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[Josh Gates] To prove
a controversial theory,
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00:00:03,241 --> 00:00:06,620
Explorers Club member
Thor Heyerdahl
attempts to cross
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00:00:06,655 --> 00:00:10,620
thousands of miles
of open ocean on a simple
balsa wood raft.
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00:00:12,517 --> 00:00:17,103
Will his impossible voyage end
with vindication, or at
the bottom of the Pacific?
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00:00:18,862 --> 00:00:23,689
The first extraterrestrial car
is custom-tuned to dodge
a lunar gauntlet
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00:00:23,724 --> 00:00:29,137
on its way to a discovery
that rewrites the story
of earth's origin.
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00:00:29,172 --> 00:00:30,896
[astronaut over comms] Okay,
Jimmy, let's go to work.
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00:00:32,689 --> 00:00:35,172
[Josh] A miracle plane
burning no fuel
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00:00:35,206 --> 00:00:38,724
flies club member
Bertrand Piccard
around the globe.
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00:00:38,758 --> 00:00:41,206
As long as the wind
doesn't snap it in two.
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00:00:42,586 --> 00:00:46,034
And a Roaring '20s airship
braves polar storms,
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00:00:46,068 --> 00:00:49,620
carrying a club legend
to the top of the world.
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00:00:49,655 --> 00:00:51,793
Leave it to The Explorers Club
to show
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00:00:51,827 --> 00:00:55,000
that the real drama
isn't always reaching
the finish line,
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00:00:55,034 --> 00:00:56,586
but surviving the ride.
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00:00:56,620 --> 00:00:58,965
-Fire.
-[explosion]
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00:01:02,413 --> 00:01:05,172
Welcome to the world-famous
Explorers Club.
18
00:01:06,827 --> 00:01:11,448
For over 100 years, this has
been a gathering place
for trailblazers.
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00:01:11,482 --> 00:01:17,172
The people who dare to venture
higher, further, and faster.
20
00:01:17,206 --> 00:01:19,793
As a member
of this exclusive club,
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00:01:19,827 --> 00:01:22,551
I'm bringing one-of-a-kind
access to its archives...
22
00:01:23,379 --> 00:01:24,758
This is incredible!
23
00:01:24,793 --> 00:01:25,827
...artifacts...
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00:01:25,862 --> 00:01:27,448
[Josh] Oh, my word.
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00:01:27,482 --> 00:01:29,172
...and my fellow explorers.
26
00:01:29,206 --> 00:01:33,103
This is actual lunar dust.
Unbelievable.
27
00:01:33,137 --> 00:01:38,724
The expeditions planned here
have tested the boundaries
of human possibility.
28
00:01:38,758 --> 00:01:42,413
Its flag has flown
on death-defying voyages
into the unknown
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00:01:42,448 --> 00:01:44,344
that forever
changed our world.
30
00:01:45,448 --> 00:01:48,172
These are the greatest
adventures of all time.
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00:01:49,448 --> 00:01:50,413
These are...
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00:01:53,655 --> 00:01:55,758
...TalesFrom
The Explorers Club.
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00:02:02,517 --> 00:02:05,965
The most amazing part of some
Explorers Club expeditions
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00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:08,172
is not the destination,
but the journey.
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00:02:08,206 --> 00:02:11,137
Sometimes because
the destination is so extreme
36
00:02:11,172 --> 00:02:14,862
that it demands
a means of transport
that doesn't yet exist.
37
00:02:14,896 --> 00:02:20,241
This was the challenge
facing Norwegian ethnographer
Thor Heyerdahl 75 years ago,
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00:02:20,275 --> 00:02:23,586
when he came to the club
and used this very globe
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00:02:23,620 --> 00:02:27,068
to plan a mission
many warned him was suicide.
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00:02:28,965 --> 00:02:32,310
Heyerdahl's proposed journey
stretches nearly 5,000 miles.
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00:02:34,482 --> 00:02:37,517
And although he has
the club's support,
his expedition
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is the result of
an academic dispute with
a former club president.
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00:02:41,137 --> 00:02:43,482
Let's back up a bit,
and this'll all make sense.
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00:02:45,482 --> 00:02:47,275
The year is 1945.
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00:02:47,310 --> 00:02:50,586
For a decade, Heyerdahl
has been obsessed
with answering
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00:02:50,620 --> 00:02:53,413
one of history's
greatest riddles.
47
00:02:53,448 --> 00:02:56,655
Few places on earth
are more isolated
than Polynesia,
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00:02:56,689 --> 00:02:59,689
the vast, triangular area
of the Pacific Ocean
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00:02:59,724 --> 00:03:02,896
extending from Hawaii
to Easter Island
to New Zealand.
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00:03:04,482 --> 00:03:08,068
The Polynesians have occupied
the islands there
for 1,000 years,
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00:03:08,103 --> 00:03:11,862
but where did they
originally come from?
How did they get there?
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00:03:13,586 --> 00:03:16,413
The scholarly consensus
is that they came
from the West,
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00:03:16,448 --> 00:03:18,344
from Asia,
on outrigger canoes.
54
00:03:19,241 --> 00:03:21,413
But Thor questions
that conclusion.
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00:03:25,448 --> 00:03:30,896
Reexamining the evidence,
he's developing
a radically different theory.
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00:03:30,931 --> 00:03:33,103
He's convinced
that the solution
to the mystery
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00:03:33,137 --> 00:03:38,206
lies thousands of miles away
from where experts claim,
in South America.
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00:03:38,241 --> 00:03:42,827
In 1937, Heyerdahl had visited
the Polynesian Island
of Fatu Hiva,
59
00:03:42,862 --> 00:03:46,827
and was struck
by apparent similarities
between Polynesian traditions
60
00:03:46,862 --> 00:03:50,379
and those of indigenous
South Americans.
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00:03:50,413 --> 00:03:54,241
According to myth,
Tiki, the father
of the Polynesian tribes,
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00:03:54,275 --> 00:03:58,551
led his people to their remote
islands from a mountainous
land beyond the sea.
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00:04:00,344 --> 00:04:02,482
Thor sees a link
between this myth
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00:04:02,517 --> 00:04:05,931
and an Andean legend
about a king called Kon-Tiki,
65
00:04:05,965 --> 00:04:08,793
who fled West over the ocean
to escape his enemies.
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00:04:10,310 --> 00:04:13,275
Beyond this parallel,
Thor's evidence is spotty.
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00:04:13,310 --> 00:04:16,448
But he believes
that the mountainous region
is Peru,
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00:04:16,482 --> 00:04:18,413
and that the Polynesians
are descendants
69
00:04:18,448 --> 00:04:22,551
of an ancient South American
population predating the Inca.
70
00:04:22,586 --> 00:04:25,551
But how could anyone,
with only
Stone Age technology,
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00:04:25,586 --> 00:04:31,137
make the 5,000-mile voyage
from South America
to Polynesia?
72
00:04:31,172 --> 00:04:35,827
Heyerdahl believed that
the indigenous inhabitants of
what is now modern-day Peru
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00:04:35,862 --> 00:04:41,482
built and sailed seaworthy
rafts made of balsa wood
as early as the 6th Century.
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00:04:41,517 --> 00:04:45,275
The same type of rafts
that Spanish conquistadors
described in their journals
75
00:04:45,310 --> 00:04:46,965
1,000 years later.
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00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:49,758
But making a seaworthy raft
is one thing.
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00:04:49,793 --> 00:04:53,344
Navigating it 5,000 miles
across the Pacific Ocean
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00:04:53,379 --> 00:04:57,137
to a cluster of islands
you don't even know are there
is something else.
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00:04:57,172 --> 00:04:59,448
So, how did Thor explain that?
80
00:05:01,379 --> 00:05:04,034
Heyerdahl's answer
is hiding in plain sight.
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00:05:04,068 --> 00:05:06,965
He believes that two
natural forces in the Pacific
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00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:11,310
can propel a rudimentary
wooden raft
over a massive distance,
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00:05:11,344 --> 00:05:13,448
right to Polynesia's doorstep,
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00:05:13,482 --> 00:05:18,655
even without the ability
to meaningfully
steer or navigate.
85
00:05:18,689 --> 00:05:23,482
The first is the trade winds,
the persistent winds blowing
East to West near the equator.
86
00:05:23,517 --> 00:05:25,241
[wind blowing]
87
00:05:25,275 --> 00:05:29,206
The second is
the Humboldt Current, a
powerful flow of cold water
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00:05:29,241 --> 00:05:34,965
moving North along
South America's coast, then
West all the way to Polynesia.
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00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:39,517
Heyerdahl's commitment
to a theory rooted
in blind faith is astounding.
90
00:05:39,551 --> 00:05:44,172
But is the voyage
he's proposing
even remotely possible?
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00:05:44,206 --> 00:05:48,172
My fellow Explorers Club
member, expedition filmmaker
Trevor Wallace,
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00:05:48,206 --> 00:05:51,827
has some perspective on Thor's
seemingly improbable theory.
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00:05:53,172 --> 00:05:56,275
He has sailed the same waters,
and cataloged the same islands
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00:05:56,310 --> 00:05:58,517
that gripped
Heyerdahl's curiosity.
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00:05:58,551 --> 00:06:02,068
Heyerdahl's theory is that
ancient South Americans
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00:06:02,103 --> 00:06:06,586
are rafting West
across the Pacific
to these islands.
97
00:06:06,620 --> 00:06:09,862
Technically speaking,
is this even possible?
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00:06:09,896 --> 00:06:12,896
Technically, yes. I think
most people would, would say,
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00:06:12,931 --> 00:06:15,379
you have a current, you have
the Humboldt Current
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00:06:15,413 --> 00:06:18,137
that's coming out from
South America and pushing
towards Polynesia.
101
00:06:18,172 --> 00:06:20,103
-[Josh] Right.
-[Trevor Wallace] And you have
trade winds.
102
00:06:20,137 --> 00:06:23,034
So you put a sail up
on anything that floats,
103
00:06:23,068 --> 00:06:24,517
and hypothetically,
it could get there.
104
00:06:24,551 --> 00:06:27,413
But it goes against
all conventional knowledge.
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00:06:27,448 --> 00:06:28,620
-Right.
-Like, you know,
the Polynesians
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00:06:28,655 --> 00:06:30,689
were the wayfinding voyagers.
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00:06:30,724 --> 00:06:32,758
-Yeah.
-Whereas, South Americans,
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00:06:32,793 --> 00:06:34,448
they were not
a voyaging culture.
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00:06:34,482 --> 00:06:36,827
Right, those were rafts
in a lake environment.
110
00:06:36,862 --> 00:06:38,379
-Yeah. [laughing]
-Yeah. Right?
111
00:06:38,413 --> 00:06:41,241
Yeah. You know, they
could have been transporting
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00:06:41,275 --> 00:06:43,620
heavy, monolithic
stone structures.
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00:06:43,655 --> 00:06:45,620
-Sure.
-But are they voyaging
over ocean?
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00:06:45,655 --> 00:06:47,275
-No.
-Probably not. [laughing]
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00:06:47,310 --> 00:06:50,724
-So this didn't really
make a lot of sense.
-Right.
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00:06:50,758 --> 00:06:54,517
[Josh] In 1946,
Heyerdahl confidently
presents his theory
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00:06:54,551 --> 00:06:56,448
to America's
leading anthropologists.
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00:06:58,758 --> 00:07:00,172
Thor.
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00:07:00,206 --> 00:07:02,758
Who instantly reject it.
120
00:07:02,793 --> 00:07:04,827
The most eminent
is Explorers Club member
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00:07:04,862 --> 00:07:07,275
and former club president
Herbert Spinden.
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00:07:08,827 --> 00:07:11,689
I'm sure this makes sense
to you.
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00:07:11,724 --> 00:07:14,310
He tells Heyerdahl
that his evidence is weak,
124
00:07:14,344 --> 00:07:18,793
and that he's ignoring
a wealth of linguistic data
linking Polynesia with Asia.
125
00:07:18,827 --> 00:07:21,655
You know, the Polynesian
language has parallels.
126
00:07:21,689 --> 00:07:27,482
But in Asia.
Not in South America.
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00:07:27,517 --> 00:07:30,931
And the idea of ancient
Peruvians sailing 5,000 miles
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00:07:30,965 --> 00:07:33,758
across the Pacific
on simple rafts?
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00:07:33,793 --> 00:07:37,172
-[sighs]
-This is the way
they traveled. I know it.
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00:07:37,206 --> 00:07:39,344
-Now, look...
-Damn it, Herbert,
I know I'm right!
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00:07:39,379 --> 00:07:42,172
All right! Let's see
how far you get
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00:07:42,206 --> 00:07:45,068
going from Peru to Polynesia
on a balsa raft.
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00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:48,448
Please.
134
00:07:48,482 --> 00:07:51,931
This final dig, intended
to slam the door
on their dispute,
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00:07:51,965 --> 00:07:56,000
will provide the fuel
that propels Thor
into Explorers Club history.
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00:07:57,793 --> 00:07:59,862
Heyerdahl preps
an audacious voyage
137
00:07:59,896 --> 00:08:05,034
that will take him and a crew
of five other Scandinavians
across the Pacific.
138
00:08:05,068 --> 00:08:08,068
The idea of marooning
themselves on a homemade raft
139
00:08:08,103 --> 00:08:12,586
on the world's largest ocean
sounds like a rejected pitch
forCastaway 2,
140
00:08:12,620 --> 00:08:17,206
especially since
only one of them
has any experience at sea.
141
00:08:17,241 --> 00:08:20,724
Heyerdahl himself
has never learned to swim.
142
00:08:20,758 --> 00:08:24,068
But the line
between insane and inspired
can be a fine one.
143
00:08:26,689 --> 00:08:29,758
In Peru, Thor's team
builds their unique raft,
144
00:08:29,793 --> 00:08:32,482
based on the descriptions
of the Spanish conquistadors,
145
00:08:32,517 --> 00:08:36,068
using only materials available
to ancient South Americans.
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00:08:37,620 --> 00:08:41,241
The plan is called everything
from irresponsible
to preposterous.
147
00:08:41,275 --> 00:08:43,655
But Heyerdahl's confidence
is unshaken.
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00:08:44,724 --> 00:08:46,758
He's challenged nature
since boyhood,
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00:08:46,793 --> 00:08:49,344
once shocking his parents
by venturing alone
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00:08:49,379 --> 00:08:53,862
into the icy Norwegian
wilderness with only
a sleeping bag.
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00:08:53,896 --> 00:08:57,344
As his raft takes shape,
the crew dubs it the Kon-Tiki,
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00:08:57,379 --> 00:08:59,068
after the Andean legend.
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00:09:00,379 --> 00:09:04,724
Nine balsa logs
comprise the 18' by 45' base,
154
00:09:04,758 --> 00:09:06,965
held together by hemp ropes.
155
00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:10,206
The deck is covered
by a latticework of bamboo.
156
00:09:10,241 --> 00:09:12,482
In the center
is a bamboo cabin.
157
00:09:12,517 --> 00:09:15,103
At the stern, a steering oar.
158
00:09:15,137 --> 00:09:18,172
The mast is made
of rock-hard mangrove.
159
00:09:18,206 --> 00:09:22,103
The main square sail
bears a likeness
of the sun god.
160
00:09:22,137 --> 00:09:24,793
The Kon-Tiki is straight out
of the 6th Century,
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00:09:24,827 --> 00:09:27,620
a vessel without a nail,
rivet or screw.
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00:09:29,620 --> 00:09:34,620
It set sail from Peru
on April 28, 1947.
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00:09:34,655 --> 00:09:38,793
The only modern gear
they bring are a navigational
tool called a sextant,
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00:09:38,827 --> 00:09:43,517
a hand-cranked radio,
and a 16 millimeter camera.
165
00:09:43,551 --> 00:09:48,724
Filming an expedition
as it happens. Great idea,
Thor. I owe you one.
166
00:09:48,758 --> 00:09:52,413
In the first weeks
of the voyage, the crew
has harrowing encounters
167
00:09:52,448 --> 00:09:55,000
with marine creatures
in the Pacific.
168
00:09:55,034 --> 00:09:59,172
They become the first people
to cross paths
with a living snake mackerel,
169
00:09:59,206 --> 00:10:03,724
after it washes aboard
at night into a crewman's
sleeping bag.
170
00:10:03,758 --> 00:10:08,586
They attract the attention
of a whale shark that nearly
upends the raft.
171
00:10:08,620 --> 00:10:11,344
From there on out,
the shark encounters
pick up steam,
172
00:10:11,379 --> 00:10:16,206
as Heyerdahl unwittingly stars
in his own Shark Week special
decades ahead of schedule.
173
00:10:17,758 --> 00:10:21,275
Riding the Humboldt Current,
the Kon-Tiki
travels Northwest,
174
00:10:21,310 --> 00:10:23,482
passing below
the Galapagos Islands,
175
00:10:23,517 --> 00:10:27,586
before the current dips
to the South
and continues West.
176
00:10:27,620 --> 00:10:32,931
Also pushed by the trade
winds, the raft averages
more than 55 miles per day.
177
00:10:32,965 --> 00:10:37,379
A month into their voyage,
the crew has already
sailed 1,200 miles.
178
00:10:39,413 --> 00:10:43,206
But at this point, Thor
discovers a horrific problem.
179
00:10:43,241 --> 00:10:47,448
The Kon-Tiki is riding
lower in the sea.
180
00:10:47,482 --> 00:10:51,827
-This is not a good thing?
-Yeah, I mean, the whole
reason he chose balsa wood
181
00:10:51,862 --> 00:10:54,896
is because it's incredibly
buoyant. But it's also porous.
182
00:10:54,931 --> 00:10:56,758
That was one of the fears
all along.
183
00:10:56,793 --> 00:10:59,827
And a lot of his critics
were saying, oh, it's gonna
fill up with water and sink.
184
00:10:59,862 --> 00:11:03,793
So when it starts to ride low,
they're thinking, oh, wow,
it's really happening.
185
00:11:03,827 --> 00:11:08,034
Right. And I have to imagine
these guys
are terrified by this?
186
00:11:08,068 --> 00:11:09,724
-There's no lifeline for them.
-Right.
187
00:11:09,758 --> 00:11:12,793
And I mean, for Heyerdahl
in particular,
he was fully committed.
188
00:11:12,827 --> 00:11:15,172
The guy couldn't even swim,
so, [laughing].
189
00:11:15,206 --> 00:11:17,965
-Which, by the way,
is the craziest part of this.
-Yeah. Yeah.
190
00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:21,137
Like, maybe some swim lessons
before the trip? Something?
191
00:11:21,172 --> 00:11:24,689
Because there is no,
to your point, like, there's,
they, they're not calling AAA.
192
00:11:24,724 --> 00:11:25,862
-No.
-Nobody's coming.
193
00:11:25,896 --> 00:11:28,379
-No.
-This raft goes in the water,
you're dead.
194
00:11:30,724 --> 00:11:34,862
As an experiment, Heyerdahl
cuts off a piece
of the Kon-Tiki's wood.
195
00:11:39,068 --> 00:11:41,482
What will happen to it
if he casts it adrift?
196
00:11:42,379 --> 00:11:43,551
[wood splashing in water]
197
00:11:45,896 --> 00:11:46,965
Oh, God.
198
00:11:49,448 --> 00:11:54,517
In a flash, their expedition
is no longer an adventure,
but a pending catastrophe.
199
00:11:54,551 --> 00:11:55,793
How long do we have?
200
00:11:56,413 --> 00:11:58,448
Days. Maybe a week.
201
00:12:12,724 --> 00:12:16,413
[Josh] This is Explorers Club
Flag Number 123.
202
00:12:16,448 --> 00:12:22,275
It was given to Thor Heyerdahl
for his epic voyage aboard
his balsa raft, the Kon-Tiki.
203
00:12:22,310 --> 00:12:26,206
Critics were certain
the Kon-Tiki, its crew,
and this flag
204
00:12:26,241 --> 00:12:27,724
would never be seen again.
205
00:12:27,758 --> 00:12:31,103
And a month into
their journey, when the raft
appeared to be sinking,
206
00:12:31,137 --> 00:12:32,965
Thor feared they were right.
207
00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:37,758
But then, he discovered that
a twist of fate weeks before
they set sail
208
00:12:37,793 --> 00:12:40,137
had saved them all.
209
00:12:40,172 --> 00:12:42,965
There is a treasured piece
in the Explorers Club archives
210
00:12:43,000 --> 00:12:47,310
that can explain what happened
with a little help from
club archivist Lacey Flint.
211
00:12:48,068 --> 00:12:50,896
So this is an old
piece of wood.
212
00:12:50,931 --> 00:12:54,482
A very old piece of wood.
Actually, it's not that old.
Uh, it's only from 1947.
213
00:12:54,517 --> 00:12:56,379
It's a piece
of the actual Kon-Tiki.
214
00:12:56,413 --> 00:12:57,965
-An actual piece
of the Kon-Tiki raft?
-Mmm-hmm.
215
00:12:58,000 --> 00:13:00,137
An actual piece of the raft.
Yes, absolutely.
216
00:13:00,172 --> 00:13:02,034
And it is light as a feather.
This is balsa wood.
217
00:13:02,068 --> 00:13:04,413
Balsa wood. Really
light weight, really porous.
218
00:13:04,448 --> 00:13:06,551
Um, it's actually
what you use to make
model airplanes with.
219
00:13:06,586 --> 00:13:08,275
So this
is what's absorbing water
220
00:13:08,310 --> 00:13:10,517
and causing the raft to sit
real low in the water.
221
00:13:10,551 --> 00:13:11,517
[Flint] Yeah, absolutely.
222
00:13:11,551 --> 00:13:13,620
[Josh] But the Kon-Tiki
doesn't sink.
223
00:13:13,655 --> 00:13:15,413
[Flint] The Kon-Tiki
does not sink, and...
224
00:13:15,448 --> 00:13:19,413
-So, why?
-That's because they were
using fresh balsa wood.
225
00:13:19,448 --> 00:13:23,206
So the initial plan was to
just buy some balsa wood
when they got to Peru.
226
00:13:23,241 --> 00:13:26,517
-Right.
-Serendipitously, turns out,
no balsa wood logs.
227
00:13:26,551 --> 00:13:29,275
So they actually have to go
to the Ecuadorian Jungle,
228
00:13:29,310 --> 00:13:33,034
chop down their own logs,
and then fashion the raft.
229
00:13:33,068 --> 00:13:35,241
-Okay.
-And the reason
this is important
230
00:13:35,275 --> 00:13:38,241
is because those logs
still had fresh sap in them.
231
00:13:38,275 --> 00:13:41,517
And that sap is what's
filling in all these
porous gaps here,
232
00:13:41,551 --> 00:13:43,068
and helping them to float.
233
00:13:43,103 --> 00:13:46,551
And if they had sourced
the balsa wood from Peru,
what would have happened?
234
00:13:46,586 --> 00:13:49,034
Really probably would have
filled with water, and it
would have sunk.
235
00:13:49,068 --> 00:13:51,103
Wow.
236
00:13:51,137 --> 00:13:53,551
[Josh] Satisfied
that they won't be
swimming to Polynesia,
237
00:13:53,586 --> 00:13:55,724
the crew
of the Kon-Tiki sails on.
238
00:13:57,034 --> 00:13:59,551
Three months pass
with no land in sight.
239
00:13:59,586 --> 00:14:05,931
Then, on the 101st day
of their voyage, they finally
spot an island on the horizon.
240
00:14:05,965 --> 00:14:10,586
It is Rangiroa, 475 miles
East of Tahiti.
241
00:14:11,551 --> 00:14:15,034
The date is August 7, 1947.
242
00:14:15,068 --> 00:14:17,896
It's the moment
Thor and his crew
have been praying for.
243
00:14:17,931 --> 00:14:20,137
Beautiful.
244
00:14:20,172 --> 00:14:24,000
[Josh] But when they draw
within sight of the island's
beach, their hearts sink.
245
00:14:27,482 --> 00:14:31,862
Just below the ocean surface,
a massive coral reef
blocks their path.
246
00:14:33,551 --> 00:14:38,689
The coral is as sharp
as razorblades,
and stretches for miles.
247
00:14:38,724 --> 00:14:43,551
Land is in sight. They're
right there. And between them
and safety is this coral reef.
248
00:14:43,586 --> 00:14:45,827
So what can they do?
249
00:14:45,862 --> 00:14:50,172
They can't do anything.
As a drifting vessel, they're
at the mercy of the ocean.
250
00:14:50,206 --> 00:14:54,827
The big problem is that
the Kon-Tiki was not meant
to be maneuverable.
251
00:14:54,862 --> 00:14:57,827
-Right.
-And so, like, they're not
getting around the reef,
252
00:14:57,862 --> 00:15:00,275
they're going straight
into it, and they just
have to hold on
253
00:15:00,310 --> 00:15:02,379
and hope that they don't
get torn to shreds.
254
00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:07,000
[Josh] After 4,300 miles,
the six men
255
00:15:07,034 --> 00:15:09,379
are just a few hundred yards
from their goal.
256
00:15:09,413 --> 00:15:12,206
But they're staring death
in the face.
257
00:15:12,241 --> 00:15:13,517
Why don't we just land?
258
00:15:13,551 --> 00:15:16,689
We can't just land, okay?
The coral
will tear this raft apart.
259
00:15:16,724 --> 00:15:18,172
Let's just swim for it.
260
00:15:18,206 --> 00:15:21,586
We can't just swim, either.
The coral will tear us apart.
261
00:15:21,620 --> 00:15:23,931
Listen. We have to stay
on this raft.
262
00:15:27,034 --> 00:15:29,448
As the Kon-Tiki
washes toward the reef,
263
00:15:29,482 --> 00:15:34,551
the crew's radio man
makes contact with a HAM radio
operator in New Zealand.
264
00:15:34,586 --> 00:15:42,000
His last, hurried words:
"50 yards left, okay,
here we go. Goodbye."
265
00:15:42,034 --> 00:15:45,034
All the crew can do now
is brace for impact.
266
00:15:58,931 --> 00:16:04,206
A fortuitous swell throws
the Kon-Tiki into the shallows
beyond the breakers.
267
00:16:04,241 --> 00:16:06,379
The cabin and mast
break apart.
268
00:16:07,586 --> 00:16:10,206
Hanging onto the logs,
every member of the crew
269
00:16:10,241 --> 00:16:14,068
is able to stagger onto land,
largely unharmed.
270
00:16:14,103 --> 00:16:18,482
The island
is uninhabited, but one
radio transmission later,
271
00:16:18,517 --> 00:16:20,965
help is on the way.
272
00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:25,310
The flag of Norway,
and below it, the flag
of the Explorers Club,
273
00:16:25,344 --> 00:16:29,310
welcome envoys
of a neighboring
Polynesian island.
274
00:16:29,344 --> 00:16:34,620
Against all odds, defying
all reason, Heyerdahl's voyage
is a success.
275
00:16:36,482 --> 00:16:39,448
Today, the Kon-Tiki resides
in a Norwegian museum.
276
00:16:41,172 --> 00:16:45,241
In recent decades, most
experts have become
more convinced than ever
277
00:16:45,275 --> 00:16:48,793
that Heyerdahl's
migration theory is invalid.
278
00:16:48,827 --> 00:16:53,275
DNA evidence shows
almost conclusively that
Polynesia's earliest settlers
279
00:16:53,310 --> 00:16:56,448
came from Asia,
not South America.
280
00:16:56,482 --> 00:16:58,896
Still, a flicker of doubt
remains.
281
00:16:58,931 --> 00:17:03,068
One DNA study has revealed
that several
Polynesian populations
282
00:17:03,103 --> 00:17:07,689
bear a genetic signature
traced to Native
South Americans.
283
00:17:07,724 --> 00:17:11,862
And critics can no longer
claim that the epic sea voyage
Thor envisioned
284
00:17:11,896 --> 00:17:13,034
was impossible.
285
00:17:15,241 --> 00:17:17,862
To make a journey many
believed was delusional,
286
00:17:17,896 --> 00:17:22,517
Kon-Tiki logged over 4,000
miles across the Pacific.
287
00:17:22,551 --> 00:17:27,482
But another unique vehicle
of exploration proved that
distance isn't everything.
288
00:17:27,517 --> 00:17:30,103
After all, it traveled
only 17 miles,
289
00:17:30,137 --> 00:17:33,551
just far enough for the men
onboard to find a treasure
290
00:17:33,586 --> 00:17:37,137
that would change
our understanding
of how our planet was born.
291
00:17:37,172 --> 00:17:40,448
And the really cool part is,
they didn't do it on earth.
292
00:17:43,482 --> 00:17:46,689
The date is July 25, 1971.
293
00:17:46,724 --> 00:17:50,206
At Cape Kennedy in Florida,
the crew of Apollo 15,
294
00:17:50,241 --> 00:17:55,000
David Scott, Jim Irwin,
and Explorers Club member
Al Worden,
295
00:17:55,034 --> 00:17:58,482
attend a final briefing
on the eve of their liftoff.
296
00:17:58,517 --> 00:18:02,758
All right, guys.
TLI is scheduled
for T-plus two hours.
297
00:18:02,793 --> 00:18:05,517
As on all Apollo moon flights,
they'll be carrying
298
00:18:05,551 --> 00:18:08,551
a downsized version
of the Explorers Club flag,
299
00:18:08,586 --> 00:18:10,931
trimmed down
to save space and weight.
300
00:18:12,724 --> 00:18:16,862
Apollo 15 marks a huge
turning point in America's
space program.
301
00:18:18,137 --> 00:18:20,620
To this time, it's been about
beating the Russians.
302
00:18:20,655 --> 00:18:24,517
Now, it's about solving
the riddle of our
solar system's creation.
303
00:18:26,206 --> 00:18:29,413
NASA knows that the moon
is a galactic time capsule.
304
00:18:29,448 --> 00:18:31,758
Its rocks hold clues
to its origin.
305
00:18:33,482 --> 00:18:39,241
But the rocks retrieved
from missions before Apollo 15
don't offer the best evidence.
306
00:18:39,275 --> 00:18:44,000
They come from areas chosen
for their flat terrain,
tailor-made for safe landings.
307
00:18:45,620 --> 00:18:50,000
The Apollo 15 astronauts
will land in a geologically
rich area,
308
00:18:50,034 --> 00:18:53,068
rimmed by
mountains and canyons.
309
00:18:53,103 --> 00:18:57,517
Their goal is to learn about
the moon's origins
by finding its oldest rocks.
310
00:18:59,310 --> 00:19:02,172
The Mount Hadley Delta
should be a rich site.
311
00:19:02,206 --> 00:19:04,448
And Spur Crater. I like
our chances there.
312
00:19:04,482 --> 00:19:05,655
Agreed.
313
00:19:05,689 --> 00:19:07,793
They're told to keep
a special lookout
314
00:19:07,827 --> 00:19:10,896
for a white, crystalline rock
called anorthosite,
315
00:19:10,931 --> 00:19:12,689
since some
of the scientists believe
316
00:19:12,724 --> 00:19:16,275
it could be the remnants
of the moon's
primordial crust.
317
00:19:16,310 --> 00:19:18,689
But to cover their search zone
effectively,
318
00:19:18,724 --> 00:19:22,310
they'll need greater range
than any previous mission.
319
00:19:22,344 --> 00:19:24,931
What's the distance
from our landing site
to Delta L, though?
320
00:19:25,655 --> 00:19:28,655
It is three miles.
321
00:19:28,689 --> 00:19:33,689
In the past, lunar astronauts
only explored areas
the size of a football field,
322
00:19:33,724 --> 00:19:37,724
never straying farther
from their landers than they
could safely walk back
323
00:19:37,758 --> 00:19:39,068
in case of an emergency.
324
00:19:40,482 --> 00:19:42,758
Apollo 15 has the solution.
325
00:19:44,482 --> 00:19:47,379
A very American solution.
A car.
326
00:19:47,413 --> 00:19:51,448
Its official designation
is the LRV,
for Lunar Roving Vehicle.
327
00:19:53,172 --> 00:19:57,586
[NASA narrator] The LRV.
A spacecraft with wheels.
328
00:19:57,620 --> 00:20:02,206
[Josh] The rover is
a 460-pound electric go-kart.
329
00:20:02,241 --> 00:20:06,655
Every part has been whittled
down to its lightest,
most efficient iteration.
330
00:20:06,689 --> 00:20:09,275
Max speed,
eight miles per hour.
331
00:20:09,310 --> 00:20:11,413
There is no steering wheel
or foot pedals.
332
00:20:11,448 --> 00:20:13,482
-Just a joystick.
-[mechanical whirring]
333
00:20:13,517 --> 00:20:18,103
Each wheel
is independently driven
by a quarter-horsepower motor.
334
00:20:18,137 --> 00:20:20,931
Its builders have literally
reinvented the wheel,
335
00:20:20,965 --> 00:20:24,586
creating wire mesh tires
with titanium treads.
336
00:20:25,344 --> 00:20:27,068
On top of all that,
337
00:20:27,103 --> 00:20:28,965
it folds up like a beach chair
338
00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:31,862
for easy storage
in the Moon lander's
descent stage.
339
00:20:35,206 --> 00:20:40,586
The lunar rover pre-dated
Mike Massimino's 18-year
career as a NASA astronaut.
340
00:20:40,620 --> 00:20:43,517
But he's always been
moonstruck by
its colorful history.
341
00:20:44,551 --> 00:20:46,965
The lunar rover
is kind of crazy to me.
342
00:20:47,000 --> 00:20:48,758
-Yeah, yeah.
-It is. It's like...
343
00:20:48,793 --> 00:20:52,172
It's like let's not just
go to the moon,
let's bring a car up there.
344
00:20:52,206 --> 00:20:54,620
-Yeah. The dune buggy.
-Right? A dune buggy.
345
00:20:54,655 --> 00:20:56,551
Who's ever built a car
for the moon before?
346
00:20:56,586 --> 00:20:58,137
-Right?
-[laughs]
347
00:20:58,172 --> 00:21:01,034
These are the first ones
and it's hard enough
I would imagine to build a car
348
00:21:01,068 --> 00:21:02,586
-on Earth. Right?
-Right.
349
00:21:02,620 --> 00:21:05,862
How do you design
a car for the moon, right?
350
00:21:05,896 --> 00:21:07,655
I mean, what are
the design challenges here
351
00:21:07,689 --> 00:21:09,862
that they have to meet
and figure out?
352
00:21:09,896 --> 00:21:11,862
Uh, anything you do
in space is harder.
353
00:21:11,896 --> 00:21:13,655
-Right.
-Then what you're...
'Cause you have to account
354
00:21:13,689 --> 00:21:15,000
for things that are
at the extreme.
355
00:21:15,034 --> 00:21:17,344
-Especially on the moon
for a car.
-Right.
356
00:21:17,379 --> 00:21:21,241
You have extreme
temperatures, 500 degrees,
uh, temperature swings
357
00:21:21,275 --> 00:21:22,896
that this car is gonna
have to withstand.
358
00:21:22,931 --> 00:21:24,931
So that's not an easy thing
right there.
359
00:21:24,965 --> 00:21:27,000
-Right.
-And the terrain
is really hostile.
360
00:21:27,034 --> 00:21:29,241
You've got rocks
and sharp edges
361
00:21:29,275 --> 00:21:31,724
and lots of dust
all over the place.
362
00:21:31,758 --> 00:21:33,206
-It's pretty challenging.
-I mean, it's... it's...
363
00:21:33,241 --> 00:21:36,172
-...it is built for that low
gravity environment, right?
-Yes.
364
00:21:36,206 --> 00:21:37,344
Like, would it work on Earth?
365
00:21:37,379 --> 00:21:39,310
Ah, no. I don't think
you'd want it to
366
00:21:39,344 --> 00:21:41,551
because it was
so lightly constructed
367
00:21:41,586 --> 00:21:43,310
for the 1/6 gravity
of the moon.
368
00:21:43,344 --> 00:21:45,172
You would put your foot
right through the floor board
369
00:21:45,206 --> 00:21:46,241
-if you tried it on Earth.
-Really?
370
00:21:46,275 --> 00:21:48,000
-Yeah. Wouldn't be workable.
-Wow.
371
00:21:49,620 --> 00:21:53,172
[Josh] This lunar hotrod
was 17 months in the making.
372
00:21:53,206 --> 00:21:57,482
But NASA contractors
had been tinkering
with prototypes for a decade.
373
00:21:57,517 --> 00:21:59,689
Everything from a motorcycle,
374
00:21:59,724 --> 00:22:01,103
to a mechanical worm,
375
00:22:01,137 --> 00:22:04,620
to something resembling
the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile.
376
00:22:04,655 --> 00:22:07,551
But in the end,
GM and Boeing win the job
377
00:22:07,586 --> 00:22:10,413
and produce a state
of the art moon buggy.
378
00:22:10,448 --> 00:22:15,137
And since it cost
the modern equivalent
of $266 million,
379
00:22:15,172 --> 00:22:19,068
NASA thinks it might
be wise to give
the Apollo 15 astronauts
380
00:22:19,103 --> 00:22:20,551
a little driver's ed.
381
00:22:22,103 --> 00:22:25,551
But to do it right,
they have to do something
a little crazy.
382
00:22:25,586 --> 00:22:28,241
Transform a piece
of Arizona into the moon...
383
00:22:28,724 --> 00:22:30,758
...the hard way.
384
00:22:30,793 --> 00:22:35,689
[man] Five, four,
three, two, one.
385
00:22:35,724 --> 00:22:36,724
Fire!
386
00:22:44,068 --> 00:22:47,000
Fifty years ago,
the Apollo 15 astronauts
387
00:22:47,034 --> 00:22:50,586
went rock hunting
in the world's first
extraterrestrial car.
388
00:22:50,620 --> 00:22:53,896
With any luck, I'll be doing
some off-roading on the moon
in my lifetime,
389
00:22:53,931 --> 00:22:55,310
following in
their tread marks.
390
00:22:57,000 --> 00:22:59,551
A half century
after designing the LRV,
391
00:22:59,586 --> 00:23:04,275
NASA gave me
a sneak peek of the future
in a prototype rover.
392
00:23:04,310 --> 00:23:06,034
I took the wheel
for my joy ride
393
00:23:06,068 --> 00:23:09,000
on a lunar surface
mock up in Houston.
394
00:23:09,034 --> 00:23:11,448
This is officially
the coolest 4x4
I've ever been in.
395
00:23:11,482 --> 00:23:13,482
Actually, I guess
it's more like a 12x12.
396
00:23:15,517 --> 00:23:17,965
Okay, Josh, I'm transferring
control over to you.
397
00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:19,896
-[Josh laughs]
-Do a pure twist
to your right.
398
00:23:21,103 --> 00:23:23,448
[Josh] Get out of here.
399
00:23:23,482 --> 00:23:25,758
Got a speaker system here.
Play some tunes.
400
00:23:25,793 --> 00:23:30,103
[man] Yeah, all the comforts
you want in a RV,
you want in this.
401
00:23:30,137 --> 00:23:31,241
[Josh]
And what about cup holders?
402
00:23:31,275 --> 00:23:32,931
[man] I already got
cup holders for ya.
403
00:23:32,965 --> 00:23:34,448
-[both laugh]
-[Josh] They're in.
404
00:23:35,931 --> 00:23:39,103
What you just saw
was the lunar rover
of the future.
405
00:23:39,137 --> 00:23:42,000
To learn how to drive
the original in 1971,
406
00:23:42,034 --> 00:23:46,103
the Apollo astronauts
needed a lunar test track
like the one I navigated
407
00:23:46,137 --> 00:23:48,068
or attempted to navigate.
408
00:23:48,103 --> 00:23:50,620
So, NASA got busy
doing a little moon-scaping.
409
00:23:53,758 --> 00:23:57,793
[Josh] Its starting point
is this 66-acre field
of volcanic cinders
410
00:23:57,827 --> 00:24:00,758
near Flagstaff, Arizona.
411
00:24:00,793 --> 00:24:04,137
To make the rover's
driving experience
as real as possible,
412
00:24:04,172 --> 00:24:08,793
engineers recreate
a specific portion
of the moon's terrain.
413
00:24:08,827 --> 00:24:11,172
That means burying
explosive charges
414
00:24:11,206 --> 00:24:13,793
to make 426 craters.
415
00:24:13,827 --> 00:24:18,896
All in the same position
and of the same size
as the ones on the moon.
416
00:24:18,931 --> 00:24:22,000
[man] T minus 10,
nine, eight, seven...
417
00:24:22,034 --> 00:24:23,551
[Josh] The fun part
is that they're going
418
00:24:23,586 --> 00:24:26,379
to blast the majority
of them all at the same time.
419
00:24:26,413 --> 00:24:28,000
[man] ...two, one.
420
00:24:28,034 --> 00:24:28,965
Fire!
421
00:24:33,310 --> 00:24:35,034
[Josh] The result is surgical.
422
00:24:35,068 --> 00:24:39,931
The blown out terrain
perfectly mimics an actual
sector of the moon's surface.
423
00:24:39,965 --> 00:24:42,172
Making it an ideal
obstacle course
424
00:24:42,206 --> 00:24:45,344
for a version
of the rover suitable
for use on Earth.
425
00:24:47,551 --> 00:24:50,379
The ride in Arizona
is a little otherworldly...
426
00:24:52,379 --> 00:24:54,862
...but it's got nothing
on the real thing.
427
00:24:57,896 --> 00:25:00,896
The date is July 31, 1971.
428
00:25:00,931 --> 00:25:05,103
History's first
extraterrestrial drive
is a treat
429
00:25:05,137 --> 00:25:07,206
for astronauts
Irwin and Scott.
430
00:25:08,758 --> 00:25:12,379
It works, I think bucking
bronco was somewhat
of an understatement.
431
00:25:12,413 --> 00:25:16,275
This thing really
gave 'em quite a jolty,
uh, bouncy ride.
432
00:25:16,310 --> 00:25:18,965
They were bouncing
all over the place
with this thing.
433
00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:22,068
They had to wear seatbelts,
not just for good form,
434
00:25:22,103 --> 00:25:23,689
'cause they would've been
thrown away from this thing.
435
00:25:23,724 --> 00:25:25,931
-Right.
-If they weren't buckled in,
they would go flying with it.
436
00:25:25,965 --> 00:25:28,344
-I mean, you literally could
go flying out of this thing.
-You're out.
437
00:25:28,379 --> 00:25:30,241
-That's right. Yeah.
-Right.
438
00:25:30,275 --> 00:25:33,103
[Josh] But this
is swashbuckling
in the pursuit of science.
439
00:25:33,137 --> 00:25:34,931
[astronaut] Okay, Dewey,
let's go to work.
440
00:25:34,965 --> 00:25:36,586
[Josh] During their
three days on the moon,
441
00:25:36,620 --> 00:25:41,965
Irwin and Scott collect
170 pounds of lunar
rocks and soil.
442
00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:46,551
The rare samples
will keep geologists
busy for decades.
443
00:25:46,586 --> 00:25:49,586
But one treasure hunt
in the rover stands
above all.
444
00:25:49,620 --> 00:25:51,862
On the rim of Spur Crater,
445
00:25:51,896 --> 00:25:54,241
three miles
from their landing site,
446
00:25:54,275 --> 00:25:57,689
Irwin and Scott have found
their geological holy grail.
447
00:25:57,724 --> 00:26:00,862
A half pound chunk
of anorthosite.
448
00:26:00,896 --> 00:26:03,413
It's a piece of the moon's
original crust.
449
00:26:03,448 --> 00:26:06,517
Older than any moon rock
ever found.
450
00:26:06,551 --> 00:26:10,413
It comes to be known
as the Genesis Rock.
451
00:26:10,448 --> 00:26:13,827
Its geology is eerily
similar to rocks from Earth.
452
00:26:13,862 --> 00:26:17,137
Leading to a radical
new theory about
the moon's origin.
453
00:26:18,655 --> 00:26:20,448
Four and a half
billion years ago
454
00:26:20,482 --> 00:26:23,620
when Earth was still
a mass of molten magma,
455
00:26:23,655 --> 00:26:26,827
it was blind sighted
by a Mars-sized asteroid.
456
00:26:28,724 --> 00:26:33,379
Within a matter of weeks,
the debris had coalesced
into a single mass.
457
00:26:33,413 --> 00:26:37,275
About a year later,
that mass had evolved
into the spherical foundation
458
00:26:37,310 --> 00:26:40,310
of Earth's inextricable
dance partner, the moon.
459
00:26:43,000 --> 00:26:45,758
The cosmic collision
believed to have formed
the moon
460
00:26:45,793 --> 00:26:48,103
may have also helped
create us.
461
00:26:50,482 --> 00:26:54,275
A moonless Earth
would have no
or much gentler tides.
462
00:26:54,310 --> 00:26:57,931
Tides were likely
a key ingredient
to creating life on Earth.
463
00:26:57,965 --> 00:27:03,448
By sloshing together
its primordial soup
of foundational chemicals.
464
00:27:03,482 --> 00:27:07,413
So the Genesis Rock tells
more than just the story
of the moon's origin,
465
00:27:07,448 --> 00:27:10,896
it also tells of our own.
466
00:27:10,931 --> 00:27:15,862
Without the lunar rover,
the Apollo 15 astronauts
would never have found it.
467
00:27:15,896 --> 00:27:18,310
But on its third
and final day on the moon,
468
00:27:18,344 --> 00:27:21,551
it still has one pioneering
duty to perform.
469
00:27:21,586 --> 00:27:24,827
An historic first
to be witnessed
live on Earth
470
00:27:24,862 --> 00:27:26,896
by millions
of television viewers.
471
00:27:32,965 --> 00:27:34,793
When the Apollo astronauts
completed their last drive
472
00:27:34,827 --> 00:27:36,896
in the lunar rover
50 years ago,
473
00:27:36,931 --> 00:27:39,586
they chose a very specific
parking spot.
474
00:27:39,620 --> 00:27:42,275
While not the same
as parking a car
in New York City,
475
00:27:42,310 --> 00:27:44,344
the challenges are comparable.
476
00:27:44,379 --> 00:27:47,965
The rover was about
to make history one last time
with its dashcam.
477
00:27:49,965 --> 00:27:52,586
[Josh] On the previous
three successful
Apollo missions,
478
00:27:52,620 --> 00:27:55,655
the astronauts blasted off
the moon unseen.
479
00:27:55,689 --> 00:27:56,931
Not this time.
480
00:27:56,965 --> 00:27:58,793
From a distance of 500 feet,
481
00:27:58,827 --> 00:28:02,827
the rover's camera
is aimed at the Apollo lander,
the Falcon,
482
00:28:02,862 --> 00:28:06,000
as Jim Irwin and Dave Scott
prepare for liftoff.
483
00:28:11,758 --> 00:28:16,482
[Josh] The lunar rover
was an electric vehicle
far ahead of its time.
484
00:28:16,517 --> 00:28:19,344
But when it comes
to launching rockets
out of the Earth's atmosphere,
485
00:28:19,379 --> 00:28:21,551
they require a lot of fuel.
486
00:28:21,586 --> 00:28:24,862
Let's just say the MPG
isn't exactly ideal.
487
00:28:26,551 --> 00:28:28,379
One Explorers Club member
had a vision
488
00:28:28,413 --> 00:28:30,724
for environmentally
responsible travel
489
00:28:30,758 --> 00:28:33,172
that everyone said
was impossible.
490
00:28:33,206 --> 00:28:38,413
Like, you know, flying
a plane around the world
without a drop of fuel.
491
00:28:38,448 --> 00:28:43,000
Bertrand Piccard
set out to make
that dream a reality.
492
00:28:43,034 --> 00:28:46,172
The moment when
this crazy idea first
occurs to Piccard
493
00:28:46,206 --> 00:28:48,379
takes us back to 1999,
494
00:28:48,413 --> 00:28:51,068
when he's on the brink
of achieving a different
first.
495
00:28:54,103 --> 00:28:57,931
Soaring over Egypt,
he and his co-pilot
are minutes from completing
496
00:28:57,965 --> 00:29:01,551
the first non-stop,
round the world
balloon flight,
497
00:29:01,586 --> 00:29:04,896
but their liquid propane fuel
is nearly exhausted.
498
00:29:04,931 --> 00:29:07,310
He began with 3.7 tons,
499
00:29:07,344 --> 00:29:09,793
now only 10 gallons remain.
500
00:29:10,827 --> 00:29:12,724
Piccard lands triumphantly,
501
00:29:12,758 --> 00:29:15,241
but his close call
ignites a vision.
502
00:29:15,275 --> 00:29:19,655
A world in which man
can fly without burning
fossil fuels.
503
00:29:19,689 --> 00:29:22,793
He vows to one day
make another flight
around the world
504
00:29:22,827 --> 00:29:25,586
in a plane powered
solely by the sun.
505
00:29:25,620 --> 00:29:29,896
Aviation experts dismiss
the idea as fantasy.
506
00:29:29,931 --> 00:29:34,551
But Piccard devotes
the next 15 years of his life
to realize his dream.
507
00:29:36,586 --> 00:29:39,965
His compulsion to push
the limits runs in his blood.
508
00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:43,068
In 1960, his father,
Jacques, was the first
509
00:29:43,103 --> 00:29:47,482
to plunge to the ocean's
lowest point, Challenger Deep.
510
00:29:47,517 --> 00:29:50,793
Bertrand's grandfather,
Auguste, designed
the submersible
511
00:29:50,827 --> 00:29:52,896
that Jacques piloted.
512
00:29:52,931 --> 00:29:56,793
Thirty years after gaining
fame with his pioneering
balloon flights
513
00:29:56,827 --> 00:29:59,931
studying the Earth's
stratosphere.
514
00:29:59,965 --> 00:30:04,413
Like many explorers,
Bertrand is competitive
to the point of obsession.
515
00:30:04,448 --> 00:30:07,413
He doesn't
just want to live up
to the family legacy,
516
00:30:07,448 --> 00:30:09,310
he wants to take it
to new heights.
517
00:30:11,103 --> 00:30:15,862
To assist him, he's recruited
former Swiss Air Force fighter
pilot Andre Borschberg
518
00:30:15,896 --> 00:30:18,620
and a team of crack engineers.
519
00:30:18,655 --> 00:30:22,482
After years of effort,
they've created a radical
new aircraft
520
00:30:22,517 --> 00:30:24,413
unlike any ever built.
521
00:30:26,724 --> 00:30:28,034
The Solar Impulse.
522
00:30:30,482 --> 00:30:32,310
The plane holds one pilot.
523
00:30:32,344 --> 00:30:34,931
It has the wing span of a 747,
524
00:30:34,965 --> 00:30:37,965
but weighs the same
as a mid-sized car.
525
00:30:38,000 --> 00:30:40,103
The skeleton is carbon fiber.
526
00:30:40,137 --> 00:30:42,034
Three times lighter
than paper.
527
00:30:43,689 --> 00:30:45,758
Seventeen thousand
solar cells,
528
00:30:45,793 --> 00:30:47,793
each as thin as a human hair,
529
00:30:47,827 --> 00:30:49,931
cover the wing and fuselage.
530
00:30:49,965 --> 00:30:53,965
The energy flows
to four 17-horsepower
engines.
531
00:30:54,000 --> 00:30:57,724
Their power output is
comparable to the Wright
brothers' first plane.
532
00:30:58,931 --> 00:31:01,655
Spare energy is stored
in four batteries.
533
00:31:01,689 --> 00:31:05,275
They can be fully charged
by the solar cells
in six hours.
534
00:31:05,310 --> 00:31:08,344
Allowing the plane
to fly at night
or under cloud cover.
535
00:31:10,827 --> 00:31:13,517
The date is June 2, 2014.
536
00:31:13,551 --> 00:31:17,551
Piccard's innovative aircraft
prepares for its first
test flight.
537
00:31:17,586 --> 00:31:20,103
It's nearly as silent
as a glider,
538
00:31:20,137 --> 00:31:23,793
but it needs no powered
plane to tow it aloft.
539
00:31:23,827 --> 00:31:27,793
Its takeoff speed is
a blistering 27 miles
per hour.
540
00:31:29,413 --> 00:31:32,965
Usain Bolt could give
the Solar Impulse
a run for its money.
541
00:31:33,000 --> 00:31:35,034
On the ground at least.
542
00:31:35,068 --> 00:31:39,000
At cruising altitude,
its average speed
increases to 45.
543
00:31:40,517 --> 00:31:43,931
The Solar Impulse
was a marvel
of energy efficiency,
544
00:31:43,965 --> 00:31:45,655
but there was a tradeoff.
545
00:31:45,689 --> 00:31:47,827
The craft was so big and light
546
00:31:47,862 --> 00:31:50,896
that it became unstable
in anything but perfect
weather.
547
00:31:50,931 --> 00:31:54,379
A down draft or up draft
could snap the plane in two.
548
00:31:54,413 --> 00:31:57,482
It was no match for rain
or turbulence
549
00:31:57,517 --> 00:31:59,448
and banking more
than 10 degrees
550
00:31:59,482 --> 00:32:01,344
would throw it
into a tailspin.
551
00:32:03,000 --> 00:32:05,931
Despite the risks,
Piccard sets out
to make history
552
00:32:05,965 --> 00:32:08,068
on March 25, 2015.
553
00:32:09,068 --> 00:32:11,103
The starting point
for Solar Impulse's
554
00:32:11,137 --> 00:32:13,379
round the world flight
is Abu Dhabi,
555
00:32:13,413 --> 00:32:15,206
the capital
of the United Arab Emirates.
556
00:32:17,068 --> 00:32:21,517
The plan is to complete
the 26,000 mile trek
in 12 legs
557
00:32:21,551 --> 00:32:24,827
with Piccard and Borschberg
alternating as pilots.
558
00:32:24,862 --> 00:32:27,206
Borschberg takes
the first leg.
559
00:32:27,241 --> 00:32:30,724
Mission control
is 3,000 miles away
in Monaco,
560
00:32:30,758 --> 00:32:34,862
where meteorologists
will monitor weather models
to help steer the plane
561
00:32:34,896 --> 00:32:37,896
through corridors
of pristine weather.
562
00:32:37,931 --> 00:32:41,689
Borschberg completes
the first leg to Oman
uneventfully.
563
00:32:41,724 --> 00:32:43,931
But on the second leg
en route to India,
564
00:32:43,965 --> 00:32:45,931
Piccard runs into trouble.
565
00:32:51,655 --> 00:32:54,241
[Josh] He can't keep
the plane on its assigned
heading,
566
00:32:54,275 --> 00:32:57,241
but the issue vanishes
as quickly as it appears
567
00:32:57,275 --> 00:32:59,896
and Piccard lands safely.
568
00:32:59,931 --> 00:33:03,724
Bad weather keeps
Solar Impulse grounded
for extended periods
569
00:33:03,758 --> 00:33:04,931
over the next three months.
570
00:33:06,137 --> 00:33:09,586
By day 111,
Solar Impulse
has reached Japan
571
00:33:09,620 --> 00:33:12,310
and now faces
its ultimate test.
572
00:33:12,344 --> 00:33:18,137
A five day, 5,500 mile
flight over the Pacific Ocean
to Hawaii.
573
00:33:18,172 --> 00:33:20,068
Borschberg is at the controls.
574
00:33:21,137 --> 00:33:24,206
The dangers have
never been higher.
575
00:33:24,241 --> 00:33:28,517
If he hits foul weather,
Solar Impulse doesn't
have the speed to outrun it.
576
00:33:28,551 --> 00:33:32,137
And over the open ocean,
there's nowhere safe to land.
577
00:33:32,172 --> 00:33:36,000
Two days out,
Borschberg is faced
with a critical problem.
578
00:33:36,034 --> 00:33:38,517
Not with the weather,
but with the aircraft.
579
00:33:38,551 --> 00:33:40,620
Its batteries are overheating.
580
00:33:40,655 --> 00:33:43,172
Temperatures approach
122 degrees.
581
00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:47,172
If things don't take
a turn for the better,
582
00:33:47,206 --> 00:33:50,068
his only option is to ditch
the fragile airplane
583
00:33:50,103 --> 00:33:53,137
and hope help
can arrive in time.
584
00:33:59,310 --> 00:34:01,655
Exploration and snowboarding.
585
00:34:01,689 --> 00:34:04,793
Two words you wouldn't
necessarily expect to find
in the same sentence.
586
00:34:04,827 --> 00:34:06,827
But with the help
of a grant from Discovery,
587
00:34:06,862 --> 00:34:09,103
Dr. Connor M. Wood
is changing that
588
00:34:09,137 --> 00:34:11,310
with his Explorers Club
expedition.
589
00:34:11,344 --> 00:34:14,310
Connor's a PhD
in wildlife ecology
590
00:34:14,344 --> 00:34:16,793
and an experienced
backcountry snowboarder.
591
00:34:16,827 --> 00:34:20,655
Navigating California's
Sierra Nevada mountains
on snowboards,
592
00:34:20,689 --> 00:34:23,413
he and his team
are deploying
listening devices
593
00:34:23,448 --> 00:34:26,517
that will record
the mating calls
of an endangered species
594
00:34:26,551 --> 00:34:30,965
that spends 30 weeks
of every year buried
under the Sierra snow,
595
00:34:31,000 --> 00:34:33,103
the Yosemite toad.
596
00:34:33,137 --> 00:34:35,620
For two weeks,
just as the snow
is melting,
597
00:34:35,655 --> 00:34:37,724
the toads will sing
their hearts out.
598
00:34:37,758 --> 00:34:39,448
[toad calling]
599
00:34:39,482 --> 00:34:42,655
Giving Dr. Wood
a rare opportunity
to gather data.
600
00:34:42,689 --> 00:34:46,379
Enabling him to estimate
their diminishing population.
601
00:34:46,413 --> 00:34:50,137
Doing that will help him
figure out why the toads'
numbers are declining.
602
00:34:50,172 --> 00:34:53,758
And, hopefully,
discover a way
to save this rare species.
603
00:34:58,586 --> 00:35:00,931
Over the vast expanse
of the Pacific,
604
00:35:00,965 --> 00:35:03,586
the Solar Impulse
and its overheating batteries
605
00:35:03,620 --> 00:35:06,172
were in danger
of crashing into oblivion,
606
00:35:06,206 --> 00:35:10,241
along with Bertrand
Piccard's dream
and Andre Borschberg's life.
607
00:35:12,379 --> 00:35:14,172
[Josh] Borschberg
is at the halfway point
608
00:35:14,206 --> 00:35:18,620
of his five day,
5,500 mile flight
from Japan to Hawaii.
609
00:35:19,689 --> 00:35:22,586
Flight level.
We're at 5,000 feet.
610
00:35:22,620 --> 00:35:26,482
[Josh] The plane's
solar powered batteries
continue to run hot
611
00:35:26,517 --> 00:35:29,758
and the project's engineers
at mission control in Monaco
612
00:35:29,793 --> 00:35:32,206
can do nothing
to cool them down.
613
00:35:32,241 --> 00:35:37,517
Hawaii, the nearest
landing site, is still
2,500 miles away.
614
00:35:37,551 --> 00:35:40,689
Fears mount that
the batteries are suffering
so much abuse
615
00:35:40,724 --> 00:35:42,344
that they can't hold out
much longer.
616
00:35:44,620 --> 00:35:48,931
But Solar Impulse
powers through day three,
then day four.
617
00:35:48,965 --> 00:35:51,482
Getting only brief
and restless sleep,
618
00:35:51,517 --> 00:35:54,241
Andre is also
running low on energy.
619
00:35:54,275 --> 00:35:56,793
But both man
and machine endure.
620
00:35:56,827 --> 00:36:00,689
And on day five,
Solar Impulse lands
in O'ahu.
621
00:36:00,724 --> 00:36:01,724
[all cheering]
622
00:36:09,068 --> 00:36:11,586
Piccard's engineers
determine that the overheating
623
00:36:11,620 --> 00:36:16,206
was caused by excess
insulation in the battery
compartments.
624
00:36:16,241 --> 00:36:19,724
They also discover
that the batteries
are damaged beyond repair.
625
00:36:19,758 --> 00:36:23,137
They don't have enough
spare cells to replace them.
626
00:36:23,172 --> 00:36:25,724
The next flight,
Hawaii to San Francisco,
627
00:36:25,758 --> 00:36:28,655
must be pushed back
nine months to April,
628
00:36:28,689 --> 00:36:31,344
when the plane will be ready
and the weather clear.
629
00:36:33,000 --> 00:36:35,310
During the delay,
engineers chill out
630
00:36:35,344 --> 00:36:38,000
by creating a new battery
cooling system.
631
00:36:38,034 --> 00:36:40,862
A manually operated
two way valve allows
632
00:36:40,896 --> 00:36:44,862
cool air to enter
the battery compartment
and heat to be released.
633
00:36:46,517 --> 00:36:50,241
The green light comes
on April 21, 2016.
634
00:36:50,275 --> 00:36:51,724
Piccard is at the helm.
635
00:36:51,758 --> 00:36:57,724
His three day,
2,500 mile flight
goes off without a hitch.
636
00:36:57,758 --> 00:37:01,965
Over the next three months,
Solar Impulse continues
its epic trek
637
00:37:02,000 --> 00:37:04,413
back towards
its starting point
in Abu Dhabi.
638
00:37:06,413 --> 00:37:08,931
On July 26, 2016,
639
00:37:08,965 --> 00:37:12,137
Piccard pilots the mission's
historic final leg.
640
00:37:12,172 --> 00:37:15,068
Crazy as it sounds,
the plane has circled
the globe
641
00:37:15,103 --> 00:37:17,103
without a drop of fuel.
642
00:37:17,137 --> 00:37:21,275
Pointing the way to a cleaner,
more sustainable future.
643
00:37:21,310 --> 00:37:25,103
And the heir to a family
legacy of Explorers Club
triumphs
644
00:37:25,137 --> 00:37:27,034
has his own moment in the sun.
645
00:37:28,827 --> 00:37:31,103
The Solar Impulse
was tailor made
646
00:37:31,137 --> 00:37:34,896
to help an Explorers Club
member fulfill his dream.
647
00:37:34,931 --> 00:37:40,793
A century ago, Roald Amundsen
needed his own custom ride
for one final shot at glory.
648
00:37:40,827 --> 00:37:43,275
Amundsen had gained
fame in 1911
649
00:37:43,310 --> 00:37:45,241
by conquering the South Pole.
650
00:37:45,275 --> 00:37:50,103
By 1926, he was obsessed
with becoming the first man
to reach both Poles.
651
00:37:50,137 --> 00:37:53,586
But at 54, his dog sledding
days were behind him.
652
00:37:53,620 --> 00:37:56,931
He needed a more
user-friendly ride.
653
00:37:56,965 --> 00:38:02,000
[Josh] Hope arrives
in the form of the era's
new marvel, the airship.
654
00:38:02,034 --> 00:38:06,413
Unlike balloons, airships
can maneuver in any direction
against the wind.
655
00:38:06,448 --> 00:38:11,827
They can also stay airborne
longer and carry heavier loads
than airplanes.
656
00:38:11,862 --> 00:38:15,517
Sponsored by fellow
Explorers Club member
Lincoln Ellsworth,
657
00:38:15,551 --> 00:38:20,206
Amundsen purchases an airship
from the Italian government
called the N1.
658
00:38:20,241 --> 00:38:23,448
The N stands for the last name
of its acclaimed designer
659
00:38:23,482 --> 00:38:26,689
and Explorers Club member,
Umberto Nobile.
660
00:38:26,724 --> 00:38:29,310
The deal comes
with one string attached.
661
00:38:29,344 --> 00:38:31,206
Hungry for glory of their own,
662
00:38:31,241 --> 00:38:35,379
the Italians demand
that Nobile will pilot
the flight
663
00:38:35,413 --> 00:38:40,068
and that five Italian airmen
will join Amundsen's
Norwegian crew.
664
00:38:40,103 --> 00:38:44,137
Amundsen counters,
rechristening his airship
the Norge,
665
00:38:44,172 --> 00:38:45,896
Norwegian for Norway.
666
00:38:47,689 --> 00:38:50,172
The Norge is cutting edge
for its time.
667
00:38:50,206 --> 00:38:52,793
A hundred feet longer
than a 747,
668
00:38:52,827 --> 00:38:57,172
it's powered by three
230-horsepower
propeller engines.
669
00:38:58,068 --> 00:39:00,655
Under its fabric skin,
10 compartments
670
00:39:00,689 --> 00:39:03,241
holding lighter than air
hydrogen provide lift.
671
00:39:05,275 --> 00:39:08,068
Sixteen men are aboard
and one female,
672
00:39:08,103 --> 00:39:10,517
Nobile's fox terrier, Titina.
673
00:39:11,275 --> 00:39:13,517
On May 11, 1926,
674
00:39:13,551 --> 00:39:15,965
Amundsen, Nobile and Ellsworth
675
00:39:16,000 --> 00:39:19,517
take the Norge aloft
at Norway's northern
most point,
676
00:39:19,551 --> 00:39:21,379
the island of Spitsbergen.
677
00:39:21,413 --> 00:39:24,586
Seven hundred miles
from the North Pole.
678
00:39:24,620 --> 00:39:27,344
Amundsen's goal
is not just to reach
the Pole,
679
00:39:27,379 --> 00:39:29,620
but continue on
to Nome, Alaska.
680
00:39:29,655 --> 00:39:33,620
Achieving the first flight
across the Arctic Ocean.
681
00:39:33,655 --> 00:39:39,034
The Norge cruises
north at 3,000 feet
at 62 miles per hour.
682
00:39:39,068 --> 00:39:41,241
It's 11 degrees below zero,
683
00:39:41,275 --> 00:39:44,586
but the skies
are mercifully clear.
684
00:39:44,620 --> 00:39:49,103
After 16 hours,
the airship shadow
falls on the North Pole.
685
00:39:49,137 --> 00:39:52,620
It's 1:25 in the morning,
but at this time of year,
686
00:39:52,655 --> 00:39:55,862
the Pole is bathed
in constant sunlight.
687
00:39:55,896 --> 00:39:59,034
There were three nations
collaborating on
this expedition.
688
00:39:59,068 --> 00:40:01,724
Norway, the United States
and Italy.
689
00:40:01,758 --> 00:40:05,758
Nobile had ordered
Amundsen and Ellsworth
to bring miniature flags
690
00:40:05,793 --> 00:40:08,931
to keep down
the weight and volume
of the Norge's load.
691
00:40:08,965 --> 00:40:12,275
But the proud Italian
didn't let the space
constraints hamper him.
692
00:40:12,310 --> 00:40:13,862
The flag he packed
for the journey
693
00:40:13,896 --> 00:40:17,103
faced no limitations
and dwarfed the others.
694
00:40:17,137 --> 00:40:19,275
They couldn't plant
their flags from the blimp,
695
00:40:19,310 --> 00:40:21,172
so they did
the next best thing.
696
00:40:21,206 --> 00:40:22,758
They dropped them.
697
00:40:22,793 --> 00:40:27,758
The remaining 1,700 miles
of their flight to Alaska
is a bumpy ride.
698
00:40:28,551 --> 00:40:30,689
After 71 hours in the air,
699
00:40:30,724 --> 00:40:34,862
they're forced down
63 miles short
of their destination, Nome,
700
00:40:34,896 --> 00:40:37,241
in the tiny Inuit village
of Teller.
701
00:40:38,827 --> 00:40:41,517
The Norge is dismantled
by the crew.
702
00:40:41,551 --> 00:40:45,000
Its parts end up everywhere
from Seattle to Rome.
703
00:40:45,034 --> 00:40:47,241
Much of its canvas
stays in Teller
704
00:40:47,275 --> 00:40:50,896
where the Inuits use it
to insulate their houses.
705
00:40:50,931 --> 00:40:55,344
In 1928, Nobile returns
to the North Pole
in another airship...
706
00:40:56,448 --> 00:40:58,586
...but crashes.
707
00:40:58,620 --> 00:41:02,137
An international search
is launched for the survivors.
708
00:41:02,172 --> 00:41:03,793
Amundsen joins the search.
709
00:41:03,827 --> 00:41:07,275
He takes off from Norway
in a biplane with five others.
710
00:41:07,310 --> 00:41:11,000
Then, like Nobile,
vanishes without a trace.
711
00:41:11,034 --> 00:41:16,206
Tales of daring adventure
after, after all, a mix
of triumph and tragedy,
712
00:41:16,241 --> 00:41:21,206
and of explorers inextricably
linked with their mode
of transportation.
713
00:41:21,241 --> 00:41:25,000
Venturing into the unknown
takes more than skill
and courage.
714
00:41:25,034 --> 00:41:28,103
Sometimes it requires
a very special vehicle.
715
00:41:28,137 --> 00:41:30,517
Custom tuned
and ready for adventure.
716
00:41:30,551 --> 00:41:34,172
And when you're travelling
to places the Explorers Club
members visit,
717
00:41:34,206 --> 00:41:36,448
it's bound
to be one wild ride.
60596
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