All language subtitles for The.UnXplained.S03E04.Apocalypse.When.REAL-e

:
World-shattering asteroids

on a collision course
with our planet.

Colossal supervolcanoes

that will destroy
our atmosphere.

And interstellar black holes

capable of literally
swallowing the Earth.

It seems that people
have been predicting

how the world will end
almost since it began.

And for some reason we can't
stop fixating on the notion

that a massive cataclysm

might suddenly erase us
from existence.

But is there anything we can do

to protect ourselves
and our planet?

Or is an apocalypse
that will wipe out life on Earth

simply inevitable?

Well, that is what
we'll try and find out.

♪ ♪

NASA scientists at the Kitt Peak
National Observatory

- make a shocking announcement.
- (whirring)

(shutter clicking)

A massive asteroid
called Apophis

is headed
directly towards Earth.

And according to
their initial predictions,

it is set to make impact
in April of 2029,

on Friday the 13th.

Apophis is approximately
300 meters in diameter.

Put three football fields
end to end,

and that would be roughly
the-the size of Apophis.

All the objects
we had discovered previously

were either too small
to represent much of a hazard,

or far enough away
from the Earth

to not represent
an impact threat.

Apophis was different.

As more and more observations
came in,

the chances that it was going
to impact the Earth--

It got to the point where we had
roughly a three percent chance.

This was unprecedented
at the time

as far as a impact threat.

If Apophis were to hit,

it would be capable of producing
an extinction-level event.

SHATNER:
An extinction-level event?

It's almost inconceivable

that a chunk of space rock
less than a quarter mile long

could wipe out all life on a
planet almost 8,000 miles wide.

And yet,
according to scientists,

the possibility is very real.

But how?

Apophis is so large.

If it were to impact the Earth,

it would be hundreds of times
more destructive

than the largest nuclear device
we've ever built.

We know from analysis
of these collisions

that the collision takes place
in stages.

First, upon impact,
you have a flash

that travels
at the speed of light--

Infinitely fast--

And that would blind
many animals in the area.

The blast starts to then
level objects, crush them.

(explosion)

Then let's say
it lands near the ocean

and causes a tsunami
that would then be perhaps,

who knows,
tens of hundreds of feet tall,

that would inundate
the entire area

and cause a scale of
destruction not seen in history.

SHATNER:
In March of 2021,

NASA released revised orbital
calculations for Apophis.

And as it turns out,
there's good news.

It is now estimated
that Apophis has less than

a one-in-380,000 chance
of hitting Earth.

But could there be
other colossal asteroids

making their way toward us
right now?

The Earth has been hit
repeatedly

throughout its history
by giant comets and asteroids.

How do you prove it?
What evidence do we have?

You see,
when a collision takes place,

of course we have
the gigantic crater left over.

Take a look at the one
in South Africa.

That object is
about 200 miles across,

clearly visible
from outer space.

There have been
at least three world-killing

extinction-level event asteroid
impacts that we know of.

In South Africa,
there was the Vredefort impact.

In Australia,
there was the Acraman impact.

In the Gulf of Mexico,
there was the Chicxulub impact

that destroyed the dinosaurs.

Now, one might think that
these extinction-level events

are a thing of the past,

because these events happened
millions of years

apart from each other.

But that's just a blink
of an eye to the universe.

We could have
an extinction-level event

tomorrow or
a million years from now.

SHATNER:
If it's true that

a colossal asteroid strike
could happen at any moment,

perhaps the question isn't
how soon it will hit Earth

but rather whether there's

anything we can do
to prevent it.

The value of keeping an eye out
for potential global

catastrophe-sized asteroids

is having enough
advanced warning

to do something about it.

Congress directed NASA
to find 90%

of all the asteroids
that were deemed capable

of producing
an extinction-level event--

A global catastrophe.

NASA's Near-Earth Object
Observation Program

funds astronomers
to find asteroids,

but finding and tracking
near-Earth asteroids

really is
an international effort.

SHATNER: It's certainly
comforting to know

that astronomers are on alert
for apocalyptic asteroids.

But this concern for
the survival of the human race

is not new.

In fact,
humanity has been fixated

on the threat of an apocalypse
since ancient times.

We have been fascinated
with the end-times,

the end of reality,
the end of the gods

since we've been fascinated
with anything.

For example,
Ragnarok in the Norse tales

was the end of the world.

In Buddhism,
the Lord Buddha gave

a little sermon on the end days.

"And the rain shall cease,

"and the oceans will dry up

"until the Earth is baking
as if it were in an oven.

And that will be
the end of all things."

It's one of the things that
human beings have in common is,

how are we gonna deal
with the future, particularly

when there is no more future
and everything ends?

Why would humans
even have predictions

of apocalypses to begin with?

Part of me thinks that
a lot of that has to do

with a point in time
where we could have actually

been listed as
an endangered species.

Because there's been actually
key points in time

where humans have nearly
gone extinct.

One of them was
1.2 million years ago,

but we don't know what happened
at that point in time.

It could have been
the beginning of an ice age.

It could have been changes
in environment.

- (insects trilling)
- But within that time period,

humans were down
to population numbers

between maybe 6,000
and 26,000 individuals.

The second point was
about 150,000 years ago.

We are in the middle
of an ice age.

Animals go extinct,

and we're down
to nearly 600 individuals.

The third close call
that we have for extinction

is about 75,000 years ago.

And during that time,

we see this massive
volcanic eruption.

It blows apart
the island of Sumatra.

And expels ash and debris
into the atmosphere.

It dims the sunlight,
and so we get down to roughly

1,000 to maybe
10,000 individuals.

And the near extinction
of humans could be

why there are
these constant predictions

of apocalypses
throughout the ancient world.

In some sense
we have been lulled to sleep.

You see, human history,

recorded history,
only goes back 5,000 years.

And before that period of time,
we have no direct experience

with catastrophes
on a planetary scale

that threaten the very existence
of human life.

And that's why we have to change
our perspective.

But the real reality is
there could be an apocalypse.

So, perhaps history will
repeat itself one day,

and humanity will meet its end
when a gigantic asteroid--

That's hurtling towards us
at this very moment--

Finally reaches Earth.

But while we wait for
that possible date with destiny,

there's another
potential apocalypse

looming much, much closer.

In fact, it's lurking

right beneath our feet.

SHATNER: At approximately 11:00
a.m., than earthquake, measuring 5.0

on the Richter scale,
sends great shock waves

through the island's
most active volcano:

Mount Kilauea.

The ground cracks open

and 2,000-degree magma boils
to the surface.

As residents who live in
the area flee for their lives,

a torrent of molten lava gushes
from the broken earth,

destroying everything
in its path.

BENJAMIN McGEE: It was
a massive volcanic eruption.

We're used to looking at
volcanoes that look dormant

and assuming that
there's no threat.

But if there's one thing

that the geologic history
of the Earth warns us about,

over and over and over again,

it's that there's
unintended consequences

of the Earth being alive,

and Kilauea proved that in 2018.

Kilauea is a large volcano

that sits in the middle
of the Pacific Ocean.

And it is generally known

for these lava flows
that it puts out,

that unfortunately got
into a populated area.

And this very large eruption

unfortunately destroyed
over 700 homes.

Destroyed some really pristine
areas of the island.

McGEE: You have very
kind of soupy, watery lava

that was racing
at incredible speeds.

And the problem is,
Hawaii is populous.

We have folks, many of them,
who live there,

and there is nowhere to run.

I think the Kilauea eruption is

one of nature's great warnings.

So long as the Earth is alive,

we will face the threat
of major volcanic eruptions.

SHATNER:
In 2018, Mount Kilauea topped

the U.S. Geological Survey's
ranking

of the most dangerous volcanoes
in the United States.

But according to experts,

even Kilauea's cataclysmic power

pales in comparison to others

that could potentially
pose great threats

to not only cities
but the entire world.

They're simply known
as supervolcanoes.

Nuclear weapons, yeah,
we track them.

We know who has them.

Global warming,
we have computer programs

that simulate global warming.

And meteors from outer space,
we track asteroids.

But when it comes
to supervolcanoes,

we know almost nothing.

A supervolcano could be
1,000 times more deadly,

leaving destruction on a scale

that we haven't seen
in modern civilization.

POLAND: A super
eruption is meant to describe

a truly extraordinary
explosive eruption

that's about 1,000 cubic
kilometers in volume.

That's how much material
gets ejected.

SHATNER: According to
volcanologists, there are--

At this very moment--
Between 12 and 20

active supervolcanoes scattered
across the Earth.

We've all seen
the devastation of volcanoes.

We see this catastrophe
with all the gas coming out

of the volcano, with all
the debris and all the dirt.

But supervolcano eruptions can
disrupt the atmosphere itself,

sufficient to affect the weather
of the entire planet.

You've got sulfur dioxide,
you've got particles

which are reflecting sunlight

and that bounce or trap sunlight
and thermal radiation.

- (wind whistling) - And that completely
changes the planet's heat balance.

You can cripple ecosystems
from the bottom up

by darkening the world.

POLAND: These gases
can also poison agriculture,

poison plants,
and that of course will have

a chain reaction
down the food web.

So, these eruptions
can really cause

a huge impact,
even if the lava only affects

one small area,
they can have a global impact.

Even thousands
and thousands of miles away

from where
the eruption occurred.

SHATNER:
It's hard to imagine

a supervolcano causing
a worldwide cataclysm.

But one such event is believed
to have already occurred

long before humans walked
the Earth.

An apocalypse that is referred
to as the Great Dying.

The Great Dying was a mass
extinction of plants and animals

that occurred
about 250 million years ago.

The largest that occurred
in the history of Earth.

McGEE: Geologists call it
the Permian-Triassic extinction.

It's the largest mass extinction
in the geologic record

across all time,
and this is related

to a major volcanic eruption
in northern Siberia

that injected so much CO2
into the atmosphere

that we lost 80%
of all marine life.

We lost 70%
of all vertebrate land animals.

This was so bad,
even the bugs got taken out.

So, the Great Dying is
one of geologic history's

great warnings,
that large volcanism can pose

a true existential threat
to all life on Earth.

SHATNER:
This body of water is one of

the most popular tourist
destinations in the country

due to its natural beauty.

But deep below
the lake's surface lies

an active supervolcano.

Taupo's a beautiful place.

It's serene,
it's got a lovely lake,

mountains, geysers
and hot springs.

Absolutely gorgeous.

McGEE: These nice low-lying
areas that tend to fill up

with water and be very beautiful
often indicate

lurking underneath you is

an emptied former
super eruption.

The irony is, the beauty of
a lake often goes hand in hand

with the lurking threat
of volcanic systems ready to go.

POLAND: The last super
eruption of the Taupo volcano

occurred about 26,500 years ago.

We know Taupo is restless.

It has lots of seismicity.
The ground goes up and down.

And scientists in New Zealand
have tied that

to magma moving
in the subsurface.

There's geothermal activity
in the region,

which indicates that
the system's not dead.

It's alive.

It's on an active
tectonic plate boundary.

So there are massive earthquakes
that can be caused

by a supervolcano getting
ready to blow

on a scale that we've never seen
before or since in geology.

Where Taupo is,

large eruptions will
eventually happen.

Volcanoes are something
that humanity has always

had to live with and
always will have to live with.

We can study these things,
try to understand

how an eruption might occur.

But we don't have a way
to stop a volcanic eruption.

We're not going to stop

something that
the Earth wants to do.

Is it possible that
the Earth itself

will bring about the apocalypse?

(groans)

It's a terrifying notion,

but not so terrifying as
another primal force of nature.

One that has the power
to end our existence

by swallowing the Earth whole.

- (whirring)
- (indistinct chatter over radio)

SHATNER:
In collaboration with NASA,

an international team
of astronomers accomplishes

something once thought
to be impossible.

They capture
the first ever image

of a region of space
where gravity is so strong

that not even light can escape
from it.

These mysterious areas are
more commonly known as...

black holes.

McGEE: Imaging a
black hole for the first time

answers a challenge that seems
like it has no answer.

How can you possibly take
a picture of something

that swallows up all light?

What they did was network
radio telescopes together

all across the Earth,
making an effective telescope

the size of our planet.

It was called
the Event Horizon Telescope.

And using that,
they were able to peer

into the heart
of nearby galaxy M87.

And there's
a supermassive black hole

25 billion miles across
at its core.

DAVIES: The problem about
black holes is that they're black

and they're very small.

And so you can't
directly see them.

You have to infer
their existence

from what they do
to their, uh, surroundings.

And so,
it was an image constructed

from many, many observations
around the world,

put together in a clever way

with a lot of sort of
computer enhancement.

And so you see this...

(electrical whirring)

black object against
a glowing background.

SHATNER: Since 1915,
when Albert Einstein's

famous theory of relativity
first proposed their existence,

black holes have sparked
intense fascination.

But just what are
these mysterious cosmic forces?

DAVIES: Black hole is an
object where gravity is so intense

that even light can't escape.

And seeing as nothing can go
faster than light,

it means anything that
falls into a black hole

can't get out again.

McGEE:
A black hole is formed

- under intense pressure of a collapsing star.
- (explosion)

And the pressure is so intense

that it pushes the atoms
inside each other

until the whole thing is
collapsed down to a point.

And they call that
a singularity.

And if you get too close to it,

it'll trap you with its gravity,
and then you're stuck.

DAVIES: As you get closer
and closer to the black hole,

the gravity gets
more and more intense.

So, supposing I'm falling
into a black hole feet first,

imagine this,
then my feet are a bit closer

to the black hole than my head.

And so gravity's a bit stronger
on my feet than my head.

So I'm gonna be stretched
this way,

but my shoulders,
each shoulder's trying

to fall to the center
of the black hole,

so I'm gonna be squeezed
this way.

If it's a star, for example,

it wouldn't just sort of
go straight down the black hole.

It would spiral around
and get ripped to pieces.

SHATNER:
Ripped to pieces?

Since a black hole has
the power to destroy

anything that comes near it,
then it begs the question...

What if the unimaginable
happened,

and a black hole crossed paths
with Earth?

DAVIES: If a black hole
enters the solar system,

the gravitational field is
so intense that

Earth will be ripped to shreds
when it came close enough.

It would spiral around
as the material was shredded,

whirling down and down
faster and faster and faster,

as the Earth
and all the people on it

eventually go down
the black hole.

A truly apocalyptic event.

I'm reassured by the fact that
our solar system has been around

for four and a half
billion years

and no black hole has ventured
this way before.

But of course that doesn't
mean it couldn't happen.

SHATNER: Fortunately,
the nearest black hole is

1,500 light-years away,
but that may be about to change.

Because there are those
who believe that

black holes could be created
right here on Earth.

And as evidence,
they point to a series

of experiments being conducted
by physicists

at the largest particle
accelerator on Earth:

the Large Hadron Collider.

McGEE: The Large Hadron
Collider in Switzerland

is the largest
particle accelerator

humanity has ever constructed.

16 miles in diameter.

A particle accelerator is
a machine designed

to make subatomic particles
go near to the speed of light

to break matter down

into its fundamental
building blocks

and see what they are.

DAVIES: The LHC takes
protons and whirls them around

inside a ring-shaped tube,

and then they smash them
together at enormous energies,

recreating the conditions

just a trillionth of a second
after the big bang.

So some people have conjectured

that maybe the LHCs could create

a microscopic black hole
at energies far in excess

of anything that
had been reached before.

Now, our best understanding
of black holes is

that if you make one
by colliding particles,

then it would disappear
almost immediately,

so it really wouldn't pose
a threat.

McGEE: Some physicists
actually raised legal battles

trying to shut down the LHC

over fear that they might
accidentally create

one of these black holes,
and it would start to swallow up

everything around it and maybe
doom the Earth in the process.

Ultimately those objections
were tossed out,

and the LHC is still running.

But as we probe farther
and farther

into the deepest reaches
of the laws of physics,

and we use the largest tools
we have in our toolbox to do it,

there's the chance
that we will get

into territory we didn't expect,

and that could pose a threat
of a scale that would pose

a threat to humanity.

While black holes may be

the most destructive force
in the universe,

there are those
who believe that there's

a different threat
from outer space

that we should be
even more concerned about.

One that even
our best telescopes

may not be able to see coming.

Because there's
a very good chance

it's already here.

SHATNER: Astronomers
at the Carl Sagan Institute

release the findings
of a groundbreaking study.

By using a highly-detailed
3D map of the Milky Way galaxy,

they conduct observations

of more than
2,000 nearby star systems.

After analyzing the data,

they come to
a shocking conclusion:

we may not be alone
in the universe.

The findings show that
there are potentially

29 advanced
extraterrestrial civilizations

located within
50 light-years of Earth,

and it's possible
they've been observing us.

The idea that there might be
other life out there is

as old as recorded history.

And also, of course,
there has always been

this idea that if there are
other life-forms out there,

that extraterrestrials may take
the view that it is logical

to eliminate any potential
threat to their own existence,

and emerging civilizations like
humanity might be that threat.

And there's the idea that

these super predator
civilizations would

comb the universe
looking for the first signs

of emerging
spacefaring civilizations

and then exterminating them.

KAKU: Some scientists
want to reach out

and advertise our existence
and say, "Here we are.

"This is our location.

This is our state of technology.
Come visit us."

I think that's
a catastrophically bad idea.

History shows that

when civilizations encounter
each other,

the outcome is often tragic.

I think we should keep
our identity a secret for now.

TAYLOR:
It's a mathematical likelihood

that we will encounter
other life-forms,

other intelligences, within
this universe at some time.

It's not a matter of if.

It really is just
a matter of when.

It's just as likely that
any interaction with aliens

might end the world in
a huge apocalyptic-type event.

So, while we're prepared to know

that aliens are there
and want to talk to them,

I don't think we are prepared
for an invasion.

SHATNER: For some, the
idea that extraterrestrials

would travel across the galaxy
to wipe out humanity

may sound like something
out of science fiction.

But there are others who believe
that this doomsday scenario

is well within the realm
of possibility,

because they claim there is
evidence which suggests

that extraterrestrials are
already here.

After decades
of public speculation,

the Pentagon finally releases
a report corroborating

what many have long suspected:

unidentified aerial phenomena--
Otherwise known as UAPs--

Do, in fact, exist.

The government has
a track record of saying

as little as possible
about UFOs.

The Office of the Director
of National Intelligence

delivered a report
to Congress about UFOs.

It was a preliminary assessment,

and it essentially says
that this phenomenon is real.

What it said basically was,
a lot of events happened

and many of them have
no explanation as of yet.

And that is very interesting
that the government is

actually telling
the general public that

"Hey, there's something
in our skies

that we don't what they are."

POPE:
UFOs are an existential threat.

Those sorts of civilizations
with maybe millions of years'

head start on us in terms of

their scientific understanding,
their technology.

They could wipe up us out
in an instant.

They probably have technology

that could crack
this planet open

like a nut, if they wanted to.

SHATNER: The Department
of Defense has also confirmed

that a classified program
known as AATIP

had obtained
actual video evidence

of encounters with
unidentified aerial phenomena.

And according to experts
who have seen the tapes,

we have every reason to be
very, very worried.

AATIP was a Pentagon program
looking at UFOs,

and they were studying
the technologies

that UFOs would need
to travel here.

They revealed that
there had been videos taken

through forward-looking
infrared cameras

mounted on F-18 Super Hornets,

and they show
the pilots tracking

and in some cases getting
hugely interested,

concerned,
excited about the speeds,

the maneuvers, the acceleration.

(chuckles)

Sometimes they can evade
our air defenses altogether.

Sometimes they show up on radar
but other times not.

The best aircraft we have are
left standing by these things.

The technology is greater
than anything we have.

And therefore, you have to say,
"Yeah, this is a threat."

SHATNER: In an interview
with the Washington Post

conducted shortly
before the release

of the Pentagon's UFO report,

the former director of AATIP,

U.S. Army Special Agent
Luis Elizondo,

made an unsettling claim.

Unidentified flying objects
have been seen

observing U.S. nuclear
launch sites around the world.

TAYLOR: Lou Elizondo has
suggested that a lot of sightings occur

near nuclear power plants,
nuclear missile sites,

nuclear submarines,
nuclear ships.

The question is, if that's true,
why are they doing that?

What is the motivation to
look at the nuclear locations?

These UFOs, for whatever reason,

are interested in nuclear sites.

There are few things
about this whole UFO mystery

more potentially dangerous
than this.

There have been briefings
to the president

at top secret level.

And a fuller assessment will be

delivered to Congress
in due course.

There's a great logic
that governments need

a plan on first contact--

What to do if aliens arrive
and are hostile.

Because the point is,

this is going to be
an existential threat.

It's far better in any situation

to have a contingency plan
and not need it,

than to need it and not have it.

Are the AATIP videos evidence
of extraterrestrials spying

on us and
our defense installations

in order to plan an attack?

We simply don't know.

But if they are,

it could spell humanity's
certain doom.

Just like
another potential apocalypse.

One that could pull
the plug on our existence...

like that.

SHATNER:
According to researchers,

recent advancements
in computer graphics

may soon give us the ability

to create simulations
so lifelike

that they're
nearly indistinguishable

from reality itself.

And such realism has
actually caused many experts

to ponder a profound
and disturbing possibility:

what if we're actually
living in a simulation

right now?

Simulation theory is the idea
that we live in a video game.

That the reality
that we see around us,

the reality that
we think is real and hard,

is actually a fake.

It's a software program
running in virtual reality.

(electrical whirring)

And concocted perhaps
by a more advanced civilization

that's running us
as a video game.

VIRK: The biggest argument
against simulation theory is

that the idea just seems absurd.

But if you were
inside a video game,

the walls and the objects
would appear to be real.

And if there was
a good enough physics engine,

pretty soon we would be unable

to distinguish between physical
reality and virtual reality.

KAKU: If we live in a
simulation, that we're just puppets,

dancing according
to somebody's PC screen,

then the question is,
who's watching the screen?

Who is in charge of this thing?

Who set up the ground rules to
create this fantastic universe

that we think is reality
but actually

it's a figment of
somebody else's imagination?

Well, your guess is
as good as mine.

SHATNER:
Could we actually be living

within a sophisticated
computer simulation?

And if so, perhaps
the more important question is,

what happens if
whoever's running the simulation

decides to shut it off?

VIRK:
The biggest threat is

that the simulation
will have to be shut down.

Uh, which means that
it would be the end

of our simulation and that
it has served its purpose.

To us, it would basically mean
the end of the world.

In other words, it's game over.

Somebody has pulled the plug
on what we call "reality."

An intelligence that advanced

that can simulate
reality itself,

make it indistinguishable
from reality,

would be extremely advanced,
almost godlike in their powers.

SHATNER: A simulation
controlled by godlike beings?

(electrical whirring)

While the idea may seem
far-fetched to some,

religious traditions
from around the world

have long held that
our reality is controlled

by a higher power
that we don't fully understand.

YOUNG: Since the
beginning of shamanism,

spiritual teachers of all kinds
have been telling us

there is more to reality
than what we see or think.

The simulation theory is

the very real statistical
possibility that

- somebody greater than us has invented all this.
- (praying in foreign language)

We wouldn't know, would we?

Unless the gods--
That is, the programmers--

Decided to let us in on it.

Of course, that's what
religions tell us anyway.

They tell us there are
more realities,

greater realities,

and that there are powers
greater than ours

- who have made things that we walk around in.
- (indistinct chatter)

I think the simulation theory is

just science catching up
to religion.

One thing we don't know
about is,

who were the programmers
and why did they do it?

One particular reason is

to see how civilizations
rise and fall.

That would be quite apocalyptic

and could lead to bad events
for us.

SHATNER: Could we
actually be test subjects

in a computer simulation?

Like rats in a virtual maze?

There are many who believe
that to be the case.

And as evidence
they point to the fact

that we're using advanced
computer simulations right now

to prepare for earthquakes
and other catastrophic threats.

Scientists at the Earthquake
Research Institute

conduct an unusual experiment.

Using the powerful
microprocessor

known as the K supercomputer...

- (beep) - they build an
incredibly detailed virtual simulation

of the city of Tokyo,
down to the last detail.

And then...

- (beep)
- they destroy it.

The K supercomputer was
one of the,

if not the fastest,
supercomputer on Earth.

And a team of scientists
in Japan

used it to try to simulate
what would happen

to Tokyo if there was
a major earthquake.

Then we're able to simulate
the routes people might take

through the city to try
to escape the devastation

that could be caused
by the earthquake.

We create simulations
in order to mimic

these disasters taking place,

and so perhaps that's why
this advanced civilization,

playing this cosmic video game,
created humanity--

To see what happens
during an apocalypse.

VIRK: Some people say that the
problem they have with simulation theory

is that we cannot prove
we're not in a simulation.

But of course
humans have been pondering

the nature of reality
for many thousands of years.

So, I think it's an innate
part of who we are,

to try to figure out
the world around us.

So that we can survive.

Could our existence really end
with the flip of a switch?

Your guess is as good as mine.

But if the fate of our world

really does lie at the mercy
of forces beyond our control,

what, if anything,
can we do about it?

Well, there are those
who are taking steps right now

that just might allow us
to escape.

SHATNER: The threat
of a sudden apocalypse

that wipes out life on Earth
is certainly concerning.

But on the other hand,
we know that change

is inevitable on our planet.

And the prospect of
a potential doomsday

is inspiring scientists
and engineers

to develop new technologies

and plans that will ensure
humanity's survival.

It is a law of physics
practically

that one day we will have
to leave the planet Earth.

There are a number
of catastrophes

that could definitely collapse
civilization as we know it.

Faced with these planetary
threats, we have to have plan B.

We have to have a way
to save humanity itself.

The way to ensure
the survivability of humanity is

by spreading out
to the planets and the stars.

If we move humanity to
another planet location,

an extinction-level event
is not going to occur

on both of those
at the same time.

KAKU: How come there
are no dinosaurs in this room?

How come there are no dinosaurs

witnessing all these great shots
into outer space?

Because the dinosaurs
did not have a space program.

We have to make sure
that we don't go

the way of the dinosaurs.

SHATNER: Is it possible that we
might one day escape an apocalypse

by moving to another planet?

Perhaps.

But even if catastrophe strikes

before humans can escape
to another world,

history suggests we will find
a way to endure.

MICHAEL DENNIN: When we think
about the luck of avoiding mass extinction,

or apocalypses,
I think, for humans,

we've shown
an amazing resilience

and ability to respond.

So things that could have been
local apocalypses,

we've already been able
to mitigate in our history.

And the hope is,
these other larger ones,

as tragic as they'll be
for large segments of society,

hopefully society as a whole
will be able to navigate.

THOLEN: Some people estimate
Homo sapiens have been around

for perhaps as long
as 200,000 years.

And over that course of time,

the species has managed
to survive.

And that gives me
some confidence that

the species will continue
to adapt to the environment.

PAUL J. SPRINGER: Extinction-level
events, apocalyptic catastrophes,

they're interesting
to think about.

But the likelihood
of them occurring

is astronomically small.

Humans are programmed
to continue.

And so you don't want
to give them

outsized influence in your mind.

You don't want
to constantly worry

about the worst
possible scenarios...

- (cheering) - because
they're so unlikely to occur,

that you'll really miss out
on a lot of life

and the day-to-day affairs
that make being human

such a special thing.

Well, what do you think?

Just like other species
before us,

are we facing
the threat of extinction

with the next apocalypse?

Or is humanity
actually resilient enough

that no matter what comes at us,
or explodes beneath us,

or attempts to push our buttons,

we'll survive and evolve
and prepare

for the next cataclysmic event?

Only time will tell.

But until it does,

the question of what fate
may hold for us remains...

unexplained.