All language subtitles for The UnXplained s03e11.WEB.h264-BAE.eng

William shatner: A shining
wonder that brightens our nights,

measures our days,

and may possess
incredible powers.

The moon. Look at it.

Is there anything
more marvelous,

more inspiring,

than this glowing orb
that hangs in the night sky?

But is the moon just
a giant rock in space,

or does it hold
profound secrets?

Could it harbor signs of life,

or perhaps evidence

of an ancient civilization?

That is what we'll
try and find out.

? ?

each fall,
the people of this city gather along

the banks of the qiantang river

to see something extraordinary:

A massive wave
that barrels upstream

and keeps surging for
miles and miles up the river.

The wave's rapid speed,
loud roaring sound,

and white crests have
earned it a fitting nickname:

The silver dragon.

A hundred miles
southwest of shanghai,

every year there is this really
interesting tidal phenomena

that happens that's very
much related to the moon.

The silver dragon
is a 30-foot-tall,

25-mile-an-hour wave,

so it draws a massive crowd.

Over a 100,000 people annually
come out to watch this wave,

and people even surf on it.

Michael dennin: It's huge,
it comes down and it can

flood to the side,
and it's actually quite dangerous,

and people often
get way too close.

Teitel: We're used to seeing
tides at beaches on the ocean,

they go in and out,
but it's never this dramatic.

This is an extremely tangible
thing you can point to and say,

"this is the moon's
effect on the earth,

happening now as we see it."

michio kaku: The gravity
of the moon lifts the water up

to give you high tide,

and when the moon passes,
it drops, giving you low tide.

Think of that: The
entire planet earth's water

being lifted several feet.

And that tremendous
cosmic energy

comes from the
gravitational pull of the moon.

Shatner: Today,
the process by which the moon

generates earth's ocean
tides is widely understood.

But what is less commonly known

is how the moon
causes a phenomenon

like the silver dragon.

Well, scientists have a name

for this kind of
strange occurrence.

It's called a tidal bore.

One of the most amazing
things the moon does,

from my perspective,
is create tidal bores.

And the way to think about it is

the tide rises the
oceans a certain height,

and if you have the
right combination

of the shape of the connection
of the ocean into a river,

you can actually
funnel all of that height

into a narrow, extra high,
massive wave.

And then that will run
up a gorge or a river.

It's kind of a fascinating
interaction between moon, water,

nature and then people and
what we do in response to it.

Shatner: Tidal bores
are a striking example

of the power that the
moon exerts on the earth.

But, according to scientists,

creating tides is just
one of many effects

that the moon has on our planet.

For instance,
as the moon circles the earth,

its gravitational force
causes molten liquids

deep within the
earth's core to swirl,

a process which some
experts refer to as "churning."

we now realize that
the orbit of the moon

creates churning
inside the earth.

The moon churns
the inside of the earth

by tidal forces,

causing currents in
the form of electricity,

which creates the
earth's magnetic field.

We depend upon a magnetic shield

to protect us against
solar flares from the sun.

And we think that's
where the moon comes in.

If it wasn't for the
presence of the moon,

you go outside,
you get a sunburn

within just a matter
of a few minutes.

Shatner: A sunburn
within a few minutes?

It's enough to make you
wonder what else could happen

if the unimaginable occurred

and the moon...

Just disappeared?

One of the questions I get asked a lot is,
you know,

can we survive without the moon?

If the moon suddenly
disappeared,

I think not.

The result on earth would be

catastrophic and very,
very rapid.

The tides would stop working.

The earth would
start slowing down.

As the earth slows down,

it can start
wobbling on its axis.

If it wobbles very far,

this would melt
the polar ice caps,

and sea levels
would rise radically.

Also, a place like las vegas

could be freezing in winter

and yet boiling in summer.

There's all sorts
of things that could

cause trouble for life on earth.

Brian keating: The moon is
sort of the earth's bodyguard

because the moon
has protected us

from asteroid impacts.

All the craters that
we see on the moon

are the result of impacts
of asteroid fragments.

And all those craters,

they could have
been impacts on earth.

Kaku: So we have
this cosmic coincidence.

All the characteristics
to the moon are just so

that we have life
on the planet earth.

So, in other words,
we hit the jackpot.

We have this cosmic lottery,
and we hit the jackpot.

We got a moon that makes

possible conditions on the
earth compatible with life.

Shatner: The fact
that the moon is so vital

to life on earth raises
some intriguing questions.

Such as,
is there something special

about our moon that enables it
to make life on earth possible?

And, if our moon is unique,

what makes it different

from the more than 200 other
moons in our solar system?

Keating: A moon is just
what we call a natural satellite,

a satellite that's
not human-made

that orbits around a planet.

Other planets,
such as the massive gas planets

like jupiter and saturn,

have many, many dozens of moons.

We're the only planet
in the solar system

that has only one moon.

And our moon is actually
the fifth largest moon

in the solar system,
it's quite large.

Teitel: It's really big
compared to the planet.

It's a very unique setup.

Usually moons are
significantly smaller,

but our moon is relatively
large compared to our planet.

Mike bara: It's very bizarre.

It's basically a
double planet system.

The moon is so big and so close.

And there is no other example

anywhere in the
observable universe like this.

Lynn picknett:
Because it's so big

and it has so many
effects on the earth,

the moon is always fascinating.

There's something inherently
amazing and mesmerizing

about how big and
how powerful it is.

I mean, there it is,
hanging in our skies,

this extraordinary
spherical object,

just this amazing
orb in the sky.

Shatner: Scientists
have observed

that there is another
strange aspect

of the moon's dimensions.

It is precisely the right size

and distance from the sun

to occasionally create...

A total solar eclipse.

If you look at the moon
and you look at the sun,

the sun is actually 400 times
the diameter of the moon,

but the moon happens to be
400 times closer to the earth.

This means that the sun
and the moon look as if

they're the same
size in the sky.

That means that when the
moon goes in front of the sun,

it totally blocks off the sun.

I've been very lucky,

and I've seen two
total eclipses of the sun,

and they are magical.

They literally
blew my socks off.

Bara: The fact is,
the moon is exactly the right size

and exactly the right
distance from the earth

to create perfect
solar eclipses.

Some people think
that's a coincidence.

I don't think it's
a coincidence.

There has to be
something very special

and very mysterious
about the moon itself.

Shatner: The unique
size relationship

between the moon and
earth may help explain

why the moon has such a
strong impact on our planet.

But does the moon's
gravity only affect the earth?

Or could it also have
a direct influence

on human beings?

Perhaps the answers can be found

by examining how the
moon alters not just our planet

but also...

Our minds.

How does a full
moon make you feel?

A little nervous?

Afraid, perhaps?

Well, maybe you should be.

After all,
the word "lunatic" comes from the notion

that when the full moon rises,

it causes insanity, mayhem,

and even murder.

But are-are these just stories?

Or does the moon
actually have the power

to make people crazy,
and drive them to kill?

(thunder rumbles)

picknett: The word "lunatic"

means "the moon
has made you mad."

the word "luna" is latin...

Is roman,
essentially... for "moon."

so, clearly, over the millennia,

the moon has been associated

with a rise in madness,

or manifestations of
mental disturbance,

emotional disturbance.

Young: The dancing in the moonlight,
the witchcraft,

the ceremonies of the occult,

somehow are related to the moon.

You take something
like the werewolf.

The moon comes up,

out comes the werewolf.

Some powerful alter ego.

Eric hickey: Way back
in victorian England

people would claim,
"it wasn't my fault.

"the moon made me do it,
it was a moon madness,

it was lunacy."

and so people could
actually be institutionalized

rather than be hung because

they were crazy,
it was not their fault.

That's how strong

the belief was in-in the moon.

Shatner: The connection
between the full moon,

insanity and violence

is not merely an
antiquated fantasy.

In fact,
similar stories about the moon

persist into modern times.

Picknett: It's well
known people who work

for emergency services...

Paramedics, or the police,
for example,

and they all report

the numbers go up at full moon,

of people in accidents
or suffering from violence.

But science has
challenged these stories.

Young: That's myth,
that is legendary talk.

We don't have science
to back that up and yet,

when we look at the night sky,
the big object is the moon.

It is the dominant
sighting in the heavens.

When the moon is full,

poetically,
there are lots of effects.

Shatner: Humanity has long
expressed a belief that the moon

can influence our minds.

But is that all just a figment
of our collective imagination?

Or is it possible to
scientifically prove

that the moon can
affect the mind?

Psychiatrist dr. David avery

is counseling a 35-year-old man

who suffers from
bipolar disorder

and has experienced a number

of sleepless nights.

He had bipolar disorder,

sometimes known as
manic-depressive illness.

He was typical in that

he had a history
of these episodes...

...Of having short sleep,

manic symptoms,

hyperactivity,
thoughts going very fast,

and might get only one
or two hours of sleep

during the manic phase.

Shatner: The patient,
an engineer by trade,

kept detailed records
of his sleep habits,

noting the dates and times
when he had trouble falling asleep.

When dr. Avery studied the log,

he made a startling connection

between the patient's
sleeplessness and the moon.

It was very clear these
short sleep periods

were correlated both with the
full moon and the new moon.

And so my jaw kind of dropped

when I saw the
regularity of the pattern

and the fact that
this was associated

with changes of the moon.

Shatner: The evidence
showed a pattern that suggested

that the lunar cycle
may be responsible

for causing some people
to become restless,

to the point where
they can't sleep.

I saw this, um, pattern in 2004,

but it was a sample size of one,

which scientifically
is not all that strong.

But in 2017, dr. Thomas wehr

from the national
institute of mental health

published a paper
in which he had

17 rapid-cycling
bipolar patients

who had synchrony
with the lunar tidal cycles.

I realized at that
point that my patient

um, was not the only one.

Shatner: In 2018,
dr. Avery and dr. Wehr

joined forces and published
their findings on the connection

between moon cycles
and sleeplessness.

They theorized that the moon
has this effect on some people

because they are
particularly sensitive

to its gravitational pull.

We have a vestibular
system in the ears

that helps us with balance.

And in the vestibular system,

there are tiny stones that are
on the end of small filaments

that move around with gravity.

These filaments send
signals to parts of the brain

that are involved with
our body clocks and sleep.

So it's conceivable that,
in some way,

changes in gravity
generated by the moon

are affecting these filaments,

perhaps influencing
the body clock,

then influencing sleep and mood.

When I think of the moon,
I think

of the gravitational
changes that it creates.

It may be that these
gravitational forces

have a greater impact on our
sleep than you might expect.

These are all questions that I think,
uh,

should be answered.

Shatner: It seems that the
more we study the moon,

the more we realize
that there is much about it

that remains a mystery.

For instance,
it wasn't that long ago that we believed

the moon was just a huge
rock floating in space...

Until scientists were
surprised to discover

that part of our
attraction to the moon

may be due to the fact
that it's actually magnetic.

Shatner: A group of
scientists publish the results

of a remarkable
study on the moon.

By analyzing information
collected by nasa space probes,

the team discovered that
an enormous mass of metal

is buried beneath the
surface of the moon.

This mysterious mass is
1,200 miles in diameter,

and,
because it's hidden deep underground,

before this paper was published,

scientists had no idea
the metal was there.

Kaku: What happened
is we have satellites

that go around the moon,

and it turns out that the
gravitational pull increased,

indicating the presence of a massive,
dense object

underneath the
surface of the moon.

Keating: According
to the scientists

who made this discovery,

it's made of metals,
very dense, very heavy metals

like iron, cobalt, nickel,

which are also highly magnetic.

Aderin-pocock: Now,
the question is how did it get there?

How did this blob of
iron get to the moon?

There were sort of a few theories afoot,
but I think

the one that makes most sense
is that it was an asteroid strike.

And it seems quite
likely that a metal asteroid

came and hit the moon's
surface with huge impact.

It sort of melted into
the moon's surface,

and then magma from
the moon covered it over,

so that's why we hadn't
discovered it before.

Shatner: One reason why the
discovery of metal on the moon

came as such a surprise

is because it's easy to
assume that we already know

most of what there is
to know about the moon.

After all,
we've photographed it,

studied it,
and sent astronauts to walk on its surface.

But despite everything
we've learned,

the moon still
holds many secrets.

The moon is so fascinating
because it's mysterious.

It's close to us, and yet,
it's very inscrutable.

There are places
and parts of the moon

we know almost nothing about,

that are completely
unexplored and unexplained.

There's so many mysteries about
our nearest celestial neighbor.

For example,
what's inside the moon?

What's on the far
side of the moon?

It's amazing that we've
sent space probes to saturn,

jupiter, uranus, neptune,
even past pluto,

and yet there's so many things
we don't know about the moon.

Shatner: The detection
of metal on the moon

was followed by an even
more extraordinary discovery.

In October of 2020,

nasa's stratospheric
observatory for infrared astronomy

announced that they
had detected water

on the sunlit
surface of the moon.

And in other studies,
scientists have found evidence

of ice on the north
pole of the moon.

Aderin-pocock: Many people
assumed that the moon was dry.

And, looking at the environment,
it wasn't so surprising

that they sort of
concluded this.

But one thing we
have got confirmation of

is large volumes of frozen water

in these craters which
never see sunlight.

These craters are some
of the coldest places

in the solar system.

And so substances
like water can condense.

Dennin: When you look
at the water on the moon,

there's a shockingly
large amount of water

compared to what we think of it.

Now it's water in frozen form,
it's ice.

But it still was fascinating
just to know that there was

something we were
wrong about the moon.

Shatner: As a result of these findings,
scientists have been compelled

to reexamine the belief
that the moon is inert,

and to ask whether
it can harbor life.

Whether or not we can
have life on the moon,

that's, of course,
a big question mark.

Today,
when you think of the moon,

you think of a
lifeless environment.

But that's not always true.

We think that in the
early days of the moon,

perhaps there was a thicker
atmosphere to the moon,

and that's what's required
to create life on a planet.

So if we drill deep
into the lunar soil,

perhaps we'll pick up evidence

of ancient microbial
life that existed

billions of years ago

when the atmosphere was
quite different on the moon.

Shatner: Was the
moon a place in which life

could actually thrive
in the distant past?

Well,
according to some researchers,

there is photographic evidence
not only of life on the moon

but of something
much more profound.

Nasa launches ranger 7,

a lunar probe designed to take

the first close-up photographs
of the lunar surface.

The landmark images
fascinated the world,

and since that time,
other nations have sent

probes to capture more
images of the moon.

Over the years,
researchers have identified

strange anomalies
in these photographs.

Anomalies that look an awful lot

like artificial structures.

Bara: In one picture you
see a rectangular structure

with some structure on top of it

that looks almost like
the spires of a roof,

as if there was a glass
dome over this at one time

that has a few girders
left that used to hold it up.

Now,
there is nothing in natural lunar geology

that can account for that
as a real extant possibility

on the surface of the moon.

And in another image taken
is a gigantic spire or tower.

It almost looks exactly like
a gigantic egyptian obelisk.

The way this
thing is sticking up,

it simply defies explanation.

The fact that it even
exists in the image

is absolute de facto proof

that there is ancient
extraterrestrial technology

on the lunar surface.

Shatner: Giant
structures left behind

by an extraterrestrial
civilization?

It's certainly a
provocative theory

and one that is hard to prove.

But if these anomalies

are the ruins of an
advanced civilization,

is it possible...

They were intentionally
left there for us to find?

Keating: The moon has
properties that make it ideal

for conducting research
into the deep past

and even, potentially,
very speculatively,

for the presence
of-of potentially finding

alien artifacts,
which is a very fascinating prospect,

that an alien civilization
might want to leave a marker,

a time capsule attesting to
their existence, for us to find,

and it would be perfectly
preserved for billions of years.

Shatner: Are there "time
capsules" on the moon?

Tangible pieces of
evidence which suggest

that we might not be
alone in the universe?

Perhaps the answers can be
found by taking a closer look

at the apollo missions...

...And what the
astronauts discovered

while walking on the moon.

On July 20th,
1969 history was made

when american neil armstrong

became the first man
to walk on the moon.

For the united states,
it was a moment of immense

national pride,
a triumph over the soviets

in the space race.

But is that what going to
the moon was all about?

Bragging rights?

Or did the apollo program
have a hidden agenda?

And, if so,

what was the
mission's real objective?

Mission control: Ten,
nine. Ignition sequence starts.

Shatner: Four days
after taking off from earth,

the apollo 11 astronauts landed
on the surface of the moon.

And over a billion
people around the world

tuned in to watch.

Teitel: This was such a pivotal
moment in human history.

It was just the culmination

of incredible
technological ingenuity

and engineering prowess

that we actually managed to
send three people to the moon

and two of them were
going to walk on its surface.

Keating: If you look at the
plaque that was on the apollo 11

eagle lander, it said,
"we came in peace for all mankind."

nowadays,
we use that as the calibration

for the greatness that
mankind can achieve.

Kaku: I still remember
when the apollo spacecraft

was approaching a
landing site on the moon.

Scientists were asked,
"what do we expect to find on the moon?"

and the answer
is: We're clueless.

We didn't know how
solid the surface was.

Perhaps the lunar module,

as it lands on the moon,
will sink.

So we simply kept
our fingers crossed

and hoped that the surface
of the moon was solid

and not basically
made out of dust.

So, back then in 1969,
it was a crapshoot.

We really didn't know what we
were going to find on the moon.

Shatner: The gamble paid off,

and, for the first time,

humanity was able to explore
earth's closest neighbor.

There were many questions
that nasa was hoping to answer

on the apollo missions,

but perhaps none
were more important

than solving the moon's
most enduring mystery:

How did it get there
in the first place?

There had been a
number of theories

about how the moon was formed.

Uh, one idea was that the
moon was an asteroid drifting past

and got caught up
by the earth's gravity.

Now,
looking at the size of the moon,

this seems an unlikely scenario.

Another idea is when the
solar system was being formed,

the planets formed
and maybe the moon

formed at the same
time as the earth.

But, again,
looking at the size of the moon and sort of

the dynamics of that,
it doesn't really add up.

Shatner: At the time,
each of the commonly proposed theories

was ultimately
rejected by scientists.

So nasa sent six manned
missions to the moon

to try and find the answer as to
how the moon came into being.

Astronauts collected more
than 800 pounds of lunar rocks...

...Took atmospheric samples,

and drilled into
the moon's surface.

Teitel: Right after
the crew splashdown,

the rocks were
actually quarantined

to keep all of
their germs inside.

They went right into a
converted airstream trailer

that was their mobile
quarantine facility.

That was then airlifted

to the mainland united states

and transported to houston
where they were then

deposited into the
lunar receiving lab,

which was a
custom-built facility

to deal with everything
coming back from the moon.

Shatner: When scientists
carefully examined the composition

of the lunar rocks gathered
on the apollo missions,

they proposed a
dramatic new theory

about the moon's origins.

The current leading theory
about the moon's creation

is the so-called
giant-impact theory.

This theory posits that a large,
mars-sized body

called theia hit the
earth when it was young...

...And all of that
debris from that impact

coalesced around the planet
and eventually formed the moon.

Shatner: The
theory that the moon

is the result of a
massive collision

is one that is widely supported.

But there's just one problem.

Some scientists are
still not convinced.

Aderin-pocock: Now,
if this theory is correct,

then what we'd expect is for,
um, the moon

should be made out of this
sort of a mars-like planet,

which we called theia,
and to have some earth in it.

But one of the crazy
things we found is that,

when we went to the moon,
the composition of the moon

and the composition of earth are very,
very similar.

Kaku: It turns out the
composition of moon rocks

and the composition earth rocks

is uniformly the same,
which shouldn't be.

And so the collision
theory has a problem.

We should find remnants
of the original asteroid

which created the moon.

And we don't find that.
And so that's still a mystery.

Teitel: It's fascinating
to think that,

even though we've been
studying the moon very closely,

we still don't have this one
basic key mystery solved.

There's so much more to learn.

Shatner: The apollo program
brought us much closer

to knowing how the
moon was created,

even if we still don't
have the final answer.

But nasa had other goals in
mind for the apollo missions,

some of which are not as
well known by the public.

They conducted experiments
which were intended

to learn more,
not about the lunar surface,

but about what's
inside the moon.

Shatner: Less than four months
after the success of apollo 11,

nasa launches apollo 12,

its second manned
mission to the moon.

On this mission,
one of the key objectives was

to learn more about what's
below the surface of the moon.

One of the big lunar mysteries
that the apollo astronauts

were hoping to at
least answer in part

was what is inside the moon.

We're limited in how much
we can really look at the moon

and look into the moon
to understand its interior

from the earth.

Keating: The
astronauts on apollo 12

left seismometers just like

we use on earth to detect
earthquakes on earth.

They wanted to see
if the moon had these

quaking type behaviors
called moonquakes.

And they wanted to see
how did the moon behave?

What kind of
resonances does it have?

And those are related
to its properties,

its inner structure, its core.

And these are things that
you can learn about only

from placing these seismometers
on the moon's surface.

Teitel: To understand what's
going on inside the moon,

the apollo astronauts
and the scientists at nasa

came up with a really
interesting experiment...

...Which was to crash
things into the moon

and measure their
impact with seismometers.

The idea being if you
smash a known mass

into the lunar surface,
that allows you to understand

exactly the seismic
data that you're seeing.

Shatner: After the astronauts
had safely left the moon's surface,

they intentionally sent
their ascent stage module,

which they no longer needed,

crashing into the moon.

When apollo 12 sent its
lunar module ascent stage

hurtling into the moon,
it hit...

...And the scientists on
earth saw the seismic data,

but it didn't do what
anyone was expecting.

The signal seemed to be going
back and forth inside the moon

almost like it was a
bell that was ringing.

And it went on for an hour.

And no one has been
able to understand why.

Shatner: The moon rang...

Like a bell?

The discovery came as a shock,
and it opened

the door to new,
thought-provoking possibilities.

Dennin: The oscillations
lasted for a very long time,

much longer than we expected.

And that's surprising
fundamentally because we're just

really used to the
way the earth vibrates.

And the moon just
behaves differently,

and it let us know that
the structure of the moon

is very different than
the structure of the earth.

Some people thought that
might mean the moon is hollow.

Bara: The moon
basically resonated,

and to put it the
way nasa put it,

it rang like a bell,

which doesn't really make
any sense if the moon is solid.

Now this can only happen if
there were vast empty spaces

inside the moon

where these sound waves

would be bouncing around
for hours and hours afterwards.

It was not a result
they expected.

So,
it's possible what we're looking at here

is that there are interior
portions of the moon

which are hollowed out.

Shatner: Did the apollo
12 mission actually reveal

that the moon is hollow?

While that may sound
like a farfetched notion,

many researchers believe
that the answer is yes.

And for further evidence,

they point to a classified
experiment that was conducted

on the apollo 17
mission in 1972.

Bara: On apollo 17,
there was a nasa experiment

called chapel bell,
which was classified.

If you think about
the name chapel bell,

it implies something
to do with sound waves

and the ringing of a bell.

But nobody knows
what chapel bell is.

It's 50 years later,
the test itself is still classified.

There's a lot of secrecy
that seems unnecessary,

especially 50 years later.

It doesn't make any sense.

The only reason it makes sense

for the chapel bell experiment,
the separate experiment,

to be classified
is if the results

were something extraordinary,

something unexpected,
and something that implied

that the moon was far,
far different

than nasa had been telling us.

Shatner: What was the
chapel bell experiment?

And what were its results?

Could it have
provided more evidence

to suggest that
the moon is hollow?

And, if so,
has nasa deliberately withheld

this information for 50 years?

Perhaps the answers can be
found by examining bold new plans,

proposed by space agencies
from around the world,

for future missions
that will send astronauts

back to the moon.

Shatner: The moon is the most
visible object in the night sky.

For thousands of years,
humanity has looked up

at this shining celestial
body with a sense of wonder.

But when we look at the moon,

we only ever see one side of it,
because, as it turns out,

the far side of the moon

never faces earth.

Aderin-pocock: Many
people don't realize,

but we only see
one face of the moon.

As the moon orbits
around the earth,

what happens is that it spins,
so the same face of the moon

is always facing
towards the earth.

Kaku: Every night we can look at it,
and it's the same moon

that you've seen ever
since you were a child.

You've never seen the
backside of the moon

unless you've seen pictures
from the space program.

Shatner: Why does
the far side of the moon

never face towards the earth?

Well,
the time that it takes for the moon to do

one complete spin on its axis,

is the same length of time

it takes to orbit
the earth: 27 days.

This effect is known as
"synchronous rotation."

keating: The moon is rotating

and always presents the
same face to the earth.

The question is:
Why does that occur?

And it occurs because the
moon and the earth share energy,

we transfer energy
between one another,

and the moon exerts
force on the earth,

and the earth exerts a force on the moon,
as well.

That reaction on the moon
has caused it to become

what's called "tidally locked."

so, for that reason,
you'll always see

the same side of the moon.

Shatner: Because
the far side of the moon

is not visible from earth,

it is much harder to study
than the moon's near side.

In fact,
nasa has never landed a spacecraft

on the far side of the moon.

But on January 2, 2019,

the chinese government did.

The change'e 4 lunar lander,

part of the chinese
lunar exploration program,

became the first space vehicle

to achieve this historic
accomplishment.

Teitel: China recently landed

a robotic mission on
the far side of the moon,

which is a really
incredible feat

because you don't
have communications

with the earth on the far side.

You have to do it
completely autonomously.

Dennin: The far
side of the moon,

or what we call the
dark side of the moon,

it's always been a
mysterious place.

We don't expect it to
be radically different

than the side that you can see,

but it's still an interesting
question of what's there.

So it's an exciting and very
important thing to explore.

And what's more,
china was doing this,

in part,
to prepare for a human mission to the moon.

It's bringing to light
a renewed interest

in sending humans
to explore the moon.

Shatner: China is not
the only country interested

in sending astronauts
to the moon.

A growing list of nations
are planning similar missions,

including india, israel,

japan, the european union,

- mission control: Ignition...
- Shatner: And the united states.

Aderin-pocock: We're
excited by the moon again.

Taking samples and
getting a better understanding

of the moon is a big driver.

There's lots of science
to be done on the moon.

There are so many mysteries
that remain unresolved.

The renewed interest in the
moon isn't just for science.

There's a whole new
industry popping up

for space tourism.

There's also companies who
are looking to mine the moon

for resources like helium-3
and other rare elements

that we don't have in
abundance on earth,

but are in abundance
on the moon.

There's a whole new wave
of lunar exploration coming

largely to make money off it.

Shatner: The prospect
of more trips to the moon

raises the possibility
that humanity

will finally fulfill one
of its long-held dreams:

Establishing permanent
colonies on the moon.

Kaku: If you want to
create a city on the moon,

the quickest way is
to exploit lava tubes.

Ancient channels of molten
lava that create a tube that can

shelter our astronauts,
readymade.

It's a lunar base
waiting to be inhabited.

Another possibility is why
not take moon rock, melt it,

reform it to create the
building blocks for a lunar city.

Dennin: A permanent
moon base really is

a key steppingstone to exploring
the rest of the solar system

and, eventually, the galaxy.

I'm an optimist at heart,
and I really think the moon

is going to be a
positive next step.

I'm really hopeful for that.

I think that's
something we can do.

Right now,
because of all the asteroids and comets

and-and other threats
that may be out there,

our survival is in question.

Imagine if we could go
to the moon back and forth

in just a few minutes. We
could start building moon bases.

We could turn it
into a second earth,

and we could ensure
humanity's survival into the future.

Shatner: It seems that,
in the near future,

some people will
have the opportunity

to live on the moon.

But if given the choice
between staying here on earth

or living on a moon colony...

...What would you do?

Would you stick
to what you know?

Or are you drawn

to that luminous sphere,

compelled to learn its secrets,

and inspired to explore
the surface of the moon

in order to explain...

The unexplained?