.
BUT IF THERE IS LIFE
ON THESE WORLDS,
IT WILL TAKE STRANGE,
HORRIFYING FORMS.
THE ORGANISMS WOULD BE
HIGHLY ADAPTIVE.
THEY'D BE ABLE TO SEE
INFRARED SIGNATURES,
ESPECIALLY IF THEY'RE HUNTERS.
THE HARPS TELESCOPE
AT LA SILLA, CHILE,
SEARCHES THE COSMOS FOR
POTENTIALLY HABITABLE PLANETS.
ON DECEMBER 16, 2015,
ASTRONOMERS
NOTICE AN UNUSUAL PATTERN IN
THE LIGHT COMING FROM A STAR
IN THE OPHIUCHUS CONSTELLATION.
JUST LIKE EVERY ITEM
IN A GROCERY STORE
HAS A BAR CODE
THAT UNIQUELY IDENTIFIES IT,
STARS HAVE A BAR CODE
IN THEIR LIGHT.
THIS BAR CODE CAN ALLOW US
TO DISCOVER UNSEEN OBJECTS.
ASTRONOMERS SUSPECT
THAT THE HARPS TELESCOPE
HAS DISCOVERED A NEW WORLD.
TO VERIFY THE DISCOVERY,
THEY MEASURE
TINY MOVEMENTS OF THE STAR,
KNOWN AS THE DOPPLER SHIFT.
WHEN WE TALK ABOUT MEASURING
THE DOPPLER SHIFT OF A STAR,
WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
REALLY IS A PLANET
PULLING ON THE STAR
AS IT ORBITS,
AND THE STAR MOVES
BACK AND FORTH.
BIGGER THE PLANET, THE MORE
THAT STAR IS GOING TO MOVE.
THE MEASUREMENTS
REVEAL SOMETHING INTRIGUING.
THE STAR'S DOPPLER SHIFT
SHOWS IT IS BEING PULLED,
NOT BY ONE PLANET, BUT BY THREE.
FINDING ONE
PLANET ORBITING A DISTANT
BUT FINDING THREE?
THAT'S TRULY ASTOUNDING,
BECAUSE NOW YOUR CHANCES
OF FINDING LIFE
ARE THREE TIMES GREATER
THAN THEY WERE BEFORE.
EXCITEMENT BUILDS
WHEN THE TEAM DISCOVERS
THAT ONE OF THE PLANETS
IS THE RIGHT DISTANCE
FROM THE STAR TO SUPPORT LIFE.
THEY NAME IT WOLF 1061C.
IT TURNS OUT
THAT ONE OF THESE PLANETS
IS IN THE HABITABLE ZONE,
THE GOLDILOCKS ZONE.
AND THAT'S WHAT MAKES
THIS PARTICULAR DISCOVERY
SO EXCITING, FROM THE PROSPECT
OF FINDING LIFE.
THE WORLD
BEARS ALL THE HALLMARKS
OF A PLANET CAPABLE
OF SUPPORTING LIFE.
BUT THERE IS SOMETHING STRANGE
ABOUT IT...
IT DOESN'T SPIN.
THAT MEANS
THAT ONE SIDE OF THE PLANET
WILL GET REALLY HOT...
THE SIDE THAT'S FACING THE STAR.
AND THE OTHER SIDE OF THE
PLANET WILL BE REALLY COLD.
YOU'D HAVE VERY STRONG WINDS
THAT ARE BLOWING
FROM THE HOTTER
TO THE COOLER SIDE.
THERE WOULD BE TORNADOES.
THERE WOULD BE WINDSTORMS
WHIPPING AROUND.
AND IT WOULD BE VERY VIOLENT.
THE STAR HAS
A MASSIVE GRAVITATIONAL FORCE,
WHICH HAS STOPPED
THE PLANET FROM SPINNING.
SCIENTISTS CALL THE PHENOMENON
TIDAL LOCKING.
TO BE TIDALLY LOCKED,
ONE SIDE OF THE PLANET
ALWAYS FACES THE STAR,
AND ONE SIDE ALWAYS FACES
AWAY INTO DEEP OUTER SPACE.
SAME SITUATION WITH THE MOON
FACING THE EARTH.
THE PLANET'S
LIGHT SIDE IS TOO HOT
FOR EVEN THE TOUGHEST
LIFE-FORMS TO SURVIVE.
THE DARK SIDE
IS IMPOSSIBLY COLD.
BUT THERE IS ONE SLIM AREA
OF THIS WORLD
WHERE LIFE IS POSSIBLE.
SCIENTISTS CALL IT
THE TWILIGHT ZONE.
IT'S LIKE ALWAYS BEING AT
DAWN OR ALWAYS BEING AT DUSK.
SO THERE MIGHT BE TEMPERATURES
THAT ARE SUITABLE FOR LIFE.
THIS TWILIGHT ZONE AREA,
THE SKY WOULD BE A PEACHY COLOR.
THE SUN WOULD NEVER RISE.
IT WOULD NEVER SET.
AND YET HERE IS WHERE
ALL THE ACTION WOULD BE.
YOU COULD IMAGINE THAT LIFE
WOULD EVOLVE IN THIS POSITION
OF PERMANENT SUNRISE
AND PERMANENT SUNSET.
LIFE IN THE TWILIGHT
ZONE WOULD HAVE TO ADAPT
TO STRANGE CONDITIONS.
CREATURES HERE WOULD
ROAM INTO THE DAYLIGHT SIDE.
THEY WOULD ROAM
INTO THE NIGHT SIDE.
SO THEY WOULD BE
ADAPTED FOR BOTH.
INTO THE NIGHT SIDE,
THEY'D PROBABLY BE ABLE
TO PROTECT THEMSELVES
FROM THE COLD.
THEY'D BE ABLE TO SEE
INFRARED SIGNATURES
OF CREATURES.
AS THESE CREATURES
MOVED BACK AND FORTH,
THEY WOULD MEET
VIOLENT WEATHER PATTERNS
AS STORMS RIPPED THROUGH
THE TWILIGHT ZONE.
BUT THIS WOULD BE THE AREA
THAT WE WOULD LAND A PROBE FIRST
IF WE WERE GOING
TO LOOK FOR LIFE.
THE PLANET'S POWERFUL GRAVITY
COULD HAVE A DRAMATIC EFFECT
ON LIVING CREATURES.
WOLF 1061C
IS MORE THAN FOUR TIMES
MORE MASSIVE THAN THE EARTH.
THAT MEANS THAT THE GRAVITY
IS GONNA BE TWICE AS STRONG.
IF THERE ARE CREATURES
THAT CAN WALK AROUND,
THEY PROBABLY ARE VERY SHORT
AND HAVE BIG, FAT LEGS TO MOVE
AROUND UNDER THAT HIGH GRAVITY.
THE TWILIGHT WORLD IS ONLY ONE
OF MANY
POTENTIALLY HABITABLE PLANETS
SO FAR DISCOVERED
BY NASA TELESCOPES.
BUT THERE IS ONE THING THAT
MAKES THIS PLANET STAND OUT...
THE WOLF STAR SYSTEM IS
ONE OF THE CLOSEST TO EARTH.
WE'VE DISCOVERED OTHER
POTENTIALLY HABITABLE PLAN
BUT THIS ONE'S REALLY CLOSE.
IT'S PRACTICALLY
IN OUR BACKYARD.
IT'S JUST UNDER
14 LIGHT-YEARS AWAY.
TREMENDOUSLY EXCITING TO KNOW
THAT, NOT TOO FAR AWAY,
THERE IS A PLANET
THAT COULD HAVE LIFE ON IT.
THE TWILIGHT ZONE IS REAL.
AND IT'S WAITING FOR US.
I DON'T KNOW
HOW LONG IT'S GONNA TAKE.
BUT I CAN JUST ABOUT
GUARANTEE YOU THAT, SOMEDAY,
A MISSION FROM EARTH
WILL LAND ON 1061C.
STILL TO COME,
BIZARRE LIGHTS WITNESSED
BY THOUSANDS
IN THE SKIES ABOVE CHINA.
THIS WAS OBVIOUSLY NOT
NATURALLY OCCURRING.
IS THERE MORE GOING ON
THAN WHAT WE WERE BEING TOLD?
THE CHINESE ARE SECRETIVE,
AND THAT ALONE IS SIGNIFICANT.
HEY!
STRANGE LIGHTS APPEAR
IN THE SKIES ABOVE CHINA.
WAS THERE MORE HERE GOING ON
THAN WHAT WE WERE BEING TOLD?
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE OFFICIALS
INVESTIGATE
THE MYSTERY SIGHTING.
NEWS OUTLETS
ARE REPORTING EVIDENCE
OF EXTRATERRESTRIAL ACTIVITY.
THIS STRANGE SPIRAL
WAS LIKE A LIVING THING.
SOUTHERN CHINA.
WITNESSES SEE
STRANGE SHAPES AND COLORS
IN THE SICHUAN PROVINCE SKIES.
HUNDREDS, THOUSANDS,
POSSIBLY EVEN MILLIONS
OF POTENTIAL WITNESSES
SAW THIS THING...
A STRANGE SHAPE
MOVING IN A VERY WEIRD,
BIZARRE WAY IN THE SKY.
THIS STRANGE SPIRAL
WAS LIKE A LIVING THING.
THIS WAS OBVIOUSLY NOT
NATURALLY OCCURRING.
IT WASN'T JUST CLOUDS.
IT WAS SOMETHING ELSE.
AND NO ONE REALLY KNEW
WHAT WAS GOING ON.
WHEN IMAGES OF THE BIZARRE
EVENT ARE POSTED ONLINE,
THEY IMMEDIATELY GO VIRAL.
THE INTERNET WAS BUZZING
WITH EXCITEMENT ABOUT THIS.
IS THIS UFOs?
SOME CHINESE NEWS
OUTLETS REPORT THE INCIDENT
AS POSSIBLE EVIDENCE
OF EXTRATERRESTRIAL ACTIVITY.
THE SORTS OF MEDIA OUTLETS
COMING OUT WITH THESE STORIES,
IT'S NOT THE CHINESE EQUIVALENT
OF THE WEEKLY WORLD NEWS
OR THE NATIONAL ENQUIRER.
THESE ARE
REPUTABLE MEDIA OUTLETS.
IN CHINA,
BELIEF IN ALIEN VISITORS
IS PRACTICALLY MAINSTREAM.
FAR MORE LIKELY
THAT THE CHINESE STORIES
OF UFOs ARE A SMOKE SCREEN
DESIGNED TO COVER
THE REAL TRUTH HERE.
IN RESPONSE
TO MOUNTING SPECULATION,
CHINESE OFFICIALS CLAIM
THE BIZARRE SHAPES
ARE THE AFTEREFFECTS
OF A ROCKET LAUNCH
FOR A WEATHER SATELLITE.
THE CHINESE SPACE AGENCY
RELEASES A STATEMENT
SAYING THAT THE ROCKET LAUNCH
WAS JUST PART OF A ROUTINE
UPPER-ATMOSPHERIC MISSION.
JUST GONNA SAMPLE THINGS
LIKE COSMIC RADIATION,
ULTRAVIOLET LIGHTS.
NOTHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY.
U.S. MILITARY OFFICIALS
TRACK AND ANALYZE LAUNCH DATA.
WHAT THEY DISCOVER ALARMS THEM.
THE U.S. GOVERNMENT SAID
THIS PARTICULAR LAUNCH
WENT 20,000 MILES
OR PERHAPS EVEN HIGHER.
TO MANY OF US,
THAT SEEMED UNUSUAL.
THAT WAS NOT THE KIND OF THING
YOU WOULD EXPECT FOR THIS TYPE
OF SCIENTIFIC EXPERIMENT.
A CONVENTIONAL
WEATHER-SATELLITE LAUNCH REACHES
A MAXIMUM ALTITUDE
OF APPROXIMATELY 500 MILES.
THE CHINESE LAUNCH
GOES 40 TIMES HIGHER.
IF IT'S NOT
A SCIENTIFIC ROCKET LAUNCH,
THEN WHAT CAN IT BE?
MILITARY
AND SPACE ANALYST BRIAN WEEDEN
INVESTIGATES THE INCIDENT.
MY FIRST LINE OF INQUIRY
WAS TO LOOK
FOR SATELLITE IMAGERY
OF THE LAUNCH SITE.
AND TO MY SURPRISE,
I FOUND NOT A TYPICAL ROCKET
THAT WAS USED
TO LAUNCH SATELLITES,
BUT, INSTEAD,
I FOUND A MILITARY VEHICLE KNOWN AS A TEL.
IT'S A TRANSPORTER
ERECTOR LAUNCHER.
FINDING A TEL
AT A SPACE-LAUNCH FACILITY,
TO ME, WAS A REALLY
SURPRISING EVENT
BECAUSE IT CLEARLY SIGNALED
A MILITARY INVOLVEMENT.
WHAT'S POTENTIALLY
MORE WORRISOME
IS, THAT ABILITY IS MOBILE.
WEEDEN'S DISCOVERY
OF A MOBILE WEAPONS LAUNCHER
CONFIRMS THE U.S. GOVERNMENT'S
WORST FEARS.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF
DEFENSE ANNOUNCED ITS ANALYSIS
OF THIS LAUNCH
AS BEING INCONSISTENT
WITH A SCIENCE MISSION.
IT LOOKS TO THEM
LIKE IT WAS A TEST
OF AN ANTISATELLITE WEAPON.
IF CHINA HAS DEVELOPED
EFFECTIVE MOBILE
ANTI-SPACE WEAPONRY,
IT COULD ALTER
THE GLOBAL BALANCE OF POWER.
THEY ESSENTIALLY SAY CHINA
IS GETTING READY
TO FIGHT A SPACE WAR.
THEY LOOK AT
THE MISSION PROFILE.
THEY LOOK AT THE TRAJECTORY.
AND THEY SAY THIS IS YET
ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF THE CHINESE
DEVELOPING
AND TESTING THE CAPABILITY
TO SHOOT DOWN SATELLITES.
QUESTIONS ARE ASKED
AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL.
THIS IS RAISED
IN THE U.S. SENATE.
OBSERVERS WORRY THE 2013 LAUNCH
REPRESENTS A MAJOR STEP FORWARD
IN CHINA'S
ANTISATELLITE CAPABILITY.
IT TURNS OUT THAT IT GOES UP
TO A HEIGHT OF 18,000 MILES.
NOW, THAT'S EXACTLY
WHERE THE CROWN JEWELS
OF AMERICA'S
SATELLITE CAPABILITY LIE.
AMERICA'S MOST ADVANCED MILITARY
AND INTELLIGENCE SATELLITES
ARE NOW WITHIN THE RANGE
OF CHINA'S SPACE WEAPON.
IT'S INCREASINGLY THE CASE
THAT SPACE IS THE KEY
TO MILITARY POWER.
THE NEXT WORLD WAR MAY WELL
BEGIN IN OUTER SPACE.
STILL TO COME,
HAS A LONE ASTRONOMER SOLVED ONE
OF THE GREATEST MYSTERIES
IN SPACE SCIENCE?
NOBODY REALLY WANTS
TO SAY, "HEY.
THIS IS A SIGNAL
FROM OUTER SPACE."
THAT'S WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE.
A MYSTERIOUS RADIO SIGNAL
FROM A DISTANT CONSTELLATION
DEFIES EXPLANATION
FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS.
ONE POSSIBILITY IS THAT IT
REALLY WAS A SIGNAL
FROM DEEP SPACE COMING
FROM SOME OTHER SOCIETY.
IT LOOKED AS IF IT WAS
BEING DELIBERATELY SENT.
A LONE SCIENTIST'S
CHANCE ENCOUNTER
INSPIRES A THEORY WHICH MAY
FINALLY SOLVE THE MYSTERY.
AND IF IT'S TRUE, IT WOULD BE
THE DISCOVERY OF A LIFETIME.
AUGUST 15, 1977.
AT 11:16 P.M.,
AN ASTRONOMER
AT OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
DETECTS A STRANGE SIGNAL
COMING FROM THE CONSTELLATION
OF SAGITTARIUS.
WELL, ONE DAY, IN 1977,
THERE WAS SOMETHING
SO INTERESTING
THAT HE WROTE "WOW" NEXT TO IT.
THE "WOW!" SIGNAL,
AS IT'S NOW CALLED,
IS CONSIDERED TO BE ONE
OF THE BEST POTENTIAL
RADIO COMMUNICATIONS
FROM AN ALIEN LIFE-FORM.
THE SIGNAL
IS ON THE PRECISE FREQUENCY
SCIENTISTS PREDICT
EXTRATERRESTRIALS
COULD USE FOR COMMUNICATION.
IT'S CALLED THE HYDROGEN LINE.
THIS FREQUENCY, 1,420 MEGAHERTZ,
THE HYDROGEN LINE, COMES FROM
WHEN YOU'VE ZAPPED HYDROGEN,
YOU'VE GIVEN IT ENERGY.
AND THIS IS THE FREQUENCY
IT SCREAMS AT.
HYDROGEN ACCOUNTS FOR 73%
OF ALL THE MATTER
IN THE UNIVERSE.
SCIENTISTS CAN ENERGIZE
HYDROGEN ATOMS TO MAKE THEM MOVE.
AND WHEN THEY MOVE,
THEY GIVE OFF A FREQUENCY
THAT CAN TRAVEL VAST DISTANCES
THROUGH SPACE.
THE SCIENTISTS BELIEVE
THAT ALIEN RACES
MIGHT USE
THIS PARTICULAR FREQUENCY
BECAUSE IT'S ONE
OF THE MOST ABUNDANT EMITTERS
OF RADIO WAVES IN THE UNIVERSE.
SO IF ANYBODY WAS LOOKING,
THEY MIGHT EXPECT TO SEE SIGNALS
EXACTLY ON THE HYDROGEN LINE.
FOR YEARS,
ASTRONOMERS HAVE SEARCHED
FOR A REPEAT
OF THE "WOW!" SIGNAL.
BUT THEY'VE ONLY HEARD SILENCE.
THEY WENT BACK THE NEXT NIGHT
AND LISTENED... NOTHING.
NEXT MONTH... NOTHING.
YEARS LATER... NOTHING.
THAT DOESN'T MEAN
IT WASN'T E.T. NECESSARILY.
IT COULD BE THAT THEY JUST
SENT US ONE SIGNAL
AND THEN WENT AWAY.
FOR FOUR DECADES,
THE ORIGIN OF THE MYSTERY
SIGNAL HAS DIVIDED OPINION.
IN JULY 2015,
ASTRONOMER ANTONIO PARIS
IS DRIVING HOME FROM WORK
WHEN A REVELATION HITS HIM.
SO, I'M DRIVING ALONG,
LOOKING AT A TRUCK OVERPASSING.
AND I THINK OF A TRUCK
AS AN OBJECT IN SPACE.
AND I SAY TO MYSELF,
"I'LL PROBABLY NEVER
SEE THAT TRUCK AGAIN."
AND THAT'S SORT OF LIKE
THE "WOW!" SIGNAL IS.
MOST SCIENTISTS BELIEVED
THE MYSTERY SIGNAL'S
DISAPPEARANCE WAS PROOF
THAT IT HAD BEEN A RANDOM EVENT.
THE TRUCK MOVING OVER
THE HIGHWAY LEADS PARIS
TO A DIFFERENT THEORY.
THE SIGNAL DIDN'T DISAPPEAR.
IT MOVED.
IT MAY BE THE SIGNAL WASN'T
FROM THE DEPTHS OF SPACE,
BUT FROM SOMETHING
MUCH CLOSER TO US
THAT JUST PASSED IN FRONT
OF THE TELESCOPE,
MADE ITS NOISE,
AND THEN MOVED AWAY.
AND THAT WOULD EXPLAIN
WHY YOU SEE IT ONCE,
AND YOU DON'T SEE IT AGAIN,
'CAUSE, YOU KNOW,
IT JUST PASSED
ACROSS YOUR FIELD OF VIEW.
PARIS' THEORY EXPLAINS
THE SIGNAL'S DISAPPEARANCE,
BUT NOT WHY IT WAS BROADCASTING
ON SUCH A COSMICALLY
SIGNIFICANT WAVELENGTH.
THIS IS A VERY SMALL FREQUENCY,
AND IT'S PROTECTED.
SO HERE ON EARTH,
WE CANNOT USE THAT FREQUENCY.
SO WE HAVE TO DEDUCE
THAT THE SOURCE
HAS TO BE
EXTRATERRESTRIAL IN NATURE.
WHATEVER'S PRODUCING THIS SIGNAL
MUST EITHER HAVE
DELIBERATELY CHOSEN
THIS PARTICULAR WAVELENGTH
OR BE PRODUCING
LARGE QUANTITIES OF HYDROGEN.
SOME SUGGEST
THAT THE MYSTERY SOURCE
COULD SIMPLY BE A COMET.
COMETS HAVE A LOT
OF HYDROGEN GAS.
WHEN EXCITED BY SUNLIGHT,
THEY RADIATE ENERGY
IN EXACTLY THE SAME WAVELENGTH
AS THAT RADIO TELESCOPE
WAS MONITORING.
PARIS SEARCHES NASA
COMET DATABASES FROM 1977.
WHEN HE DOES, HE DISCOVERS
TWO POSSIBLE SUSPECTS
FOR THE MYSTERY SIGNAL.
I REVISITED WHAT I CALL
THE CRIME SCENE.
AND I FOUND TWO COMETS THAT
WERE IN THE VERY SAME AREA,
SAME DATE, SAME TIME
THAT THE "WOW!" SIGNAL
WAS DETECTED.
PARIS' THEORY
SEEMS LIKE A SMOKING GUN.
BUT THE DATA SUGGESTS
WHATEVER PRODUCED
THE "WOW!" SIGNAL
WAS NO ORDINARY COMET.
THE COMET THEORY
FIT SOME OF THE FACTS.
BUT WHAT ARE THE ODDS
THAT A COMET COULD PRODUCE
A RADIO SIGNAL OF THAT STRENGTH?
NORMALLY, THE HYDROGEN CLOUD
AROUND A COMET NUCLEUS
IS VERY FAINT.
SO THERE'S NO NATURAL WAY
TO HAVE THIS MUCH HYDROGEN
UNLESS SOMEHOW THERE WAS
SOME UNUSUAL ACTIVITY
AT THE SURFACE OF THE COMET.
WHAT ACTIVITY COULD CAUSE
A SPIKE IN THE HYDROGEN
AROUND A COMET?
SOME SPECULATE IT COULD BE
DUE TO MINING THE COMET'S CORE.
WHEN WE TAKE TO SPACE AND
BEGIN INDUSTRIALIZING SPACE
AND MINING COMETS,
THAT'S THE KIND OF SIGNAL
THAT WE MIGHT EXPECT TO EMIT.
COMETS ARE REALLY
A VALUABLE RESOURCE
FOR NATURAL MATERIALS.
ANY ALIEN CIVILIZATION
WOULD WANT TO EXPLOIT THEM
AS THEY MOVED FARTHER
INTO OUTER SPACE.
NASA AND PRIVATE CORPORATIONS
ARE CURRENTLY DEVELOPING
THE TECHNOLOGY TO LAND ON
AND MINE COMETS
FOR THEIR RESOURCES.
THE IDEA OF LANDING ON A COMET
AND MINING IT
IS NOT INCONCEIVABLE.
THE ROSETTA MISSION
JUST LANDED ON A COMET.
AND WE KNOW WE HAVE
THE TECHNOLOGY
AND THE CAPABILITIES TO DO THIS.
TO DATE,
SCIENTISTS AND ASTRONOMERS
HAVE OBSERVED
MORE THAN 3,000 COMETS.
NOT ONE HAS EMITTED ANYTHING
CLOSE TO THE "WOW!" SIGNAL.
IF IT'S NOT A COMET,
WE'RE BACK TO SQUARE ONE.
WHAT WAS THE CAUSE
OF THE "WOW!" SIGNAL?
NOBODY REALLY
WANTS TO SAY, "HEY.
THIS IS A SIGNAL
FROM OUTER SPACE."
BUT ODDLY ENOUGH,
THAT'S WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE.
STILL TO COME,
A MYSTERIOUS SPACE SUIT LEADS
TO EVIDENCE OF A SECRET
SPY STATION IN SPACE.
SPIES IN ORBIT
WHERE THEY CAN'T BE TOUCHED.
SO, WHAT IS THIS...
A JAMES BOND SPACE SUIT?
A NASA SPECIAL AGENT
DISCOVERS A SECRET ROOM
AT THE CAPE CANAVERAL
LAUNCH COMPLEX.
EVERYTHING IN THIS ROOM
IS DESTROYED
EXCEPT FOR TWO BLUE SPACE
SUITS THAT ARE IN PRISTINE CONDITION.
THE DISCOVERY LEADS TO EVIDENCE
OF A SECRET PENTAGON PROGRAM
TO PUT SPIES IN SPACE.
SPIES IN ORBIT
WHERE THEY CAN'T BE TOUCHED.
IT SOUNDS LIKE
A CRAZY CONSPIRACY THEORY.
BUT IT'S REAL.
DECEMBER 2004.
NASA SPECIAL AGENT DAN OAKLAND
AND SECURITY MANAGER
HENRY BUTLER
EXPLORE A REMOTE CORNER
OF A LAUNCH COMPLEX
AT CAPE CANAVERAL.
YOU MIGHT THINK
THAT A NASA LAUNCH FACILITY
IS PERFECTLY ORGANIZED
WITH EVERYTHING IN ITS PLACE.
BUT THERE ARE MILES
AND MILES OF CORRIDORS.
YOU COULD LOSE AN ARMY
INSIDE THERE.
NOBODY KNOWS WHAT GOES ON
BEHIND THOSE CLOSED DOORS.
DOWN ONE CORRIDOR,
THEY DISCOVER
AN UNKNOWN LOCKED ROOM.
A LOCKED ROOM
THAT NOBODY KNOWS ABOUT
IN THE MIDDLE OF ONE
OF NASA's MOST IMPORTANT
LAUNCH COMPLEXES...
THAT'S KIND OF STRANGE.
THE LOCK IS SO OLD THAT OAKLAND
AND BUTLER HAVE TO USE
A MASTER KEY TO OPEN IT.
THEY FINALLY FIND
A WAY INTO THIS ROOM.
AND IT'S EMPTY, DARK.
RATS, DUST.
BUT THERE IS ONE BOX.
AND IT CONTAINS TWO
PRISTINE-CONDITION SPACE SUITS.
THE SUITS' DESIGN
IS SIMILAR TO THOSE WORN
BY ASTRONAUTS DURING THE 1960s.
BUT KEY DETAILS DIFFER.
THEY'RE BLUE,
WHICH WAS NOT ACTUALLY USED
IN THE U.S. SPACE PROGRAM.
THEY'RE NOT FROM MERCURY.
THEY'RE NOT FROM GEMINI.
AND THEY'RE DEFINITELY NOT
FROM APOLLO.
THE SUITS' NUMBERING
ALSO DOES NOT MATCH
WITH ANY KNOWN NASA PROGRAM.
THESE SPACE SUITS
ONLY HAVE TWO CODES
ON THEM... 007 AND 008.
SO, WHAT IS THIS...
A JAMES BOND SPACE SUIT?
THE DISCOVERY
COMES TO THE ATTENTION
OF INTELLIGENCE JOURNALIST
JAMES BAMFORD.
HE SUSPECTS THE SUITS
ARE EVIDENCE
OF A SECRET SPACE MISSION.
SUIT 008 GIVES HIM
A POTENTIAL LEAD.
ONE OF THEM HAD A NUMBER 008
ON THE CHEST,
ALONG WITH THE NAME "LAWYER."
BAMFORD DISCOVERS THAT
LAWYER IS RICHARD E. LAWYER.
BUT HE IS NOT AN ASTRONAUT.
HE'S ACTUALLY
AN AIR FORCE PILOT.
WHAT'S AN AIR FORCE PILOT
DOING HAVING A BLUE SPACE SUIT
IN A SECRET ROOM
THAT NOBODY KNOWS EXISTS?
WHAT'S GOING ON?
PENTAGON DOCUMENTS
REVEAL TO BAMFORD
THE TRUE PURPOSE OF
LAWYER'S MYSTERIOUS BLUE SUIT.
BAMFORD FINDS
THAT RICHARD E. LAWYER
WAS ONE OF 17 AIR FORCE PILOTS
EARMARKED TO FLY IN SPACE
UNDER THE SECRET
U.S. AIR FORCE SPACE PROGRAM.
DECLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS REVEAL
THE FIRST MILITARY SPACE PROGRAM
WAS A SATELLITE PROJECT
CODE-NAMED CORONA.
DESIGNED TO SUPERCEDE
U-2 SPY PLANES,
THE CLASSIFIED PROGRAM
USED 144 SATELLITES TO SPY
ON AMERICA'S ENEMIES.
CORONA PROGRAM IS RUN BY
THE INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES...
NSA, CIA.
OVER 100 OF THEM WERE LAUNCHED.
AND THE FIRST ONE GOT MORE DATA
ON SOVIET MILITARY INSTALLATIONS
THAN ALL THE U-2 FLIGHTS
THAT PRECEDED IT.
DESPITE SOME INITIAL SUCCESSES,
CORONA'S LIMITED
CAMERA TECHNOLOGY
MEANS IT IS ULTIMATELY
VIEWED AS A FAILURE.
THE RESOLUTION
OF THESE IMAGES WEREN'T GREAT.
AND, ALSO, THE FILM HAD TO BE
RECOVERED FROM ORBIT REMOTELY.
BUT IF YOU MISSED RECOVERING
IT DURING ITS RE-ENTRY,
IT WAS LOST.
SO, THE AIR FORCE THINKS
THAT WHAT IT REALLY NEEDS TO
DO IS TO PUT SOME PEOPLE UP THERE
TO GET THE JOB DONE RIGHT.
BAMFORD BELIEVES THE SUITS
WERE USED IN A PROGRAM
AIMED AT REPLACING CORONA
CALLED THE MANNED
ORBITING LABORATORY, OR MAL.
LIKE SOMETHING FROM THE
JAMES BOND FILM "MOONRAKER,"
MAL WAS AN ORBITING CRAFT
WHICH WOULD DEPLOY
SPIES IN SPACE.
IT WAS THE NEXT STEP,
HAVING LIVE SPIES IN ORBIT
WHERE THEY CAN'T BE TOUCHED
TAKING THE BEST
POSSIBLE PHOTOGRAPHS.
IT SOUNDS LIKE
A CRAZY CONSPIRACY THEORY.
BUT IT'S REAL.
SPIES ON BOARD
THE $3 BILLION WATCHTOWER
WOULD INTERCEPT
SOVIET SATELLITES
AND TAKE HIGH-RESOLUTION
IMAGES OF ENEMY INSTALLATIONS.
THE MAL HOUSED A CAMERA SYSTEM
THAT WAS ACTUALLY
BIGGER THAN A CAR
AND HAD BETTER RESOLUTION
THAN ANY SATELLITE CAMERA SYSTEM
THAT WAS OUT THERE AT THAT TIME.
ON NOVEMBER 3, 1966,
NASA LAUNCHES A PROTOTYPE
UNMANNED SPY STATION
ON BEHALF OF THE AIR FORCE.
AFTER ONE TEST, THE MAL PROGRAM
IS SHUT DOWN AS ADVANCES
IN SATELLITE TECHNOLOGY
MAKE SPACE SPIES REDUNDANT.
AS THE MAL PROGRAM
IS BEING SHUT DOWN,
I THINK A DEAL
WAS MADE IN WASHINGTON
THAT SOME OF THE TEST PILOTS
WOULD COME TO NASA.
AMONGST THE PILOTS
WHO RETURN TO NASA,
ONE NAME STANDS OUT...
RICHARD H. TRULEY.
MOST OF THEM WENT OVER
TO THE PEACEFUL SPACE PROGRAM,
TO NASA.
MR. TRULEY BECAME THE NASA
CHIEF DOG, IF YOU WILL.
IN 1989, THE FORMER SPACE SPY
BECOMES THE EIGHTH
ADMINISTRATOR OF NASA.
THE IDENTITY
OF THE ORIGINAL WEARER
OF SUIT 007 REMAINS UNKNOWN.
AS IT TURNS OUT,
THIS MYSTERY SPACE SUIT
WITH THE CODE NUMBER 007
REALLY WAS MADE FOR A SPY.
STILL TO COME,
APOLLO ASTRONAUTS BRING BACK
WHAT COULD BE EVIDENCE OF LIFE
FROM THE LUNAR SURFACE.
WE HAVE MULTIPLE SAMPLES
FROM SEPARATE LOCATIONS
ON DIFFERENT MISSIONS.
THESE ARE THE BUILDING BLOCKS
FOR LIFE ON EARTH.
NASA SCIENTISTS FIND
PRECURSORS OF LIFE ON THE MOON.
HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?
THESE ARE THE BUILDING BLOCKS
FOR LIFE ON EARTH.
A SHOCKING THEORY CLAIMS
OUR PLANET HAS BEEN
SPREADING LIFE
THROUGHOUT THE UNIVERSE
FOR MILLIONS OF YEARS.
THIS KIND OF A DISCOVERY CHANGES
WHAT IS POSSIBLE FOR LIFE-FORMS.
- FROM 1969 TO 1972...
- OKAY.
...NASA LANDS 12 ASTRONAUTS
ON THE MOON.
YOU KNOW WHY WE SEND PEOPLE
TO THE SURFACE OF THE MOON.
IT'S TO COLLECT ROCKS.
THAT IS THEIR BIGGEST
AND MOST IMPORTANT TASK.
- THIS ONE RIGHT HERE?
- THAT'S IT.
WE GOT IT RIGHT THERE.
THIS IS THE FIRST TIME
THAT WE'RE BRINGING BACK
MATERIAL FROM ANOTHER WORLD.
IN TOTAL,
THE SIX APOLLO MISSIONS
COLLECT MORE THAN 2,000
SAMPLES OF MOON ROCK.
IN THESE SAMPLES,
NASA DISCOVERS
SOMETHING THAT STUNS
THE SCIENTIFIC WORLD...
AMINO ACIDS.
THESE AMINO ACIDS
ARE REALLY SPECIAL.
THIS IS HOW LIFE STARTED.
THESE ARE
SPECIAL ORGANIC COMPOUNDS.
AMINO ACIDS ARE COMPOUNDS
WHICH FORM THE PROTEINS
NEEDED FOR LIFE TO EXIST.
THEIR PRESENCE ON THE MOON
BAFFLES OBSERVERS.
WE HAVE MULTIPLE SAMPLES
FROM SEPARATE LOCATIONS
ON DIFFERENT MISSIONS
ALL CONTAINING AMINO ACIDS
THAT SHOULD NOT BE PRESENT.
WE GOT THE SOIL. NOW WE
NEED TO SAMPLE THE ROCK.
HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?
DOES THIS MEAN THAT THERE WAS
SOMEHOW LIFE ON THE MOON?
THE ONLY EXPLANATION
IS THAT SOMETHING
IS PRODUCING THEM.
ON THE EARTH, VIRTUALLY
ALL THE AMINO ACIDS
THAT WE SEE
ARE FORMED BY BIOLOGY.
PLANTS TAKING CARBON AND WATER
PRODUCE AMINO ACIDS.
ANIMALS CAN PRODUCE AMINO ACID.
SCIENTISTS STRUGGLE TO EXPLAIN
THE PRESENCE OF THE PROTEINS.
ONE OBVIOUS POSSIBILITY
IS CONTAMINATION
FROM HUMAN CONTACT.
WHEN THEY FOUND AMINO ACIDS
IN LUNAR SOIL,
I'M SURE THE FIRST QUESTION
THEY ASKED IS,
CAN WE RULE OUT CONTAMINATION?
DID THEY GET THERE NATURALLY?
OR ARE THEY CONTAMINANTS
THAT WERE BROUGHT THERE
BY THE SPACE MISSION?
NASA SCIENTISTS AND ASTRONOMERS
AGREE... CONTAMINATION
IS HIGHLY UNLIKELY.
I ABSOLUTELY BELIEVE
WE DID NOT TAKE
ANY CONTAMINATION TO THE MOON.
SPACECRAFT WERE ALL ASSEMBLED
IN A CLEAN ROOM.
THEY'RE KEPT
IN A CLEAN CONDITION.
ABSOLUTELY PRISTINE,
ABSOLUTELY CLEAN.
BACK ON EARTH, THE MOON ROCKS
ARE METICULOUSLY ISOLATED
FROM ANY CONTAMINATING SOURCE.
WHEN WE CAME BACK FROM THE MOON,
OUR ROCKS HAD
TO GO INTO QUARANTINE
BECAUSE WE COULDN'T TAKE
A CHANCE
OF BRINGING BACK ANY BACTERIA
IF THERE HAD BEEN
LIFE-FORMS ON THE MOON.
SCIENTISTS
INVESTIGATE OTHER SOURCES
FOR THE ORGANIC MOLECULES.
THE APOLLO LANDER
MAY HAVE CREATED THE PROTEINS
BY BLASTING MOON ROCK
WITH ITS ROCKET EXHAUST.
TO MAKE AMINO ACIDS,
YOU NEED HEAT,
SOME SORT OF ENERGY SOURCE.
SO ONE THEORY THAT WAS PROPOSED
WAS THAT MAYBE THE LUNAR
MODULE'S DESCENT ENGINES
PROVIDED THAT HEAT SOURCE
ON THE SURFACE.
MAYBE THE LUNAR MODULE,
WITH THE GASES
RELEASED AS IT LANDS,
IT HAS ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
IN THEM.
MAYBE THEY SOMEHOW RECOMBINED.
BUT THE LOCATIONS
OF THE AMINO ACID DEPOSITS
DON'T FIT
THE ROCKET EXHAUST THEORY.
IF THAT'S WHAT WAS HAPPENING,
YOU'D EXPECT THE LARGEST
CONCENTRATION OF AMINO ACIDS
TO BE IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT
TO THE LUNAR LANDING SITES.
BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT WE FOUND.
THE LUNAR MODULE'S
DESCENT ENGINES
CAN'T BE RESPONSIBLE.
IN OCTOBER 2015,
NASA REANALYZES SEVEN OF
THE ORIGINAL APOLLO SAMPLES.
THE RESEARCH SUGGESTS
THAT THE AMINO ACIDS
MAY WELL HAVE BEEN
CARRIED FROM THE EARTH
DURING THE APOLLO MISSIONS.
Okay. We're movin' forward, Joe.
ROGER.
BUT A REMARKABLE THEORY
CLAIMS THAT,
WHILE THE CONTAMINATION
CAME FROM EARTH,
MANKIND WAS NOT RESPONSIBLE.
ONE WAY THAT THE MATERIAL
COULD GET NATURALLY
FROM THE EARTH
TO THE MOON IS THROUGH IMPACTS.
WE KNOW THAT,
65 MILLION YEARS AGO,
THE EARTH WAS HIT
BY PROBABLY AN ASTEROID.
AND THE DEBRIS THROWN UP
FROM THAT MASSIVE IMPACT
WOULD HAVE DEPOSITED MATERIAL
ONTO THE MOON.
THE K-T EVENT,
THE GIANT ASTEROID
THAT KILLED THE DINOSAURS,
THREW MILLIONS OF TONS
OF ORGANIC MATERIAL
INTO EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE.
SOME OF IT TRAVELED
TO THE MOON AND BEYOND.
THERE IS A POSSIBILITY
THAT SOMETHING
COULD HIT THE EARTH.
AND IT WAS POWERFUL ENOUGH
THAT IT ACTUALLY
THREW STUFF BACK.
WE HAVE PEOPLE WHO GO
TO ANTARCTICA ALL THE TIME
TO FIND METEORS
THAT COME FROM MARS.
SO WE KNOW THAT THAT IS
A PHENOMENA THAT IS POSSIBLE.
WHILE COSMIC
RADIATION BREAKS DOWN
THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF LIFE,
THEY CAN SURVIVE
WHEN PROTECTED INSIDE CHUNKS
OF ROCK OR METEORITES.
THERE'S A BIGGER STORY HERE.
METEORITES
DELIVER ORGANIC MATERIAL
TO ALL THE WORLDS
OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM.
AMINO ACIDS
SHOULD BE EVERYWHERE.
NATURE PRODUCES THEM NATURALLY
AND DISTRIBUTES THEM FREELY.
IF THAT'S TRUE,
IT MEANS THE BUILDING BLOCKS
OF LIFE CAN FLOAT
FREELY BETWEEN WORLDS.
WHERE IT MIGHT GO
AND WHAT FORM IT MIGHT TAKE
ARE INFINITE.
Subtitles Diego Moraes
www.oakisland.tk
IS TO EXPLORE THE UNKNOWN.
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE UNIVERSE
IS A TINY FRACTION
OF WHAT'S ACTUALLY OUT THERE.
IN THE SEARCH FOR ANSWERS,
IT LAUNCHES ITS SCIENTISTS
INTO SPACE,
ITS CRAFT BEYOND THE LIMITS
OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM.
WE HAVE NO IDEA
WHAT'S OUT THERE.
THERE MIGHT BE DANGERS
LURKING IN THE DARKNESS.
WE RUN ACROSS MORE MYSTERIES
THAN DISCOVERIES.
WE DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S
GONNA THROW AT US NEXT.
AN ASTRONAUT
BATTLES A RAGING FIRE...
200 MILES ABOVE THE EARTH.
RIGHT THERE, I SAY,
"WE HAVE TO GET THAT FIRE OUT,
OR WE'RE GONNA LOSE OUR LIVES,
AND WE'RE GONNA LOSE
THIS SPACE STATION."
STRANGE LIGHTS
IN THE SKIES ABOVE CHINA.
THIS WAS OBVIOUSLY NOT
NATURALLY OCCURRING.
NO ONE REALLY KNEW
WHAT WAS GOING ON.
AND A CLASSIFIED
AIR FORCE PROGRAM
TO PUT SPIES IN SPACE.
IT SOUNDS LIKE
A CRAZY CONSPIRACY THEORY.
BUT IT'S REAL.
THESE ARE
NASA's UNEXPLAINED FILES.
NASA's Unexplained Files - SEASON 4
EP - 4 - The Earth Next Door
Subtitles Diego Moraes
1995.
FOUR YEARS AFTER
THE FALL OF THE U.S.S.R.,
NASA DECIDES TO SEND
ITS ASTRONAUTS TO TRAIN
ON RUSSIA'S MIR SPACE STATION.
NASA, OF COURSE, UNDERSTANDS
PERFECTLY THAT MIR
IS VERY IMPORTANT
AS A FIRST STEP
TOWARD THE INTERNATIONAL
SPACE STATION.
DUE TO THE HISTORY BETWEEN
THE TWO COLD WAR RIVALS,
THE MISSIONS
ARE UNDER INTENSE PRESSURE.
THE PUBLIC AND THE CONGRESS
ARE VERY SKEPTICAL ABOUT
COOPERATION WITH THE RUSSIANS.
COLD WAR, OF COURSE, IS STILL
IN THE MEMORY OF MANY PEOPLE.
ONE OF THE ASTRONAUTS
CHOSEN TO WORK ON MIR
IS JERRY LINENGER.
IN FEBRUARY 1997,
HE IS JOINED
BY TWO RUSSIAN COSMONAUTS
AND A GERMAN.
SO, WE'RE ALL JUST
SITTING AROUND, EATIN' DINNER.
I GRAB SOME DEHYDRATED BORSCHT,
DEPART,
GO TO DO SOME WORK
IN A DIFFERENT MODULE.
AT 10:35 P.M...
...THE MIR SPACE STATION'S
MASTER ALARM SUDDENLY GOES OFF.
MASTER ALARM MEANS YOU'RE
HAVIN' A REALLY BAD DAY IN SPACE.
VASILI TSIBLIYEV COMES FLYING
FAST AROUND THE CORNER.
I SAID, "IS IT SERIOUS?"
AND HE SAID, "YES, VERY.
FIRE."
WE'VE GOT A FLAME COMIN' OUT
3 OR 4 FEET IN LENGTH,
BLOWTORCH-LIKE IN INTENSITY,
SPARKS FLYIN' OFF THE END OF IT,
COMIN' OUT
OF AN OXYGEN CANISTER.
WITHIN SECONDS,
THE WHOLE MODULE
FILLS WITH TOXIC FUMES.
I GRAB THE RESPIRATOR
OFF THE WALL,
FULL RUBBER MASK OVER MY HEAD,
ACTIVATE THE OXYGEN CANISTER,
BREATHE IN.
AND I GET NOTHING.
THE RESPIRATOR HAS FAILED.
LINENGER HAS TO SURVIVE
ON THE OXYGEN STORED
IN HIS BLOOD
UNTIL HE CAN GET TO ANOTHER.
I THINK TO MYSELF,
"GOT TO GET
TO THAT NEXT RESPIRATOR."
AND TO BE HONEST WITH YOU,
I WASN'T SURE
WHERE THAT NEXT RESPIRATOR WAS.
THE SUPERHEATED
FLAME BEGINS TO EAT
INTO THE STRUCTURE
OF THE SPACE STATION.
I SEE WHAT LOOKS TO BE A BALL
OF WAX BEING SPLATTERED
AGAINST THE FAR BULKHEADS.
REALIZE IT'S NOT BALLS OF WAX.
IT IS MOLTEN METAL.
THIS THING IS FIRING
MOLTEN METAL ACROSS.
GONNA PIERCE THE HULL.
RIGHT THERE, I SAY,
"WE HAVE TO GET THAT FIRE OUT,
OR WE'RE GONNA LOSE OUR LIVES,
AND WE'RE GONNA LOSE
THIS SPACE STATION."
THINKIN' ABOUT MY SON,
I YELLED OUT, "GOODBYE, JOHN.
YOU KNOW, LOOKS LIKE I'M NOT
GONNA BE MAKIN' IT BACK."
SAID GOODBYE TO MY WIFE.
STARTIN' TO FEEL AS
IF I'M SORT OF UNDERWATER.
STARTIN' TO GET A LITTLE FUZZY
PERIPHERAL VISION
FROM NEEDIN' OXYGEN.
BLINDED BY SMOKE,
LINENGER HAS TO FEEL HIS WAY
TO A WORKING RESPIRATOR.
BREATHE IN, AND I GET OXYGEN.
HYPERVENTILATE
THE NEXT 30, 40 SECONDS.
GET MY BLOOD-OXYGEN LEVEL
BACK UP.
AND I JUST SCREAM,
"WE'RE GONNA GET THAT FIRE OUT.
GONNA SEE MY BOY AGAIN."
LINENGER
AND VALERY KORZUN ATTEMPT
TO TACKLE THE BLAZE
WITH MIR'S FIRE EXTINGUISHERS.
THAT FLAME HAS INTENSITY.
EXHAUST
THREE FIRE EXTINGUISHERS.
I'M FINALLY HEADIN' IN THERE
WITH A FOURTH FIRE EXTINGUISHER.
AND THEN VASILI JUST SCREAMS,
"JERRY, FIRE'S OUT."
ADRENALINE REALLY FLOWIN'.
BIG SIGH OF RELIEF
WHEN THAT FLAME WAS OUT.
IT'S THE WORST FIRE TO
EVER HAPPEN IN EARTH'S ORBIT.
THE CREW MANAGES
TO FILM THE AFTERMATH.
BUT KEY INFORMATION ABOUT
THE BLAZE IS WITHHELD FROM NASA.
ALL COMMUNICATION IS VIA MISSION CONTROL,
MOSCOW.
THERE WAS
NO DIRECT COMMUNICATION
TO ANYONE DOWN AT NASA.
SO WE HAD
TO INDIRECTLY KIND OF HINT
AT THE SERIOUSNESS
OF WHAT'S GOIN' ON.
THE RUSSIAN
SPACE AGENCY TELLS NASA
THE FIRE WAS A MINOR INCIDENT,
LASTING JUST 90 SECONDS.
ON THE RUSSIAN SIDE,
THERE IS A TENDENCY
TO MAKE THIS ACCIDENT SOUND
AND LOOK NOT AS DANGEROUS
AND TERRIBLE
AS IT REALLY IS.
THE FOLLOWING DAY,
THE RUSSIAN VERSION
OF EVENTS BEGINS TO UNRAVEL.
WHEN TONY SANG,
THE U.S. OPERATIONS LEADER
IN MOSCOW, ARRIVES AT WORK,
HE IS KEPT IN THE DARK
FOR A WHILE.
IT'S NOT UNTIL HE OVERHEARS
A CONVERSATION IN RUSSIAN
THAT HE REALIZES THE FULL
EXTENT OF THE PROBLEM
AND THE FIRE THAT HAS OCCURRED.
TO GET THE TRUTH TO EARTH,
LINENGER HAS TO ASK
A DEPARTING COSMONAUT
TO SMUGGLE A LETTER TO HIS WIFE.
WE HAD VALERY
TAKE ONE OF MY NOTES
AND STUFF IT IN A SPACE SUIT,
AND KIND OF TOLD HER
THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE FIRE.
AND IT DESCRIBES
THE ENTIRE SITUATION,
INCLUDING THE FACT THAT
THE FIRE LASTS 14 MINUTES.
NOT THE SECONDS
THAT THE RUSSIANS CLAIM.
SINCE 1995, NASA HAS
INVESTED $400 MILLION IN MIR.
WHEN THE U.S. GOVERNMENT HEARS
ABOUT THE RUSSIAN COVER-UP,
THEY DEMAND A FULL INQUIRY
INTO SAFETY LEVELS
ONBOARD THE SPACE STATION.
NASA APPOINTS
SPECIAL AGENT JOE GUTHEINZ
TO LEAD THE INVESTIGATION.
CONGRESS WANTS ANSWERS.
THERE'S A LOT OF MONEY
INVOLVED IN THE MIR.
AND THERE'S RISK
THAT MAY BE UNACCEPTABLE.
GUTHEINZ UNCOVERS EVIDENCE
OF SEVERAL PREVIOUS
SAFETY BREACHES ON MIR.
THE RUSSIANS WERE NOT
BEING HONEST WITH US.
THEY WEREN'T TELLING US
ABOUT PRIOR FIRES.
NASA DIDN'T KNOW THAT THERE WAS
A FIRE ON OCTOBER 15, 1994,
INVOLVING THE SAME ISSUE.
NASA's FINANCIAL STAKE IN MIR
MEANS IT STORES COPIES OF
ALL MISSION SAFETY BRIEFINGS
AT JOHNSON SPACE CENTER.
BUT WHEN GUTHEINZ TRIES
TO ACCESS THIS EVIDENCE,
HE IS TOLD
IT IS NO LONGER THERE.
ON MARCH 14th, IT WAS DETERMINED
THAT 37 TAPES WERE MISSING.
THESE TAPES
WERE A NO-HOLDS-BACK ACCOUNT
ABOUT THE DISHONESTY
OF THE RUSSIANS,
THE DANGERS OF THE FIRE.
WITH KEY EVIDENCE MISSING,
GUTHEINZ HAS TO FIND ANOTHER
WAY TO GET TO THE TRUTH.
WHAT I NEED TO DO
IS TALK TO THE INDIVIDUALS
AND FIND OUT WHAT WAS SAID.
I WAS ABLE
TO RECONSTRUCT THE TAPES...
THE INCONVENIENT TRUTH
ABOUT HOW DANGEROUS
THE MIR ACTUALLY WAS.
THE EVIDENCE SUGGESTS
THE RUSSIAN SPACE AGENCY
HAS BEEN SYSTEMATICALLY
COVERING UP SAFETY ISSUES ON MIR.
THIS WAS THEIR CASH COW.
THE RUSSIANS KNEW THAT,
IF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC KNEW
HOW DANGEROUS THE MIR WAS,
THEY COULD NOT ENDORSE OUR
CONTINUED PRESENCE ON THE MIR.
THE INQUIRY FOLLOWING THE FIRE
TRACES THE INCIDENT
TO A FAULTY OXYGEN CANISTER.
A COMPREHENSIVE INVESTIGATION
REVEALS THAT THE FIRE WAS
CAUSED BY A PIECE OF LATEX GLOVE
CAUGHT IN THE OXYGEN CANISTER.
HOW IT GOT THERE, NOBODY KNOWS.
THE CREW ONLY LIVED
BECAUSE OF QUICK,
DECISIVE ACTION BY LINENGER
AND HIS RUSSIAN CREWMATES.
IT'S A MATTER OF SPLIT SECONDS,
LIFE AND DEATH.
YOU MAKE A WRONG DECISION,
THAT CAN GET YOU FURTHER DOWN
A SPIRAL
YOU DON'T WANT TO GO DOWN.
AMERICA'S
PARTNERSHIP WITH RUSSIA
SURVIVED THE INCIDENT.
AND MIR WENT ON
TO LAY THE FOUNDATIONS
FOR THE INTERNATIONAL
SPACE STATION.
BUT SOME SAY DISTRUST
STILL LINGERS
BETWEEN THE FORMER
COLD WAR ENEMIES.
I THINK IT IS A MIRACLE
THAT THE CREW SURVIVED.
BUT IT'S AN EVEN BIGGER MIRACLE
THAT THE SPACE STATION
DID NOT HAVE TO BE ABANDONED.
STILL TO COME,
ASTRONOMERS DISCOVER
A STRANGE NEW WORLD
CLOSE TO EARTH.
THE SUN WOULD NEVER RISE.
IT WOULD NEVER SET.
HERE IS WHERE
ALL THE ACTION WOULD BE.
IN GALACTIC TERMS, THIS PLANET
IS VIRTUALLY ON OUR DOORSTEP.
NASA DISCOVERS THREE
POTENTIALLY HABITABLE PLANETS
TANTALIZINGLY CLOSE TO EARTH.
WE'VE DISCOVERED POTENTIALLY
BUT NEVER ONE THIS CLOSE.
IN GALACTIC TERMS, THIS PLANET
IS VIRTUALLY ON OUR DOORSTEP.
BUT IF THERE IS LIFE
ON THESE WORLDS,
IT WILL TAKE STRANGE,
HORRIFYING FORMS.
THE ORGANISMS WOULD BE
HIGHLY ADAPTIVE.
THEY'D BE ABLE TO SEE
INFRARED SIGNATURES,
ESPECIALLY IF THEY'RE HUNTERS.
THE HARPS TELESCOPE
AT LA SILLA, CHILE,
SEARCHES THE COSMOS FOR
POTENTIALLY HABITABLE PLANETS.
ON DECEMBER 16, 2015,
ASTRONOMERS
NOTICE AN UNUSUAL PATTERN IN
THE LIGHT COMING FROM A STAR
IN THE OPHIUCHUS CONSTELLATION.
JUST LIKE EVERY ITEM
IN A GROCERY STORE
HAS A BAR CODE
THAT UNIQUELY IDENTIFIES IT,
STARS HAVE A BAR CODE
IN THEIR LIGHT.
THIS BAR CODE CAN ALLOW US
TO DISCOVER UNSEEN OBJECTS.
ASTRONOMERS SUSPECT
THAT THE HARPS TELESCOPE
HAS DISCOVERED A NEW WORLD.
TO VERIFY THE DISCOVERY,
THEY MEASURE
TINY MOVEMENTS OF THE STAR,
KNOWN AS THE DOPPLER SHIFT.
WHEN WE TALK ABOUT MEASURING
THE DOPPLER SHIFT OF A STAR,
WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
REALLY IS A PLANET
PULLING ON THE STAR
AS IT ORBITS,
AND THE STAR MOVES
BACK AND FORTH.
BIGGER THE PLANET, THE MORE
THAT STAR IS GOING TO MOVE.
THE MEASUREMENTS
REVEAL SOMETHING INTRIGUING.
THE STAR'S DOPPLER SHIFT
SHOWS IT IS BEING PULLED,
NOT BY ONE PLANET, BUT BY THREE.
FINDING ONE
PLANET ORBITING A DISTANT
BUT FINDING THREE?
THAT'S TRULY ASTOUNDING,
BECAUSE NOW YOUR CHANCES
OF FINDING LIFE
ARE THREE TIMES GREATER
THAN THEY WERE BEFORE.
EXCITEMENT BUILDS
WHEN THE TEAM DISCOVERS
THAT ONE OF THE PLANETS
IS THE RIGHT DISTANCE
FROM THE STAR TO SUPPORT LIFE.
THEY NAME IT WOLF 1061C.
IT TURNS OUT
THAT ONE OF THESE PLANETS
IS IN THE HABITABLE ZONE,
THE GOLDILOCKS ZONE.
AND THAT'S WHAT MAKES
THIS PARTICULAR DISCOVERY
SO EXCITING, FROM THE PROSPECT
OF FINDING LIFE.
THE WORLD
BEARS ALL THE HALLMARKS
OF A PLANET CAPABLE
OF SUPPORTING LIFE.
BUT THERE IS SOMETHING STRANGE
ABOUT IT...
IT DOESN'T SPIN.
THAT MEANS
THAT ONE SIDE OF THE PLANET
WILL GET REALLY HOT...
THE SIDE THAT'S FACING THE STAR.
AND THE OTHER SIDE OF THE
PLANET WILL BE REALLY COLD.
YOU'D HAVE VERY STRONG WINDS
THAT ARE BLOWING
FROM THE HOTTER
TO THE COOLER SIDE.
THERE WOULD BE TORNADOES.
THERE WOULD BE WINDSTORMS
WHIPPING AROUND.
AND IT WOULD BE VERY VIOLENT.
THE STAR HAS
A MASSIVE GRAVITATIONAL FORCE,
WHICH HAS STOPPED
THE PLANET FROM SPINNING.
SCIENTISTS CALL THE PHENOMENON
TIDAL LOCKING.
TO BE TIDALLY LOCKED,
ONE SIDE OF THE PLANET
ALWAYS FACES THE STAR,
AND ONE SIDE ALWAYS FACES
AWAY INTO DEEP OUTER SPACE.
SAME SITUATION WITH THE MOON
FACING THE EARTH.
THE PLANET'S
LIGHT SIDE IS TOO HOT
FOR EVEN THE TOUGHEST
LIFE-FORMS TO SURVIVE.
THE DARK SIDE
IS IMPOSSIBLY COLD.
BUT THERE IS ONE SLIM AREA
OF THIS WORLD
WHERE LIFE IS POSSIBLE.
SCIENTISTS CALL IT
THE TWILIGHT ZONE.
IT'S LIKE ALWAYS BEING AT
DAWN OR ALWAYS BEING AT DUSK.
SO THERE MIGHT BE TEMPERATURES
THAT ARE SUITABLE FOR LIFE.
THIS TWILIGHT ZONE AREA,
THE SKY WOULD BE A PEACHY COLOR.
THE SUN WOULD NEVER RISE.
IT WOULD NEVER SET.
AND YET HERE IS WHERE
ALL THE ACTION WOULD BE.
YOU COULD IMAGINE THAT LIFE
WOULD EVOLVE IN THIS POSITION
OF PERMANENT SUNRISE
AND PERMANENT SUNSET.
LIFE IN THE TWILIGHT
ZONE WOULD HAVE TO ADAPT
TO STRANGE CONDITIONS.
CREATURES HERE WOULD
ROAM INTO THE DAYLIGHT SIDE.
THEY WOULD ROAM
INTO THE NIGHT SIDE.
SO THEY WOULD BE
ADAPTED FOR BOTH.
INTO THE NIGHT SIDE,
THEY'D PROBABLY BE ABLE
TO PROTECT THEMSELVES
FROM THE COLD.
THEY'D BE ABLE TO SEE
INFRARED SIGNATURES
OF CREATURES.
AS THESE CREATURES
MOVED BACK AND FORTH,
THEY WOULD MEET
VIOLENT WEATHER PATTERNS
AS STORMS RIPPED THROUGH
THE TWILIGHT ZONE.
BUT THIS WOULD BE THE AREA
THAT WE WOULD LAND A PROBE FIRST
IF WE WERE GOING
TO LOOK FOR LIFE.
THE PLANET'S POWERFUL GRAVITY
COULD HAVE A DRAMATIC EFFECT
ON LIVING CREATURES.
WOLF 1061C
IS MORE THAN FOUR TIMES
MORE MASSIVE THAN THE EARTH.
THAT MEANS THAT THE GRAVITY
IS GONNA BE TWICE AS STRONG.
IF THERE ARE CREATURES
THAT CAN WALK AROUND,
THEY PROBABLY ARE VERY SHORT
AND HAVE BIG, FAT LEGS TO MOVE
AROUND UNDER THAT HIGH GRAVITY.
THE TWILIGHT WORLD IS ONLY ONE
OF MANY
POTENTIALLY HABITABLE PLANETS
SO FAR DISCOVERED
BY NASA TELESCOPES.
BUT THERE IS ONE THING THAT
MAKES THIS PLANET STAND OUT...
THE WOLF STAR SYSTEM IS
ONE OF THE CLOSEST TO EARTH.
WE'VE DISCOVERED OTHER
POTENTIALLY HABITABLE PLAN
BUT THIS ONE'S REALLY CLOSE.
IT'S PRACTICALLY
IN OUR BACKYARD.
IT'S JUST UNDER
14 LIGHT-YEARS AWAY.
TREMENDOUSLY EXCITING TO KNOW
THAT, NOT TOO FAR AWAY,
THERE IS A PLANET
THAT COULD HAVE LIFE ON IT.
THE TWILIGHT ZONE IS REAL.
AND IT'S WAITING FOR US.
I DON'T KNOW
HOW LONG IT'S GONNA TAKE.
BUT I CAN JUST ABOUT
GUARANTEE YOU THAT, SOMEDAY,
A MISSION FROM EARTH
WILL LAND ON 1061C.
STILL TO COME,
BIZARRE LIGHTS WITNESSED
BY THOUSANDS
IN THE SKIES ABOVE CHINA.
THIS WAS OBVIOUSLY NOT
NATURALLY OCCURRING.
IS THERE MORE GOING ON
THAN WHAT WE WERE BEING TOLD?
THE CHINESE ARE SECRETIVE,
AND THAT ALONE IS SIGNIFICANT.
HEY!
STRANGE LIGHTS APPEAR
IN THE SKIES ABOVE CHINA.
WAS THERE MORE HERE GOING ON
THAN WHAT WE WERE BEING TOLD?
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE OFFICIALS
INVESTIGATE
THE MYSTERY SIGHTING.
NEWS OUTLETS
ARE REPORTING EVIDENCE
OF EXTRATERRESTRIAL ACTIVITY.
THIS STRANGE SPIRAL
WAS LIKE A LIVING THING.
SOUTHERN CHINA.
WITNESSES SEE
STRANGE SHAPES AND COLORS
IN THE SICHUAN PROVINCE SKIES.
HUNDREDS, THOUSANDS,
POSSIBLY EVEN MILLIONS
OF POTENTIAL WITNESSES
SAW THIS THING...
A STRANGE SHAPE
MOVING IN A VERY WEIRD,
BIZARRE WAY IN THE SKY.
THIS STRANGE SPIRAL
WAS LIKE A LIVING THING.
THIS WAS OBVIOUSLY NOT
NATURALLY OCCURRING.
IT WASN'T JUST CLOUDS.
IT WAS SOMETHING ELSE.
AND NO ONE REALLY KNEW
WHAT WAS GOING ON.
WHEN IMAGES OF THE BIZARRE
EVENT ARE POSTED ONLINE,
THEY IMMEDIATELY GO VIRAL.
THE INTERNET WAS BUZZING
WITH EXCITEMENT ABOUT THIS.
IS THIS UFOs?
SOME CHINESE NEWS
OUTLETS REPORT THE INCIDENT
AS POSSIBLE EVIDENCE
OF EXTRATERRESTRIAL ACTIVITY.
THE SORTS OF MEDIA OUTLETS
COMING OUT WITH THESE STORIES,
IT'S NOT THE CHINESE EQUIVALENT
OF THE WEEKLY WORLD NEWS
OR THE NATIONAL ENQUIRER.
THESE ARE
REPUTABLE MEDIA OUTLETS.
IN CHINA,
BELIEF IN ALIEN VISITORS
IS PRACTICALLY MAINSTREAM.
FAR MORE LIKELY
THAT THE CHINESE STORIES
OF UFOs ARE A SMOKE SCREEN
DESIGNED TO COVER
THE REAL TRUTH HERE.
IN RESPONSE
TO MOUNTING SPECULATION,
CHINESE OFFICIALS CLAIM
THE BIZARRE SHAPES
ARE THE AFTEREFFECTS
OF A ROCKET LAUNCH
FOR A WEATHER SATELLITE.
THE CHINESE SPACE AGENCY
RELEASES A STATEMENT
SAYING THAT THE ROCKET LAUNCH
WAS JUST PART OF A ROUTINE
UPPER-ATMOSPHERIC MISSION.
JUST GONNA SAMPLE THINGS
LIKE COSMIC RADIATION,
ULTRAVIOLET LIGHTS.
NOTHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY.
U.S. MILITARY OFFICIALS
TRACK AND ANALYZE LAUNCH DATA.
WHAT THEY DISCOVER ALARMS THEM.
THE U.S. GOVERNMENT SAID
THIS PARTICULAR LAUNCH
WENT 20,000 MILES
OR PERHAPS EVEN HIGHER.
TO MANY OF US,
THAT SEEMED UNUSUAL.
THAT WAS NOT THE KIND OF THING
YOU WOULD EXPECT FOR THIS TYPE
OF SCIENTIFIC EXPERIMENT.
A CONVENTIONAL
WEATHER-SATELLITE LAUNCH REACHES
A MAXIMUM ALTITUDE
OF APPROXIMATELY 500 MILES.
THE CHINESE LAUNCH
GOES 40 TIMES HIGHER.
IF IT'S NOT
A SCIENTIFIC ROCKET LAUNCH,
THEN WHAT CAN IT BE?
MILITARY
AND SPACE ANALYST BRIAN WEEDEN
INVESTIGATES THE INCIDENT.
MY FIRST LINE OF INQUIRY
WAS TO LOOK
FOR SATELLITE IMAGERY
OF THE LAUNCH SITE.
AND TO MY SURPRISE,
I FOUND NOT A TYPICAL ROCKET
THAT WAS USED
TO LAUNCH SATELLITES,
BUT, INSTEAD,
I FOUND A MILITARY VEHICLE KNOWN AS A TEL.
IT'S A TRANSPORTER
ERECTOR LAUNCHER.
FINDING A TEL
AT A SPACE-LAUNCH FACILITY,
TO ME, WAS A REALLY
SURPRISING EVENT
BECAUSE IT CLEARLY SIGNALED
A MILITARY INVOLVEMENT.
WHAT'S POTENTIALLY
MORE WORRISOME
IS, THAT ABILITY IS MOBILE.
WEEDEN'S DISCOVERY
OF A MOBILE WEAPONS LAUNCHER
CONFIRMS THE U.S. GOVERNMENT'S
WORST FEARS.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF
DEFENSE ANNOUNCED ITS ANALYSIS
OF THIS LAUNCH
AS BEING INCONSISTENT
WITH A SCIENCE MISSION.
IT LOOKS TO THEM
LIKE IT WAS A TEST
OF AN ANTISATELLITE WEAPON.
IF CHINA HAS DEVELOPED
EFFECTIVE MOBILE
ANTI-SPACE WEAPONRY,
IT COULD ALTER
THE GLOBAL BALANCE OF POWER.
THEY ESSENTIALLY SAY CHINA
IS GETTING READY
TO FIGHT A SPACE WAR.
THEY LOOK AT
THE MISSION PROFILE.
THEY LOOK AT THE TRAJECTORY.
AND THEY SAY THIS IS YET
ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF THE CHINESE
DEVELOPING
AND TESTING THE CAPABILITY
TO SHOOT DOWN SATELLITES.
QUESTIONS ARE ASKED
AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL.
THIS IS RAISED
IN THE U.S. SENATE.
OBSERVERS WORRY THE 2013 LAUNCH
REPRESENTS A MAJOR STEP FORWARD
IN CHINA'S
ANTISATELLITE CAPABILITY.
IT TURNS OUT THAT IT GOES UP
TO A HEIGHT OF 18,000 MILES.
NOW, THAT'S EXACTLY
WHERE THE CROWN JEWELS
OF AMERICA'S
SATELLITE CAPABILITY LIE.
AMERICA'S MOST ADVANCED MILITARY
AND INTELLIGENCE SATELLITES
ARE NOW WITHIN THE RANGE
OF CHINA'S SPACE WEAPON.
IT'S INCREASINGLY THE CASE
THAT SPACE IS THE KEY
TO MILITARY POWER.
THE NEXT WORLD WAR MAY WELL
BEGIN IN OUTER SPACE.
STILL TO COME,
HAS A LONE ASTRONOMER SOLVED ONE
OF THE GREATEST MYSTERIES
IN SPACE SCIENCE?
NOBODY REALLY WANTS
TO SAY, "HEY.
THIS IS A SIGNAL
FROM OUTER SPACE."
THAT'S WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE.
A MYSTERIOUS RADIO SIGNAL
FROM A DISTANT CONSTELLATION
DEFIES EXPLANATION
FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS.
ONE POSSIBILITY IS THAT IT
REALLY WAS A SIGNAL
FROM DEEP SPACE COMING
FROM SOME OTHER SOCIETY.
IT LOOKED AS IF IT WAS
BEING DELIBERATELY SENT.
A LONE SCIENTIST'S
CHANCE ENCOUNTER
INSPIRES A THEORY WHICH MAY
FINALLY SOLVE THE MYSTERY.
AND IF IT'S TRUE, IT WOULD BE
THE DISCOVERY OF A LIFETIME.
AUGUST 15, 1977.
AT 11:16 P.M.,
AN ASTRONOMER
AT OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
DETECTS A STRANGE SIGNAL
COMING FROM THE CONSTELLATION
OF SAGITTARIUS.
WELL, ONE DAY, IN 1977,
THERE WAS SOMETHING
SO INTERESTING
THAT HE WROTE "WOW" NEXT TO IT.
THE "WOW!" SIGNAL,
AS IT'S NOW CALLED,
IS CONSIDERED TO BE ONE
OF THE BEST POTENTIAL
RADIO COMMUNICATIONS
FROM AN ALIEN LIFE-FORM.
THE SIGNAL
IS ON THE PRECISE FREQUENCY
SCIENTISTS PREDICT
EXTRATERRESTRIALS
COULD USE FOR COMMUNICATION.
IT'S CALLED THE HYDROGEN LINE.
THIS FREQUENCY, 1,420 MEGAHERTZ,
THE HYDROGEN LINE, COMES FROM
WHEN YOU'VE ZAPPED HYDROGEN,
YOU'VE GIVEN IT ENERGY.
AND THIS IS THE FREQUENCY
IT SCREAMS AT.
HYDROGEN ACCOUNTS FOR 73%
OF ALL THE MATTER
IN THE UNIVERSE.
SCIENTISTS CAN ENERGIZE
HYDROGEN ATOMS TO MAKE THEM MOVE.
AND WHEN THEY MOVE,
THEY GIVE OFF A FREQUENCY
THAT CAN TRAVEL VAST DISTANCES
THROUGH SPACE.
THE SCIENTISTS BELIEVE
THAT ALIEN RACES
MIGHT USE
THIS PARTICULAR FREQUENCY
BECAUSE IT'S ONE
OF THE MOST ABUNDANT EMITTERS
OF RADIO WAVES IN THE UNIVERSE.
SO IF ANYBODY WAS LOOKING,
THEY MIGHT EXPECT TO SEE SIGNALS
EXACTLY ON THE HYDROGEN LINE.
FOR YEARS,
ASTRONOMERS HAVE SEARCHED
FOR A REPEAT
OF THE "WOW!" SIGNAL.
BUT THEY'VE ONLY HEARD SILENCE.
THEY WENT BACK THE NEXT NIGHT
AND LISTENED... NOTHING.
NEXT MONTH... NOTHING.
YEARS LATER... NOTHING.
THAT DOESN'T MEAN
IT WASN'T E.T. NECESSARILY.
IT COULD BE THAT THEY JUST
SENT US ONE SIGNAL
AND THEN WENT AWAY.
FOR FOUR DECADES,
THE ORIGIN OF THE MYSTERY
SIGNAL HAS DIVIDED OPINION.
IN JULY 2015,
ASTRONOMER ANTONIO PARIS
IS DRIVING HOME FROM WORK
WHEN A REVELATION HITS HIM.
SO, I'M DRIVING ALONG,
LOOKING AT A TRUCK OVERPASSING.
AND I THINK OF A TRUCK
AS AN OBJECT IN SPACE.
AND I SAY TO MYSELF,
"I'LL PROBABLY NEVER
SEE THAT TRUCK AGAIN."
AND THAT'S SORT OF LIKE
THE "WOW!" SIGNAL IS.
MOST SCIENTISTS BELIEVED
THE MYSTERY SIGNAL'S
DISAPPEARANCE WAS PROOF
THAT IT HAD BEEN A RANDOM EVENT.
THE TRUCK MOVING OVER
THE HIGHWAY LEADS PARIS
TO A DIFFERENT THEORY.
THE SIGNAL DIDN'T DISAPPEAR.
IT MOVED.
IT MAY BE THE SIGNAL WASN'T
FROM THE DEPTHS OF SPACE,
BUT FROM SOMETHING
MUCH CLOSER TO US
THAT JUST PASSED IN FRONT
OF THE TELESCOPE,
MADE ITS NOISE,
AND THEN MOVED AWAY.
AND THAT WOULD EXPLAIN
WHY YOU SEE IT ONCE,
AND YOU DON'T SEE IT AGAIN,
'CAUSE, YOU KNOW,
IT JUST PASSED
ACROSS YOUR FIELD OF VIEW.
PARIS' THEORY EXPLAINS
THE SIGNAL'S DISAPPEARANCE,
BUT NOT WHY IT WAS BROADCASTING
ON SUCH A COSMICALLY
SIGNIFICANT WAVELENGTH.
THIS IS A VERY SMALL FREQUENCY,
AND IT'S PROTECTED.
SO HERE ON EARTH,
WE CANNOT USE THAT FREQUENCY.
SO WE HAVE TO DEDUCE
THAT THE SOURCE
HAS TO BE
EXTRATERRESTRIAL IN NATURE.
WHATEVER'S PRODUCING THIS SIGNAL
MUST EITHER HAVE
DELIBERATELY CHOSEN
THIS PARTICULAR WAVELENGTH
OR BE PRODUCING
LARGE QUANTITIES OF HYDROGEN.
SOME SUGGEST
THAT THE MYSTERY SOURCE
COULD SIMPLY BE A COMET.
COMETS HAVE A LOT
OF HYDROGEN GAS.
WHEN EXCITED BY SUNLIGHT,
THEY RADIATE ENERGY
IN EXACTLY THE SAME WAVELENGTH
AS THAT RADIO TELESCOPE
WAS MONITORING.
PARIS SEARCHES NASA
COMET DATABASES FROM 1977.
WHEN HE DOES, HE DISCOVERS
TWO POSSIBLE SUSPECTS
FOR THE MYSTERY SIGNAL.
I REVISITED WHAT I CALL
THE CRIME SCENE.
AND I FOUND TWO COMETS THAT
WERE IN THE VERY SAME AREA,
SAME DATE, SAME TIME
THAT THE "WOW!" SIGNAL
WAS DETECTED.
PARIS' THEORY
SEEMS LIKE A SMOKING GUN.
BUT THE DATA SUGGESTS
WHATEVER PRODUCED
THE "WOW!" SIGNAL
WAS NO ORDINARY COMET.
THE COMET THEORY
FIT SOME OF THE FACTS.
BUT WHAT ARE THE ODDS
THAT A COMET COULD PRODUCE
A RADIO SIGNAL OF THAT STRENGTH?
NORMALLY, THE HYDROGEN CLOUD
AROUND A COMET NUCLEUS
IS VERY FAINT.
SO THERE'S NO NATURAL WAY
TO HAVE THIS MUCH HYDROGEN
UNLESS SOMEHOW THERE WAS
SOME UNUSUAL ACTIVITY
AT THE SURFACE OF THE COMET.
WHAT ACTIVITY COULD CAUSE
A SPIKE IN THE HYDROGEN
AROUND A COMET?
SOME SPECULATE IT COULD BE
DUE TO MINING THE COMET'S CORE.
WHEN WE TAKE TO SPACE AND
BEGIN INDUSTRIALIZING SPACE
AND MINING COMETS,
THAT'S THE KIND OF SIGNAL
THAT WE MIGHT EXPECT TO EMIT.
COMETS ARE REALLY
A VALUABLE RESOURCE
FOR NATURAL MATERIALS.
ANY ALIEN CIVILIZATION
WOULD WANT TO EXPLOIT THEM
AS THEY MOVED FARTHER
INTO OUTER SPACE.
NASA AND PRIVATE CORPORATIONS
ARE CURRENTLY DEVELOPING
THE TECHNOLOGY TO LAND ON
AND MINE COMETS
FOR THEIR RESOURCES.
THE IDEA OF LANDING ON A COMET
AND MINING IT
IS NOT INCONCEIVABLE.
THE ROSETTA MISSION
JUST LANDED ON A COMET.
AND WE KNOW WE HAVE
THE TECHNOLOGY
AND THE CAPABILITIES TO DO THIS.
TO DATE,
SCIENTISTS AND ASTRONOMERS
HAVE OBSERVED
MORE THAN 3,000 COMETS.
NOT ONE HAS EMITTED ANYTHING
CLOSE TO THE "WOW!" SIGNAL.
IF IT'S NOT A COMET,
WE'RE BACK TO SQUARE ONE.
WHAT WAS THE CAUSE
OF THE "WOW!" SIGNAL?
NOBODY REALLY
WANTS TO SAY, "HEY.
THIS IS A SIGNAL
FROM OUTER SPACE."
BUT ODDLY ENOUGH,
THAT'S WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE.
STILL TO COME,
A MYSTERIOUS SPACE SUIT LEADS
TO EVIDENCE OF A SECRET
SPY STATION IN SPACE.
SPIES IN ORBIT
WHERE THEY CAN'T BE TOUCHED.
SO, WHAT IS THIS...
A JAMES BOND SPACE SUIT?
A NASA SPECIAL AGENT
DISCOVERS A SECRET ROOM
AT THE CAPE CANAVERAL
LAUNCH COMPLEX.
EVERYTHING IN THIS ROOM
IS DESTROYED
EXCEPT FOR TWO BLUE SPACE
SUITS THAT ARE IN PRISTINE CONDITION.
THE DISCOVERY LEADS TO EVIDENCE
OF A SECRET PENTAGON PROGRAM
TO PUT SPIES IN SPACE.
SPIES IN ORBIT
WHERE THEY CAN'T BE TOUCHED.
IT SOUNDS LIKE
A CRAZY CONSPIRACY THEORY.
BUT IT'S REAL.
DECEMBER 2004.
NASA SPECIAL AGENT DAN OAKLAND
AND SECURITY MANAGER
HENRY BUTLER
EXPLORE A REMOTE CORNER
OF A LAUNCH COMPLEX
AT CAPE CANAVERAL.
YOU MIGHT THINK
THAT A NASA LAUNCH FACILITY
IS PERFECTLY ORGANIZED
WITH EVERYTHING IN ITS PLACE.
BUT THERE ARE MILES
AND MILES OF CORRIDORS.
YOU COULD LOSE AN ARMY
INSIDE THERE.
NOBODY KNOWS WHAT GOES ON
BEHIND THOSE CLOSED DOORS.
DOWN ONE CORRIDOR,
THEY DISCOVER
AN UNKNOWN LOCKED ROOM.
A LOCKED ROOM
THAT NOBODY KNOWS ABOUT
IN THE MIDDLE OF ONE
OF NASA's MOST IMPORTANT
LAUNCH COMPLEXES...
THAT'S KIND OF STRANGE.
THE LOCK IS SO OLD THAT OAKLAND
AND BUTLER HAVE TO USE
A MASTER KEY TO OPEN IT.
THEY FINALLY FIND
A WAY INTO THIS ROOM.
AND IT'S EMPTY, DARK.
RATS, DUST.
BUT THERE IS ONE BOX.
AND IT CONTAINS TWO
PRISTINE-CONDITION SPACE SUITS.
THE SUITS' DESIGN
IS SIMILAR TO THOSE WORN
BY ASTRONAUTS DURING THE 1960s.
BUT KEY DETAILS DIFFER.
THEY'RE BLUE,
WHICH WAS NOT ACTUALLY USED
IN THE U.S. SPACE PROGRAM.
THEY'RE NOT FROM MERCURY.
THEY'RE NOT FROM GEMINI.
AND THEY'RE DEFINITELY NOT
FROM APOLLO.
THE SUITS' NUMBERING
ALSO DOES NOT MATCH
WITH ANY KNOWN NASA PROGRAM.
THESE SPACE SUITS
ONLY HAVE TWO CODES
ON THEM... 007 AND 008.
SO, WHAT IS THIS...
A JAMES BOND SPACE SUIT?
THE DISCOVERY
COMES TO THE ATTENTION
OF INTELLIGENCE JOURNALIST
JAMES BAMFORD.
HE SUSPECTS THE SUITS
ARE EVIDENCE
OF A SECRET SPACE MISSION.
SUIT 008 GIVES HIM
A POTENTIAL LEAD.
ONE OF THEM HAD A NUMBER 008
ON THE CHEST,
ALONG WITH THE NAME "LAWYER."
BAMFORD DISCOVERS THAT
LAWYER IS RICHARD E. LAWYER.
BUT HE IS NOT AN ASTRONAUT.
HE'S ACTUALLY
AN AIR FORCE PILOT.
WHAT'S AN AIR FORCE PILOT
DOING HAVING A BLUE SPACE SUIT
IN A SECRET ROOM
THAT NOBODY KNOWS EXISTS?
WHAT'S GOING ON?
PENTAGON DOCUMENTS
REVEAL TO BAMFORD
THE TRUE PURPOSE OF
LAWYER'S MYSTERIOUS BLUE SUIT.
BAMFORD FINDS
THAT RICHARD E. LAWYER
WAS ONE OF 17 AIR FORCE PILOTS
EARMARKED TO FLY IN SPACE
UNDER THE SECRET
U.S. AIR FORCE SPACE PROGRAM.
DECLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS REVEAL
THE FIRST MILITARY SPACE PROGRAM
WAS A SATELLITE PROJECT
CODE-NAMED CORONA.
DESIGNED TO SUPERCEDE
U-2 SPY PLANES,
THE CLASSIFIED PROGRAM
USED 144 SATELLITES TO SPY
ON AMERICA'S ENEMIES.
CORONA PROGRAM IS RUN BY
THE INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES...
NSA, CIA.
OVER 100 OF THEM WERE LAUNCHED.
AND THE FIRST ONE GOT MORE DATA
ON SOVIET MILITARY INSTALLATIONS
THAN ALL THE U-2 FLIGHTS
THAT PRECEDED IT.
DESPITE SOME INITIAL SUCCESSES,
CORONA'S LIMITED
CAMERA TECHNOLOGY
MEANS IT IS ULTIMATELY
VIEWED AS A FAILURE.
THE RESOLUTION
OF THESE IMAGES WEREN'T GREAT.
AND, ALSO, THE FILM HAD TO BE
RECOVERED FROM ORBIT REMOTELY.
BUT IF YOU MISSED RECOVERING
IT DURING ITS RE-ENTRY,
IT WAS LOST.
SO, THE AIR FORCE THINKS
THAT WHAT IT REALLY NEEDS TO
DO IS TO PUT SOME PEOPLE UP THERE
TO GET THE JOB DONE RIGHT.
BAMFORD BELIEVES THE SUITS
WERE USED IN A PROGRAM
AIMED AT REPLACING CORONA
CALLED THE MANNED
ORBITING LABORATORY, OR MAL.
LIKE SOMETHING FROM THE
JAMES BOND FILM "MOONRAKER,"
MAL WAS AN ORBITING CRAFT
WHICH WOULD DEPLOY
SPIES IN SPACE.
IT WAS THE NEXT STEP,
HAVING LIVE SPIES IN ORBIT
WHERE THEY CAN'T BE TOUCHED
TAKING THE BEST
POSSIBLE PHOTOGRAPHS.
IT SOUNDS LIKE
A CRAZY CONSPIRACY THEORY.
BUT IT'S REAL.
SPIES ON BOARD
THE $3 BILLION WATCHTOWER
WOULD INTERCEPT
SOVIET SATELLITES
AND TAKE HIGH-RESOLUTION
IMAGES OF ENEMY INSTALLATIONS.
THE MAL HOUSED A CAMERA SYSTEM
THAT WAS ACTUALLY
BIGGER THAN A CAR
AND HAD BETTER RESOLUTION
THAN ANY SATELLITE CAMERA SYSTEM
THAT WAS OUT THERE AT THAT TIME.
ON NOVEMBER 3, 1966,
NASA LAUNCHES A PROTOTYPE
UNMANNED SPY STATION
ON BEHALF OF THE AIR FORCE.
AFTER ONE TEST, THE MAL PROGRAM
IS SHUT DOWN AS ADVANCES
IN SATELLITE TECHNOLOGY
MAKE SPACE SPIES REDUNDANT.
AS THE MAL PROGRAM
IS BEING SHUT DOWN,
I THINK A DEAL
WAS MADE IN WASHINGTON
THAT SOME OF THE TEST PILOTS
WOULD COME TO NASA.
AMONGST THE PILOTS
WHO RETURN TO NASA,
ONE NAME STANDS OUT...
RICHARD H. TRULEY.
MOST OF THEM WENT OVER
TO THE PEACEFUL SPACE PROGRAM,
TO NASA.
MR. TRULEY BECAME THE NASA
CHIEF DOG, IF YOU WILL.
IN 1989, THE FORMER SPACE SPY
BECOMES THE EIGHTH
ADMINISTRATOR OF NASA.
THE IDENTITY
OF THE ORIGINAL WEARER
OF SUIT 007 REMAINS UNKNOWN.
AS IT TURNS OUT,
THIS MYSTERY SPACE SUIT
WITH THE CODE NUMBER 007
REALLY WAS MADE FOR A SPY.
STILL TO COME,
APOLLO ASTRONAUTS BRING BACK
WHAT COULD BE EVIDENCE OF LIFE
FROM THE LUNAR SURFACE.
WE HAVE MULTIPLE SAMPLES
FROM SEPARATE LOCATIONS
ON DIFFERENT MISSIONS.
THESE ARE THE BUILDING BLOCKS
FOR LIFE ON EARTH.
NASA SCIENTISTS FIND
PRECURSORS OF LIFE ON THE MOON.
HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?
THESE ARE THE BUILDING BLOCKS
FOR LIFE ON EARTH.
A SHOCKING THEORY CLAIMS
OUR PLANET HAS BEEN
SPREADING LIFE
THROUGHOUT THE UNIVERSE
FOR MILLIONS OF YEARS.
THIS KIND OF A DISCOVERY CHANGES
WHAT IS POSSIBLE FOR LIFE-FORMS.
- FROM 1969 TO 1972...
- OKAY.
...NASA LANDS 12 ASTRONAUTS
ON THE MOON.
YOU KNOW WHY WE SEND PEOPLE
TO THE SURFACE OF THE MOON.
IT'S TO COLLECT ROCKS.
THAT IS THEIR BIGGEST
AND MOST IMPORTANT TASK.
- THIS ONE RIGHT HERE?
- THAT'S IT.
WE GOT IT RIGHT THERE.
THIS IS THE FIRST TIME
THAT WE'RE BRINGING BACK
MATERIAL FROM ANOTHER WORLD.
IN TOTAL,
THE SIX APOLLO MISSIONS
COLLECT MORE THAN 2,000
SAMPLES OF MOON ROCK.
IN THESE SAMPLES,
NASA DISCOVERS
SOMETHING THAT STUNS
THE SCIENTIFIC WORLD...
AMINO ACIDS.
THESE AMINO ACIDS
ARE REALLY SPECIAL.
THIS IS HOW LIFE STARTED.
THESE ARE
SPECIAL ORGANIC COMPOUNDS.
AMINO ACIDS ARE COMPOUNDS
WHICH FORM THE PROTEINS
NEEDED FOR LIFE TO EXIST.
THEIR PRESENCE ON THE MOON
BAFFLES OBSERVERS.
WE HAVE MULTIPLE SAMPLES
FROM SEPARATE LOCATIONS
ON DIFFERENT MISSIONS
ALL CONTAINING AMINO ACIDS
THAT SHOULD NOT BE PRESENT.
WE GOT THE SOIL. NOW WE
NEED TO SAMPLE THE ROCK.
HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?
DOES THIS MEAN THAT THERE WAS
SOMEHOW LIFE ON THE MOON?
THE ONLY EXPLANATION
IS THAT SOMETHING
IS PRODUCING THEM.
ON THE EARTH, VIRTUALLY
ALL THE AMINO ACIDS
THAT WE SEE
ARE FORMED BY BIOLOGY.
PLANTS TAKING CARBON AND WATER
PRODUCE AMINO ACIDS.
ANIMALS CAN PRODUCE AMINO ACID.
SCIENTISTS STRUGGLE TO EXPLAIN
THE PRESENCE OF THE PROTEINS.
ONE OBVIOUS POSSIBILITY
IS CONTAMINATION
FROM HUMAN CONTACT.
WHEN THEY FOUND AMINO ACIDS
IN LUNAR SOIL,
I'M SURE THE FIRST QUESTION
THEY ASKED IS,
CAN WE RULE OUT CONTAMINATION?
DID THEY GET THERE NATURALLY?
OR ARE THEY CONTAMINANTS
THAT WERE BROUGHT THERE
BY THE SPACE MISSION?
NASA SCIENTISTS AND ASTRONOMERS
AGREE... CONTAMINATION
IS HIGHLY UNLIKELY.
I ABSOLUTELY BELIEVE
WE DID NOT TAKE
ANY CONTAMINATION TO THE MOON.
SPACECRAFT WERE ALL ASSEMBLED
IN A CLEAN ROOM.
THEY'RE KEPT
IN A CLEAN CONDITION.
ABSOLUTELY PRISTINE,
ABSOLUTELY CLEAN.
BACK ON EARTH, THE MOON ROCKS
ARE METICULOUSLY ISOLATED
FROM ANY CONTAMINATING SOURCE.
WHEN WE CAME BACK FROM THE MOON,
OUR ROCKS HAD
TO GO INTO QUARANTINE
BECAUSE WE COULDN'T TAKE
A CHANCE
OF BRINGING BACK ANY BACTERIA
IF THERE HAD BEEN
LIFE-FORMS ON THE MOON.
SCIENTISTS
INVESTIGATE OTHER SOURCES
FOR THE ORGANIC MOLECULES.
THE APOLLO LANDER
MAY HAVE CREATED THE PROTEINS
BY BLASTING MOON ROCK
WITH ITS ROCKET EXHAUST.
TO MAKE AMINO ACIDS,
YOU NEED HEAT,
SOME SORT OF ENERGY SOURCE.
SO ONE THEORY THAT WAS PROPOSED
WAS THAT MAYBE THE LUNAR
MODULE'S DESCENT ENGINES
PROVIDED THAT HEAT SOURCE
ON THE SURFACE.
MAYBE THE LUNAR MODULE,
WITH THE GASES
RELEASED AS IT LANDS,
IT HAS ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
IN THEM.
MAYBE THEY SOMEHOW RECOMBINED.
BUT THE LOCATIONS
OF THE AMINO ACID DEPOSITS
DON'T FIT
THE ROCKET EXHAUST THEORY.
IF THAT'S WHAT WAS HAPPENING,
YOU'D EXPECT THE LARGEST
CONCENTRATION OF AMINO ACIDS
TO BE IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT
TO THE LUNAR LANDING SITES.
BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT WE FOUND.
THE LUNAR MODULE'S
DESCENT ENGINES
CAN'T BE RESPONSIBLE.
IN OCTOBER 2015,
NASA REANALYZES SEVEN OF
THE ORIGINAL APOLLO SAMPLES.
THE RESEARCH SUGGESTS
THAT THE AMINO ACIDS
MAY WELL HAVE BEEN
CARRIED FROM THE EARTH
DURING THE APOLLO MISSIONS.
Okay. We're movin' forward, Joe.
ROGER.
BUT A REMARKABLE THEORY
CLAIMS THAT,
WHILE THE CONTAMINATION
CAME FROM EARTH,
MANKIND WAS NOT RESPONSIBLE.
ONE WAY THAT THE MATERIAL
COULD GET NATURALLY
FROM THE EARTH
TO THE MOON IS THROUGH IMPACTS.
WE KNOW THAT,
65 MILLION YEARS AGO,
THE EARTH WAS HIT
BY PROBABLY AN ASTEROID.
AND THE DEBRIS THROWN UP
FROM THAT MASSIVE IMPACT
WOULD HAVE DEPOSITED MATERIAL
ONTO THE MOON.
THE K-T EVENT,
THE GIANT ASTEROID
THAT KILLED THE DINOSAURS,
THREW MILLIONS OF TONS
OF ORGANIC MATERIAL
INTO EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE.
SOME OF IT TRAVELED
TO THE MOON AND BEYOND.
THERE IS A POSSIBILITY
THAT SOMETHING
COULD HIT THE EARTH.
AND IT WAS POWERFUL ENOUGH
THAT IT ACTUALLY
THREW STUFF BACK.
WE HAVE PEOPLE WHO GO
TO ANTARCTICA ALL THE TIME
TO FIND METEORS
THAT COME FROM MARS.
SO WE KNOW THAT THAT IS
A PHENOMENA THAT IS POSSIBLE.
WHILE COSMIC
RADIATION BREAKS DOWN
THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF LIFE,
THEY CAN SURVIVE
WHEN PROTECTED INSIDE CHUNKS
OF ROCK OR METEORITES.
THERE'S A BIGGER STORY HERE.
METEORITES
DELIVER ORGANIC MATERIAL
TO ALL THE WORLDS
OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM.
AMINO ACIDS
SHOULD BE EVERYWHERE.
NATURE PRODUCES THEM NATURALLY
AND DISTRIBUTES THEM FREELY.
IF THAT'S TRUE,
IT MEANS THE BUILDING BLOCKS
OF LIFE CAN FLOAT
FREELY BETWEEN WORLDS.
WHERE IT MIGHT GO
AND WHAT FORM IT MIGHT TAKE
ARE INFINITE.
Subtitles Diego Moraes
www.oakisland.tk