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I'm gonna tell you about
the most incredible place.
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00:00:20,372 --> 00:00:23,746
It might be the weirdest place
in the whole universe...
3
00:00:25,656 --> 00:00:32,250
Full of liquid rock, crystal
caves and alien landscapes...
4
00:00:34,904 --> 00:00:36,141
And you know what?
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00:00:37,948 --> 00:00:39,349
You're walking on it.
6
00:00:49,005 --> 00:00:53,871
We think we know our home, but once
you've seen it from space it hits you...
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00:00:57,002 --> 00:01:00,188
I really wish that everyone
could see the world
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00:01:00,422 --> 00:01:02,303
the way that I've had
a chance to see it.
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00:01:03,323 --> 00:01:08,417
First you look at it and really are wondering
what it even is that you're seeing.
10
00:01:10,584 --> 00:01:12,787
Just like I lived my whole
live in a semi dark room
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00:01:12,848 --> 00:01:14,780
and somebody flipped
on the lights.
12
00:01:16,146 --> 00:01:18,906
A living, breathing,
working planet.
13
00:01:20,251 --> 00:01:23,395
It's all just so
wonderfully unlikely,
14
00:01:24,605 --> 00:01:25,605
and yet it's here.
15
00:01:29,109 --> 00:01:33,679
Eight astronauts, with over 1,000
days in space between them,
16
00:01:33,740 --> 00:01:36,049
can tell us how
being up there...
17
00:01:36,979 --> 00:01:40,481
Helped them to truly understand
what goes on down here.
18
00:01:42,033 --> 00:01:43,396
The weird connections.
19
00:01:44,805 --> 00:01:46,637
The near misses.
20
00:01:47,247 --> 00:01:48,532
The lucky breaks.
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00:01:50,010 --> 00:01:52,442
That built our amazing world.
22
00:02:02,503 --> 00:02:07,936
The strangest place in the whole
universe might just be right here.
23
00:02:22,042 --> 00:02:23,640
Oh, you ready this morning, huh?
24
00:02:23,701 --> 00:02:24,702
Here you go.
25
00:02:25,948 --> 00:02:27,369
Let's have some fun.
26
00:02:28,822 --> 00:02:29,635
There you go.
27
00:02:29,696 --> 00:02:31,331
We take Earth for granted.
28
00:02:32,073 --> 00:02:33,783
Come on, come on. Come on.
29
00:02:33,844 --> 00:02:35,608
We take so much for granted.
30
00:02:36,478 --> 00:02:37,478
Hey, come on.
31
00:02:38,157 --> 00:02:40,780
In fact, there's one thing
that comes so naturally
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00:02:41,195 --> 00:02:42,634
we don't even think about it.
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00:02:44,340 --> 00:02:45,340
Breathing.
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00:02:46,727 --> 00:02:48,561
Yes, come on. Come on, come on.
35
00:02:51,902 --> 00:02:57,457
But if you knew even half of what it
takes to make the oxygen we need,
36
00:02:58,120 --> 00:02:59,719
it would take your breath away.
37
00:03:04,416 --> 00:03:06,234
You wanna know about breathing?
38
00:03:06,590 --> 00:03:07,874
Ask this guy.
39
00:03:13,013 --> 00:03:14,490
My first space walk,
40
00:03:16,124 --> 00:03:19,171
holding on to the outside
of the spaceship,
41
00:03:20,909 --> 00:03:22,038
with nothing
42
00:03:23,113 --> 00:03:24,914
except the sound of
my own breathing.
43
00:03:28,749 --> 00:03:30,150
In my one hand,
44
00:03:31,104 --> 00:03:34,515
is my entire link
with my own history.
45
00:03:37,427 --> 00:03:38,634
Everything that's human,
46
00:03:39,327 --> 00:03:42,399
every story that's going on down
on the surface of the world,
47
00:03:42,643 --> 00:03:44,195
everybody I've ever met,
48
00:03:45,179 --> 00:03:47,706
with the whole universe
in the other direction.
49
00:03:51,622 --> 00:03:52,622
And then...
50
00:03:54,633 --> 00:03:55,633
I let go.
51
00:03:58,948 --> 00:04:02,730
That's when you really
appreciate the significance
52
00:04:02,791 --> 00:04:05,427
of that thin blue line.
53
00:04:12,362 --> 00:04:15,214
It contains everything
that's important to us.
54
00:04:17,107 --> 00:04:18,733
It contains life.
55
00:04:23,954 --> 00:04:27,576
And then Houston called to get back to
work, I grabbed back onto the handrail
56
00:04:28,368 --> 00:04:29,427
but while I was working,
57
00:04:30,722 --> 00:04:31,722
suddenly...
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00:04:32,873 --> 00:04:35,552
I had a searing pain
in my left eye.
59
00:04:37,548 --> 00:04:39,225
Like somebody had
just stabbed me.
60
00:04:39,885 --> 00:04:43,725
My eye just snapped shut
and it started tearing up.
61
00:04:44,448 --> 00:04:45,864
But the trouble is,
62
00:04:46,466 --> 00:04:49,517
without gravity
tears don't fall.
63
00:04:51,912 --> 00:04:54,766
The tear just gets
bigger and bigger.
64
00:04:56,784 --> 00:04:57,784
It got big enough
65
00:04:58,146 --> 00:05:01,389
that it became a little
lake of water that went
66
00:05:02,383 --> 00:05:03,858
across the bridge of my nose...
67
00:05:04,935 --> 00:05:06,047
into my other eye.
68
00:05:08,709 --> 00:05:10,030
So I call down to Houston,
69
00:05:10,696 --> 00:05:12,523
'Houston, I'm having
a problem here.'
70
00:05:12,753 --> 00:05:15,072
'I can't see. I'm
blinded in both eyes.'
71
00:05:15,985 --> 00:05:17,540
'What did he just say?
He's blind?'
72
00:05:18,612 --> 00:05:22,336
Houston looked at what all the
symptoms were and said...
73
00:05:23,546 --> 00:05:26,085
'Maybe it's the
worst-case problem.
74
00:05:26,822 --> 00:05:28,845
You may have contamination
in your suit.'
75
00:05:31,662 --> 00:05:33,227
'And you're gonna have
to flush it out.'
76
00:05:36,125 --> 00:05:38,040
I reached up, turned
this little valve,
77
00:05:38,575 --> 00:05:41,185
popped it and
suddenly could hear,
78
00:05:42,613 --> 00:05:47,503
'Ssssss, sssss'.
79
00:05:47,564 --> 00:05:50,326
As my precious supply of oxygen,
80
00:05:50,435 --> 00:05:54,225
hissed out into the
empty vacuum of space.
81
00:06:16,154 --> 00:06:19,427
There is nothing more
natural than breathing.
82
00:06:23,384 --> 00:06:24,819
Yet as far as we know,
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00:06:25,017 --> 00:06:27,819
this is the only planet
where that happens.
84
00:06:30,507 --> 00:06:33,615
The only planet with an
oxygen-rich environment.
85
00:06:35,307 --> 00:06:36,178
Without that,
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00:06:37,194 --> 00:06:39,778
life would be something
very different indeed.
87
00:07:24,915 --> 00:07:27,809
This is Felipe's
favourite place.
88
00:07:29,776 --> 00:07:32,128
Even though the air is toxic.
89
00:07:33,302 --> 00:07:35,209
The ground spits acid,
90
00:07:37,246 --> 00:07:39,487
and there is no fresh water.
91
00:07:40,606 --> 00:07:42,520
No birds sing here.
92
00:07:42,980 --> 00:07:44,560
No insects fly.
93
00:07:45,560 --> 00:07:47,162
No plants grow.
94
00:08:12,731 --> 00:08:15,884
It's hard to imagine
anywhere less inviting...
95
00:08:18,406 --> 00:08:23,589
But Felipe has found one thing
that calls this hell hole home.
96
00:08:27,781 --> 00:08:29,803
And it doesn't use oxygen.
97
00:08:36,337 --> 00:08:39,278
It lives in a lake of acid.
98
00:09:37,618 --> 00:09:41,849
It's hard to imagine sometimes just
how important oxygen is to us,
99
00:09:42,403 --> 00:09:44,853
as the way to release energy.
100
00:09:47,231 --> 00:09:48,899
Every time I breathe in,
101
00:09:49,227 --> 00:09:52,387
oxygen-rich air mixes
with the food I've eaten
102
00:09:52,978 --> 00:09:54,796
and creates energy.
103
00:09:55,004 --> 00:09:59,674
Power that enables larger, more
complex creatures to exist.
104
00:10:08,734 --> 00:10:11,314
Our planet is literally
bursting with life,
105
00:10:12,308 --> 00:10:16,042
so how on earth is there
enough oxygen for everyone?
106
00:10:16,814 --> 00:10:19,610
The answer takes in some
pretty surprising stuff.
107
00:10:21,004 --> 00:10:22,210
Giant dust storms,
108
00:10:23,092 --> 00:10:24,305
tiny snowflakes,
109
00:10:25,140 --> 00:10:26,788
flying rivers;
110
00:10:27,354 --> 00:10:30,618
and the most important living
thing you've never heard of.
111
00:10:34,404 --> 00:10:36,859
But it begins in a desert.
112
00:10:41,005 --> 00:10:42,859
A desert made of salt.
113
00:12:04,844 --> 00:12:07,560
The people here rely
on this desert,
114
00:12:08,151 --> 00:12:09,535
and so do we.
115
00:12:13,863 --> 00:12:16,077
But not because of the salt.
116
00:12:54,497 --> 00:12:57,600
Dust storms can be pretty amazing
when you see them from space.
117
00:12:58,100 --> 00:12:59,781
And sometimes they're huge.
118
00:13:00,612 --> 00:13:03,785
You know, I had seen little dust storms
blowing and you kinda look hard.
119
00:13:04,080 --> 00:13:05,483
This you didn't
need to look hard.
120
00:13:05,544 --> 00:13:08,123
It was a continent
of Northern Africa,
121
00:13:08,184 --> 00:13:12,527
basically obscured
by thick brown dust.
122
00:13:12,997 --> 00:13:15,449
And as I orbited, I
couldn't wait to come back.
123
00:13:16,885 --> 00:13:18,086
And then when I did,
124
00:13:18,147 --> 00:13:20,352
I saw that dust storm
that was over Africa
125
00:13:20,413 --> 00:13:21,860
now over the Atlantic Ocean.
126
00:13:25,674 --> 00:13:29,551
And my next orbit I see it hitting
the coast of South America.
127
00:13:47,285 --> 00:13:48,352
Every year
128
00:13:48,654 --> 00:13:53,240
about 27 million tons of that
African dust we can see from orbit
129
00:13:54,469 --> 00:13:56,357
drops out of the sky
130
00:13:56,829 --> 00:13:58,600
into the Amazon Basin.
131
00:14:00,108 --> 00:14:02,654
And it turns out, it's
the perfect fertilizer.
132
00:14:23,512 --> 00:14:27,848
And as they grow, the plants and
the trees turn carbon dioxide,
133
00:14:29,522 --> 00:14:30,715
into oxygen.
134
00:14:39,710 --> 00:14:43,606
One single tree can produce enough
oxygen to support two people.
135
00:14:45,293 --> 00:14:47,180
And the Amazon Rainforest...
136
00:14:48,689 --> 00:14:51,634
Is ten times the size of Texas,
137
00:14:53,604 --> 00:14:56,315
producing 20 times more oxygen
138
00:14:56,628 --> 00:15:00,039
than all the people on the surface
of the Earth could consume.
139
00:15:03,223 --> 00:15:07,072
But, not one breath of
it leaves the Amazon.
140
00:15:24,866 --> 00:15:29,195
There are so many animals living in
the Amazon Basin that the life there
141
00:15:30,207 --> 00:15:32,427
uses all that oxygen up.
142
00:15:36,886 --> 00:15:40,434
For all these years I've been
thinking the rainforest is
143
00:15:40,495 --> 00:15:42,071
the lungs of the planet.
144
00:15:44,774 --> 00:15:49,205
Now sure, it makes a lot of
oxygen, but it uses it all.
145
00:15:51,150 --> 00:15:53,424
The rainforest does
help us breathe,
146
00:15:53,732 --> 00:15:55,540
but not because of air.
147
00:15:57,448 --> 00:15:59,325
There's a river in the Amazon,
148
00:15:59,671 --> 00:16:01,045
no, not that one,
149
00:16:01,820 --> 00:16:02,918
there's another river,
150
00:16:03,746 --> 00:16:05,578
a river in the sky.
151
00:16:20,727 --> 00:16:24,408
For the most part, I know this world
from standing on its surface.
152
00:16:26,637 --> 00:16:29,540
I mean, I've been up to the top
of the Empire State Building,
153
00:16:30,331 --> 00:16:31,639
put my quarter in the scope,
154
00:16:33,449 --> 00:16:35,848
and I've even jumped out
of planes a couple times.
155
00:16:37,416 --> 00:16:39,049
But that's nothing.
156
00:16:39,905 --> 00:16:44,676
The International Space Station
clocks in at 1 million feet.
157
00:16:53,738 --> 00:16:56,300
Whenever there's a free
moment on the spaceship,
158
00:16:57,210 --> 00:16:59,389
we try and get to the
window to take pictures.
159
00:17:00,112 --> 00:17:02,231
And during my three
space flights,
160
00:17:02,346 --> 00:17:06,217
I took about 45,000 photographs.
161
00:17:11,388 --> 00:17:14,120
And some parts of the world are
easy to take pictures of...
162
00:17:15,856 --> 00:17:17,687
Like the outback of Australia.
163
00:17:18,724 --> 00:17:20,501
It's always a sunny day there.
164
00:17:21,383 --> 00:17:22,919
But there are parts of the world
165
00:17:23,356 --> 00:17:25,755
that you almost never
get a good picture of.
166
00:17:27,682 --> 00:17:29,554
One of those is
the Amazon Basin.
167
00:17:30,474 --> 00:17:31,818
So it makes ya think...
168
00:17:33,207 --> 00:17:34,825
What's going on down there?
169
00:18:05,716 --> 00:18:07,516
For the last ten years,
170
00:18:07,735 --> 00:18:10,059
Rosa has been working
in the Amazon,
171
00:18:10,242 --> 00:18:12,660
uncovering the surprising way
172
00:18:12,749 --> 00:18:15,863
the rainforest helps the
whole planet breathe.
173
00:18:57,878 --> 00:19:00,180
She's not kidding about special.
174
00:19:05,666 --> 00:19:09,019
This is the tallest structure
in all South America.
175
00:19:18,418 --> 00:19:21,849
Rosa has tried to climb
this tower twice before,
176
00:19:22,302 --> 00:19:24,160
but she's never
made it to the top.
177
00:20:27,427 --> 00:20:29,425
Now that's a pretty cool climb,
178
00:20:30,283 --> 00:20:32,503
but something else
is rising too.
179
00:20:41,652 --> 00:20:44,017
If you could look
inside the trees...
180
00:20:46,079 --> 00:20:50,121
You'd see water sucked up
from the forest floor.
181
00:21:35,629 --> 00:21:37,219
When the water hits the top,
182
00:21:38,053 --> 00:21:40,306
the combination of
sun and wind...
183
00:21:41,812 --> 00:21:44,270
Turns it into a mighty river.
184
00:21:45,916 --> 00:21:47,892
A flying river.
185
00:22:19,313 --> 00:22:23,029
This river of cloud flows
across South America,
186
00:22:23,664 --> 00:22:25,706
obscuring everything
beneath it...
187
00:22:30,484 --> 00:22:33,350
Until it runs into a brick wall.
188
00:22:35,669 --> 00:22:39,757
5,500 miles long and
up to 4 miles high.
189
00:22:41,174 --> 00:22:42,304
The Andes.
190
00:22:45,856 --> 00:22:48,516
The clouds condense
into raindrops,
191
00:22:48,812 --> 00:22:50,813
which then race down the slopes
192
00:22:50,874 --> 00:22:53,440
and flow directly back
into the Amazon Basin...
193
00:22:58,942 --> 00:23:01,952
Eroding the rock and turning
it into sediment...
194
00:23:04,709 --> 00:23:08,452
until all those nutrients
are dumped into the ocean
195
00:23:08,637 --> 00:23:10,372
and a whole other world.
196
00:23:32,836 --> 00:23:37,025
And waiting for those sediments
is an extraordinary organism,
197
00:23:37,365 --> 00:23:39,630
four times thinner
than a human hair.
198
00:23:41,982 --> 00:23:43,518
It's called a diatom.
199
00:23:54,153 --> 00:23:57,665
Diatoms are the secret to
the Earth's oxygen supply.
200
00:24:02,289 --> 00:24:06,901
They use silica from the ground
up rock to create new shells,
201
00:24:07,369 --> 00:24:09,406
which allows them to reproduce.
202
00:24:12,075 --> 00:24:14,409
Their population
doubles every day...
203
00:24:16,698 --> 00:24:19,169
and they begin to
photosynthesise...
204
00:24:21,598 --> 00:24:25,423
Each one starting
to produce oxygen.
205
00:24:28,557 --> 00:24:29,541
Take a breath.
206
00:24:30,960 --> 00:24:32,033
Now take another.
207
00:24:33,488 --> 00:24:34,885
Now think about this:
208
00:24:35,302 --> 00:24:38,545
one of those breaths
was entirely provided
209
00:24:38,662 --> 00:24:40,638
by those little
fellas under the sea.
210
00:24:44,986 --> 00:24:46,979
Looking at the
oceans from space,
211
00:24:47,545 --> 00:24:49,079
sometimes you see
212
00:24:49,266 --> 00:24:52,286
a local area that's an
entirely different colour.
213
00:24:53,463 --> 00:24:56,906
And amazingly enough, what you're
looking at is microscopic life.
214
00:24:59,535 --> 00:25:02,751
Diatom blooms that reflect
the light differently,
215
00:25:02,871 --> 00:25:04,888
so that they show up from space.
216
00:25:07,399 --> 00:25:10,368
Biggest one I think I
ever saw was huge.
217
00:25:10,429 --> 00:25:12,631
It covered hundreds of miles.
218
00:25:13,304 --> 00:25:14,711
You know, when you
swim in the ocean,
219
00:25:14,772 --> 00:25:16,966
you don't notice the
diatoms around you.
220
00:25:17,027 --> 00:25:20,796
But when you're in space, you see
the vibrant colours of life.
221
00:25:22,886 --> 00:25:24,111
It's just so stunning,
222
00:25:24,462 --> 00:25:26,090
the blues and the greens.
223
00:25:26,359 --> 00:25:30,686
But also, like, wow, those
things are keeping us alive.
224
00:25:34,732 --> 00:25:35,915
But you know what?
225
00:25:36,384 --> 00:25:40,629
Diatoms are important not just because
of what they do when they're alive,
226
00:25:40,817 --> 00:25:43,355
but also what they do
once they're dead.
227
00:25:55,288 --> 00:25:58,626
I spent 166 days off the world.
228
00:25:59,926 --> 00:26:01,023
Underneath you,
229
00:26:01,343 --> 00:26:03,283
the planet is silently,
230
00:26:04,005 --> 00:26:05,992
intimately revealing
itself to you,
231
00:26:06,053 --> 00:26:08,234
more and more, every
single time around.
232
00:26:11,632 --> 00:26:12,984
And from a spaceship,
233
00:26:13,901 --> 00:26:16,898
Earth is definitely
the Blue Planet.
234
00:26:20,010 --> 00:26:22,042
And pretty much everywhere that
there's water, there's diatoms.
235
00:26:25,263 --> 00:26:28,966
There are trillions of
them in every ocean,
236
00:26:29,703 --> 00:26:32,508
and they can't all
rely on flying rivers.
237
00:26:34,648 --> 00:26:36,406
So diatoms around the world
238
00:26:36,874 --> 00:26:39,312
have to get their nutrients
in different ways.
239
00:26:40,844 --> 00:26:44,813
Some about as far away from tropical
rainforests as you can get.
240
00:26:57,853 --> 00:26:59,532
Okay guys, off you go.
241
00:27:10,595 --> 00:27:12,175
Okay, yeah, slow down...
242
00:27:18,321 --> 00:27:19,835
You can stop right there, yeah.
243
00:27:30,720 --> 00:27:31,539
Okay.
244
00:27:32,738 --> 00:27:35,140
These glaciers are unusual.
245
00:27:35,343 --> 00:27:37,887
They can slide in sudden spurts.
246
00:27:38,844 --> 00:27:41,569
Still too slow to
see in real time,
247
00:27:42,450 --> 00:27:44,320
but fast enough to hear...
248
00:27:46,723 --> 00:27:48,011
if you know how to listen.
249
00:27:58,089 --> 00:28:04,055
Sometimes they move 300 times faster
than their normal glacial pace.
250
00:28:06,768 --> 00:28:10,023
Heidi can hear them crushing
a huge amount of rock,
251
00:28:10,451 --> 00:28:13,653
as they grind their
way down the valley.
252
00:28:15,814 --> 00:28:18,023
And when ice meets sea,
253
00:28:18,527 --> 00:28:20,399
it makes a familiar sound.
254
00:28:45,796 --> 00:28:48,579
The popping is a heads
up for the team.
255
00:28:49,385 --> 00:28:51,959
The ice face is about to crash.
256
00:28:54,596 --> 00:28:58,157
I'm hearing increased activity,
you need to come back, okay?
257
00:29:44,225 --> 00:29:45,493
Wow!
258
00:29:56,990 --> 00:29:59,200
Diatom dinner time.
259
00:30:02,513 --> 00:30:05,291
Now sometimes these
glaciers move really fast,
260
00:30:05,352 --> 00:30:08,304
dumping tons and tons of
nutrients into the sea.
261
00:30:09,228 --> 00:30:10,027
Boom!
262
00:30:11,885 --> 00:30:15,180
Sparking a feeding frenzy
and a population explosion.
263
00:30:20,097 --> 00:30:20,939
But then,
264
00:30:21,780 --> 00:30:23,381
just as quickly as it started,
265
00:30:23,725 --> 00:30:25,346
dinner time is over.
266
00:30:26,821 --> 00:30:29,282
The glaciers come
to a grinding halt
267
00:30:29,343 --> 00:30:32,146
and lie dormant,
sometimes for decades.
268
00:30:33,181 --> 00:30:35,613
Boom becomes bust.
269
00:30:42,600 --> 00:30:44,218
When the nutrients run out,
270
00:30:44,719 --> 00:30:48,343
the blooms fade and most
of the diatoms die.
271
00:30:54,192 --> 00:30:57,939
Their carcasses slowly
fall to the ocean floor...
272
00:31:00,044 --> 00:31:03,300
where they carpet it in a
layer half a mile thick.
273
00:31:05,935 --> 00:31:07,690
We call it 'marine snow',
274
00:31:08,041 --> 00:31:09,878
and that's exactly
what it looks like.
275
00:31:11,244 --> 00:31:12,372
Snowflakes.
276
00:31:15,621 --> 00:31:17,785
But unlike snowflakes,
277
00:31:18,285 --> 00:31:19,194
they never melt
278
00:31:20,381 --> 00:31:24,116
and over millions of years
the sea beds rise...
279
00:31:27,047 --> 00:31:28,639
The ocean levels fall
280
00:31:30,114 --> 00:31:33,338
and the ocean floor
becomes a salty desert.
281
00:31:37,884 --> 00:31:40,860
The desert that blows all
the way to the Amazon...
282
00:31:43,604 --> 00:31:44,925
that was once a sea bed.
283
00:31:46,018 --> 00:31:49,269
And the dust that makes
the rainforest grow?
284
00:31:51,356 --> 00:31:52,536
Diatom shells.
285
00:31:58,524 --> 00:32:02,778
It just goes to show how incredibly
interlinked everything is.
286
00:32:05,283 --> 00:32:08,448
There is absolutely nothing
on one side of the planet
287
00:32:08,509 --> 00:32:12,116
that isn't connected in some way
with the other side of the planet.
288
00:32:16,385 --> 00:32:19,192
It's astounding how all
the systems down there
289
00:32:19,322 --> 00:32:20,621
must work together in order
290
00:32:20,868 --> 00:32:22,129
for us to breathe.
291
00:32:30,102 --> 00:32:31,720
Which is great...
292
00:32:33,128 --> 00:32:36,156
But you only have to mess
with oxygen a little bit
293
00:32:36,274 --> 00:32:39,209
for things to start
going really wrong.
294
00:32:44,081 --> 00:32:46,046
Three, two, one.
295
00:32:48,343 --> 00:32:50,964
Lift off, lift off.
296
00:32:53,610 --> 00:32:58,017
Though I've flown 100,000 miles,
297
00:32:58,529 --> 00:33:02,148
I'm feeling very still.
298
00:33:03,265 --> 00:33:09,631
Planet Earth is blue and
there's nothing left to do
299
00:33:19,779 --> 00:33:22,187
I love the fact that the
Earth has a blue sky.
300
00:33:27,793 --> 00:33:28,606
You can look up
301
00:33:29,026 --> 00:33:30,910
and all of the various
shades of it,
302
00:33:30,997 --> 00:33:32,391
you know, the deepness of it
303
00:33:32,452 --> 00:33:35,012
and the way the colours
change close to the horizon
304
00:33:35,909 --> 00:33:36,822
and that's everything
305
00:33:38,635 --> 00:33:40,374
that we breathe, and
keeps us alive.
306
00:33:42,793 --> 00:33:44,868
And you sort of fool
yourself into thinking,
307
00:33:44,991 --> 00:33:46,466
it's really, really deep.
308
00:33:47,198 --> 00:33:49,004
Like it goes on sort of forever.
309
00:33:53,980 --> 00:33:55,676
But when you're on
board a spaceship
310
00:33:57,273 --> 00:33:59,004
and you look straight down,
311
00:33:59,871 --> 00:34:01,798
you hardly see the
atmosphere at all.
312
00:34:03,646 --> 00:34:05,708
It's only when you
look to the horizon
313
00:34:06,085 --> 00:34:09,806
that you can see just how
thin our atmosphere truly is.
314
00:34:10,915 --> 00:34:13,985
The thinnest of
delicate blue lines.
315
00:34:16,742 --> 00:34:18,639
It's because the
gravity of the Earth
316
00:34:18,803 --> 00:34:22,605
is pulling every single one
of those air molecules
317
00:34:22,667 --> 00:34:24,351
and pressing it
against the ground.
318
00:34:25,978 --> 00:34:28,791
But the further up you
go, the thinner it gets.
319
00:34:30,367 --> 00:34:33,517
It's sort of like if you pluck
a string on a guitar...
320
00:34:35,788 --> 00:34:37,384
When does the note stop?
321
00:34:38,985 --> 00:34:41,200
And our atmosphere is
like that guitar string.
322
00:34:42,634 --> 00:34:45,582
It just gets less and
less the higher you go.
323
00:34:48,100 --> 00:34:51,452
But what's surprising is,
how fast that happens.
324
00:34:53,261 --> 00:34:55,731
That blue line is so thin
325
00:34:56,197 --> 00:34:57,375
that you can walk
326
00:34:57,948 --> 00:35:00,031
to where the oxygen
starts to run out.
327
00:35:32,441 --> 00:35:34,985
Being a doctor in La Rinconada
328
00:35:36,517 --> 00:35:39,566
means that you have
25,000 patients,
329
00:35:40,988 --> 00:35:45,320
living year-round in a town
as high as Everest base-camp.
330
00:36:27,121 --> 00:36:30,022
When Spanish settlers
first arrived here,
331
00:36:31,185 --> 00:36:32,761
the lack of oxygen
332
00:36:32,853 --> 00:36:34,977
killed many of their
babies at birth.
333
00:36:44,972 --> 00:36:46,866
Yet, people still live here.
334
00:36:49,834 --> 00:36:51,201
They still work here.
335
00:36:53,861 --> 00:36:55,414
Because in these mountains,
336
00:36:55,475 --> 00:36:58,696
there's something that's lured
people through history.
337
00:37:09,501 --> 00:37:11,015
The promise of gold.
338
00:37:21,658 --> 00:37:23,027
This is the limit though.
339
00:37:24,408 --> 00:37:27,031
Humans can't live any higher.
340
00:37:32,621 --> 00:37:33,858
Without enough oxygen,
341
00:37:33,919 --> 00:37:36,435
our organs can start
shutting down...
342
00:37:38,944 --> 00:37:41,595
And it can happen
surprisingly quickly.
343
00:37:43,767 --> 00:37:45,772
So astronauts actually train
344
00:37:45,865 --> 00:37:47,975
to recognize their own symptoms
345
00:37:48,156 --> 00:37:49,547
of a lack of oxygen.
346
00:37:50,078 --> 00:37:51,193
Of hypoxia.
347
00:37:52,274 --> 00:37:53,251
In my case,
348
00:37:53,773 --> 00:37:55,443
there's a slight dizziness.
349
00:37:55,670 --> 00:37:58,083
My vision starts to get
a little bit narrow.
350
00:37:58,356 --> 00:38:01,698
The colours become a
little more brittle,
351
00:38:02,213 --> 00:38:04,718
like maybe a certain
type of painter's way
352
00:38:04,779 --> 00:38:06,792
of using only the
primary colours.
353
00:38:07,249 --> 00:38:09,421
Sound changes a little for me.
354
00:38:09,482 --> 00:38:11,960
It becomes a little
bit more staccato,
355
00:38:12,060 --> 00:38:16,034
sort of a snappy sound to everything
that's going on around me.
356
00:38:16,267 --> 00:38:19,245
And as soon as I put all those
things together, I realize
357
00:38:19,768 --> 00:38:20,887
I'm running out of oxygen.
358
00:38:21,747 --> 00:38:23,857
Houston, I'm having a
serious problem here.
359
00:38:23,918 --> 00:38:24,789
Serious problem.
360
00:38:24,922 --> 00:38:26,247
Blinded in both eyes.
361
00:38:26,308 --> 00:38:27,414
'What did he just say?'
362
00:38:27,857 --> 00:38:29,861
Can't see, purge your oxygen.
363
00:38:30,379 --> 00:38:32,155
My precious oxygen.
364
00:38:33,631 --> 00:38:36,000
I wasn't really sure how
that was gonna turn out,
365
00:38:37,002 --> 00:38:41,414
but as the oxygen hissed through
and out my purge valve,
366
00:38:42,311 --> 00:38:45,213
the tears that were coming
out of my tear ducts
367
00:38:45,658 --> 00:38:47,535
slowly started evaporating.
368
00:38:49,058 --> 00:38:51,621
My vision began to
return, bit by bit,
369
00:38:52,371 --> 00:38:54,554
and what had caused
it was pretty simple.
370
00:38:54,615 --> 00:38:57,143
It was the anti-fog on my visor
371
00:38:57,563 --> 00:39:00,370
had been picked up by
floating water in my suit
372
00:39:00,431 --> 00:39:01,933
and gotten into my eye.
373
00:39:04,026 --> 00:39:07,819
With confidence, I could
reach up and close the valve
374
00:39:07,911 --> 00:39:10,855
and stop venting
my precious oxygen
375
00:39:11,300 --> 00:39:12,875
out to the rest of the universe.
376
00:39:17,424 --> 00:39:19,892
It's vital that we
get enough oxygen;
377
00:39:21,479 --> 00:39:22,842
but too much
378
00:39:23,442 --> 00:39:25,166
can be just as dangerous.
379
00:39:37,587 --> 00:39:41,455
You see it when you blow
on a little tiny fire.
380
00:39:42,525 --> 00:39:45,236
Just blowing that
little bit of oxygen
381
00:39:45,297 --> 00:39:48,993
turns that tiny
spark into a flame.
382
00:39:52,778 --> 00:39:55,733
And it's exactly the same
for the whole planet.
383
00:40:00,489 --> 00:40:03,699
A rise in oxygen levels can
threaten life on Earth.
384
00:40:11,780 --> 00:40:13,500
300 million years ago,
385
00:40:13,646 --> 00:40:15,968
there was a lot more
oxygen in the atmosphere.
386
00:40:16,437 --> 00:40:19,392
So much that the
planet just burned.
387
00:40:24,296 --> 00:40:26,634
But don't think that
danger's all in the past.
388
00:40:29,945 --> 00:40:32,206
Too much oxygen and we fry.
389
00:40:35,336 --> 00:40:37,431
Too little and we choke.
390
00:40:39,236 --> 00:40:41,051
We're walking a tightrope
391
00:40:41,511 --> 00:40:43,519
with death on either side,
392
00:40:43,801 --> 00:40:45,645
and just like a tightrope walker
393
00:40:45,706 --> 00:40:48,680
the only thing that can
save us is balance.
394
00:41:01,524 --> 00:41:04,336
Balance is crucial...
395
00:41:06,348 --> 00:41:08,005
For the make up of
the atmosphere,
396
00:41:08,776 --> 00:41:10,347
and for life itself.
397
00:41:13,721 --> 00:41:18,061
The thing is, we don't fully
understand how the Earth manages it.
398
00:41:19,999 --> 00:41:23,234
Despite diatoms having
to wait for glaciers
399
00:41:23,688 --> 00:41:27,889
and South American trees having
to wait for African dust,
400
00:41:28,529 --> 00:41:30,981
and despite the fact
that human population
401
00:41:31,042 --> 00:41:32,752
has been steadily increasing,
402
00:41:33,488 --> 00:41:36,879
the relative amount of
oxygen in the atmosphere
403
00:41:36,969 --> 00:41:39,055
has been surprisingly constant.
404
00:41:42,139 --> 00:41:43,450
For millions of years,
405
00:41:43,511 --> 00:41:48,340
oxygen has made up 20.95%
of our atmosphere.
406
00:41:48,866 --> 00:41:52,766
Exactly 20.95%.
407
00:41:54,382 --> 00:41:57,012
Every thing's somehow
buffering out
408
00:41:57,073 --> 00:41:59,523
and keeping things
pretty darn stable.
409
00:43:19,522 --> 00:43:25,371
100,000 Buddhists gather here
for the festival of Magha Puja.
410
00:43:31,086 --> 00:43:32,773
Each one lights a candle.
411
00:43:34,280 --> 00:43:36,481
They celebrate with their flames
412
00:43:36,542 --> 00:43:39,288
at a temple made from
a million Buddha's.
413
00:44:44,671 --> 00:44:46,230
Every breath we take,
414
00:44:47,481 --> 00:44:49,277
16 breaths a minute,
415
00:44:50,924 --> 00:44:53,354
23,000 breaths a day,
416
00:44:54,213 --> 00:44:57,168
every inhale, every exhale
417
00:44:58,754 --> 00:45:00,568
of that precious oxygen
418
00:45:01,384 --> 00:45:03,701
couldn't happen without earth,
419
00:45:04,801 --> 00:45:05,732
water,
420
00:45:06,287 --> 00:45:07,032
wind
421
00:45:07,093 --> 00:45:08,414
and fire.
422
00:45:18,646 --> 00:45:21,245
The whole planet works as one
423
00:45:21,594 --> 00:45:24,338
to create that thin blue line.
424
00:45:28,971 --> 00:45:30,882
The mark of a living world
425
00:45:32,310 --> 00:45:35,249
we've seen nowhere
else in the universe.
426
00:45:43,705 --> 00:45:45,174
I really wish
427
00:45:45,471 --> 00:45:46,797
that everyone could
see the world
428
00:45:47,101 --> 00:45:49,174
the way that I've had
a chance to see it.
429
00:45:54,635 --> 00:45:56,893
You have to wrench yourself away
430
00:45:56,954 --> 00:46:00,189
from the wonder and the
strangeness of it.
431
00:46:04,641 --> 00:46:06,177
And the beauty of space flight
432
00:46:06,717 --> 00:46:08,032
is you come back
433
00:46:08,101 --> 00:46:09,564
with a real sense
434
00:46:10,291 --> 00:46:13,299
that this Earth is one place.
435
00:46:13,496 --> 00:46:16,429
One shared place.
436
00:46:19,550 --> 00:46:21,239
We're all crew mates
on the same ship.
437
00:46:28,432 --> 00:46:30,051
We're not just rare,
438
00:46:30,379 --> 00:46:32,289
we're not just special,
439
00:46:32,729 --> 00:46:34,562
we are unique
440
00:46:35,112 --> 00:46:36,762
and that's what makes this
441
00:46:37,030 --> 00:46:39,180
One Strange Rock.
442
00:46:48,574 --> 00:46:51,012
Next time on One Strange Rock...
443
00:46:51,889 --> 00:46:56,044
our paradise planet came from
collisions, carnage and chaos.
444
00:46:57,281 --> 00:46:59,856
And the impact is
still shaping us.
33236
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