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RADIO CHATTER
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Beyond Earth's atmosphere,
life is impossible.
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Exposed to the vacuum of space,
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you'd be unconscious within 12
seconds...
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..and last little more
than two minutes.
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And yet, for more than a decade,
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we've made this harshest
of environments our home.
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Today, the journey off our planet
begins here
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in the cosmonaut training facility
on the outskirts of Moscow.
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I am floating in a spacesuit above
the International Space Station.
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It's surely as close as I'm going to
get to being in space.
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Astronauts have to do
this for hours at a time,
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six, seven, eight-hour spacewalks.
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They're going to have to perform
many of them to install this module
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when it's taken up into space.
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Over there,
that's the Zvezda Module -
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the Russian habitation module.
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It's where the cosmonauts sleep,
you know, where they eat,
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it's their lounge in space.
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You can just imagine, can't you?
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You can imagine the Earth
stretching out over there,
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curving away.
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Ah-h!
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I think it would be wonderful.
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So wonderful.
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It's kind of one of those things
you always dream of, you know.
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I did anyway - doing a spacewalk...
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..out in space on the Space Station.
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Since 2nd November, 2000,
when the first expedition arrived
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the International Space Station
has been continuously occupied...
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HE SPEAKS RUSSIAN
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..humanity's permanent outpost
amongst the stars.
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You know, for me, this defines
what it means to be human -
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throughout the whole
history of life on Earth,
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of all the creatures that have ever
lived in the oceans
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and the land or in the sky,
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only one has ever made it
off its home world.
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So why is it that we alone
have ventured out into space?
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What is it that makes us special?
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As far as we know, we humans
are unique in the universe...
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..the only creatures to have
developed the ability to ask
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deep questions about the cosmos...
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..and ponder our place within it.
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Perhaps the most fundamental
question we've asked is
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how do we become who we are,
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a space-faring civilisation?
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What drove our ascent
from ape to man...
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..and from the
dawn of civilisation...
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00:04:58,229 --> 00:04:59,709
..to the stars?
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It's a story that begins in
Ethiopia, where our story began.
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High in the mountains lives
a creature that allows us
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to glimpse our origins.
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Oh, oh, oh!
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You're not supposed to look
baboons in the eye,
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so I'm going to just approach them
carefully.
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BABOON CALLS
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I think that was a sneeze rather
than a warning cry.
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These are gelada baboons -
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they're a species of Old World
monkey found only here
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in the Ethiopian highlands.
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And we and the other great apes
share a common ancestor with them,
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around 25 to 30 million years ago,
so, in evolutionary terms,
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we belong to the same group -
the higher primates.
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So I suppose if you want a simple
answer to the question -
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who are we?
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It's one of them.
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The geladas aren't true baboons.
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They are, in fact,
the last remaining species
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of a group of primates
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that was once one of the most
successful in Africa.
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00:07:02,629 --> 00:07:05,589
Although they're not our closest
cousins, by any means,
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they have the most complex social
system of any non-human primates,
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they live in groups of up to 500.
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They also have the most
complex vocalisations
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of any non-human primate.
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They have sounds for attack
and defence,
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also reassurance, sounds
for danger, also solicitation.
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And they'll string them
together into long sequences.
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BABOONS CHATTER
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But for all the similarities
with the other primates,
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there is clearly a huge gulf
between them and us.
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And whilst you see glimpses
of human-like behaviour,
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there's nothing anywhere
near as sophisticated as us.
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And, er, gelada, for all
their sophisticated vocalisations,
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have nothing that you could even
remotely refer to as language.
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So it's obvious that we have
something extra.
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Since we split
from our common ancestor
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the geladas have
retreated into the highlands.
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But our intelligence and way of life
have changed unrecognisably.
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We've gone on to colonise
every corner of the Earth...
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BABOONS CALL
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RADIO CHATTER
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..and beyond.
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HE SINGS
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Solomon Tesfay is one of the Oromo
people of central Ethiopia.
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They've been fishing
the lake's rich waters
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since they arrived
here in the 16th century.
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00:10:12,789 --> 00:10:18,189
Constructing complicated tools,
like boats, nets and spaceships
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is a skill unique to the human mind.
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And this ability is thought to have
emerged for the very first time
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in the hills around the lake.
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This area's known as Gademotta,
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it's a volcanic ridge pushed
up from the floor of the Rift Valley
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to form an ancient caldera.
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Over a quarter of a million years
ago, this was home to
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a group of early humans,
attracted here by the lake,
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but also by this stuff - obsidian.
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Obsidian is volcanic glass
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formed spontaneously by rapidly
cooling lava.
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But some of the fragments that
litter the ground here
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are far from natural.
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Quite difficult, actually.
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You don't want to be working it the
whole day and not produce anything,
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so something like this will be
an ideal striking platform.
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Right, so you made that look easy.
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Ah. What am I looking to do now?
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So you first visualise
what you want,
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you are looking for a spear
out of this flake.
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So you will need to
work around the edge, thin this down
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00:11:56,829 --> 00:12:00,349
because they're going to be
the edges of the spear point.
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00:12:04,469 --> 00:12:08,229
'Archaeologists have uncovered
hundreds of obsidian spear points
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'at Gademotta, some of which were
made more than 250,000 years ago,
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'the oldest of their kind
ever found.'
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It's kind of easy to just randomly
knock a piece off. Yeah.
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But then when you start actually
crafting the shape... Yeah.
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So it's hit the angle, here.
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Oh, I see, there. Oh, yeah.
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Yes.
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I can see that this takes...
takes an intelligent animal to craft
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because it takes concentration
and dedication. Yes.
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And you need to know exactly
what you're doing. Yes.
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And you need to sit here
and do it and have patience,
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and be able to visualise the shape.
Yes, definitely.
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'But fashioning the spear's point
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'is just the first stage
in constructing a weapon
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'that would have flown through
the air like a javelin.'
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This would have been attached to
a wooden piece by some animal skin
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and it's thought some kind of glue.
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So this whole weapon
is a complex thing,
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you've got to imagine something
that doesn't exist -
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a spear made out of all
sorts of different materials.
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It's an object that's too
complicated for a single individual
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to conceive of
and to build in a single lifetime.
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An object like this requires
lots of individuals working together
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and also passing information
on from generation to generation,
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so, over time,
better spears can be constructed.
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That requires some
means of communication,
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probably some kind
of primitive language.
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So this is the earliest physical
evidence we've found
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of minds that think like ours.
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What happened here wasn't just
a pivotal moment in human evolution.
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It was a turning
point in a grander story.
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For the vast majority of the age
of the universe,
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the story of the atoms in this rock
was the same
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00:14:38,949 --> 00:14:41,229
as the story of the atoms
in my body.
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00:14:41,229 --> 00:14:46,109
They were forged 13.8 billion years
ago, moments after the Big Bang,
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the heavier ones were assembled
in hearts of long-dead stars.
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And 4.8 billion years ago, they
collapsed under their own gravity
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to form the solar system - a glowing
ball of gas and some bigger rocks.
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And for all we know,
despite all its majesty,
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that's all the night sky is -
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just a collection of glowing balls
of gas and some rocks.
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But then, around 250,000 years ago,
a clump of atoms became aware -
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it looked to the rock
and saw a spear.
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In one of the universe's
hundred billion galaxies...
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..orbiting one of that galaxy's
200 billion stars...
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..on a small, seemingly
insignificant, blue-green planet...
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..a tiny part
of the cosmos had become conscious.
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But how did hydrogen atoms forged
at the beginning of time
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come to wake up?
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00:16:06,869 --> 00:16:09,869
And how was it in only
a quarter of a million years,
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00:16:09,869 --> 00:16:13,549
that's a thousandth of 1%
of the age of the universe,
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those atoms went from building
weapons out of stone
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to constructing spacecraft?
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The trigger for our transformation
from apeman to spaceman
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can be found not on Earth,
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but glimpsed in the night sky.
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For centuries, the seafaring
peoples of East Africa
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00:17:21,629 --> 00:17:24,109
have relied on the ocean
for their survival.
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Sailors like Abdullah Ahmed Mohammed
established trade routes across
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00:17:48,589 --> 00:17:49,949
the Indian Ocean...
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..guided by the light of the stars.
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00:18:13,789 --> 00:18:18,349
Polaris, the north star, appears
stationary in the night sky because
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00:18:18,349 --> 00:18:22,549
it's the line directly on the axis
about which the Earth revolves.
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But despite its appearance,
it's far from constant.
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In 2,000 years, another star,
Gamma Cephei, will sit over the Pole
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and Polaris will arc through
the sky like the others.
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Because the Earth isn't
a perfect sphere,
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00:18:50,429 --> 00:18:54,189
the gravitational pull of the moon
and the sun causes
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00:18:54,189 --> 00:18:56,869
the Earth's axis to wobble.
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North is over there, the axis is
pointing, by coincidence,
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00:19:01,789 --> 00:19:06,229
toward the star that we call
Polaris, the north star.
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00:19:06,229 --> 00:19:11,029
But in just a few thousand
years, as the axis begins to move,
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00:19:11,029 --> 00:19:15,349
the Earth's North Pole will point to
a different place in the sky.
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00:19:22,309 --> 00:19:25,149
The Earth's axis is said to precess,
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00:19:25,149 --> 00:19:29,909
tracing out a circle in the sky
once every 27,000 years.
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00:19:37,309 --> 00:19:41,309
But precession doesn't just alter
our view of the stars, it changes
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00:19:41,309 --> 00:19:45,189
the point in the planet's orbit
at which summer and winter occur.
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00:19:49,829 --> 00:19:52,829
And that affects the amount of
sunlight that falls on
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00:19:52,829 --> 00:19:55,269
the Earth in summer and winter,
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00:19:55,269 --> 00:19:59,149
and that has an effect
on the climate, it makes it vary.
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But the solar system is way more
complicated than that.
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00:20:02,549 --> 00:20:06,149
The Earth is subjected to many
different gravitational pulls
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00:20:06,149 --> 00:20:08,709
and tugs, not least
from the planet Jupiter.
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00:20:08,709 --> 00:20:13,269
And that has the effect of changing
the Earth's orbit itself.
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00:20:13,269 --> 00:20:15,589
Now, the most important change
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is over a time period
of around 400,000 years,
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00:20:18,669 --> 00:20:21,909
where the Earth's orbit,
the ellipse itself,
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00:20:21,909 --> 00:20:26,349
gets bigger and smaller
and bigger and smaller.
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00:20:32,829 --> 00:20:36,829
Every 400,000 years, these
variations in the Earth's orbit
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00:20:36,829 --> 00:20:39,869
conspire to amplify
the effects of precession.
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And in one place on Earth,
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the planet's geography amplifies
them still further,
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00:20:52,149 --> 00:20:56,389
to produce periods of rapid
and extreme climate fluctuation.
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00:21:01,149 --> 00:21:05,349
10 million years ago, this area was
a flat plain covered in thick,
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00:21:05,349 --> 00:21:08,829
dense forest, which made it
the perfect place for our early,
217
00:21:08,829 --> 00:21:10,989
tree-dwelling ancestors.
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00:21:10,989 --> 00:21:14,949
But then, around that time, volcanic
activity raised the land up,
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00:21:14,949 --> 00:21:19,029
in places by over three kilometres,
to form this -
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00:21:19,029 --> 00:21:20,669
the Great Rift Valley.
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00:21:30,749 --> 00:21:31,789
THUNDER CRASHES
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00:21:34,149 --> 00:21:37,829
During those times when the Earth's
orbit was at its most elliptical,
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00:21:37,829 --> 00:21:41,109
the Rift Valley would
experience intense rainfall...
224
00:21:46,509 --> 00:21:49,869
..and deep lakes would appear
dotted all over the landscape.
225
00:21:56,149 --> 00:22:00,149
And then, within just a few thousand
years, conditions would change.
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00:22:02,029 --> 00:22:06,389
It would become dry and arid
and those lakes would disappear.
227
00:22:13,069 --> 00:22:16,629
It's thought that it was
this rapidly-changing environment
228
00:22:16,629 --> 00:22:19,949
that drove our transformation
from ape to man.
229
00:22:30,949 --> 00:22:32,549
And the reason we think that
230
00:22:32,549 --> 00:22:36,229
is because we found the evidence
strewn across the valley floor...
231
00:22:46,989 --> 00:22:49,589
..beginning with
our early ancestors,
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00:22:49,589 --> 00:22:52,189
who settled
in the newly-formed rift.
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00:22:54,389 --> 00:22:56,949
Three million years ago,
the homonym species
234
00:22:56,949 --> 00:23:00,549
that could be found in East Africa
was Australopithecus.
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00:23:00,549 --> 00:23:02,829
It's a kind of a grim-looking chap.
236
00:23:04,189 --> 00:23:07,869
This is really not much more than
a chimpanzee that stands upright,
237
00:23:07,869 --> 00:23:13,789
certainly in brain capacity.
Its brain volume is around 400cc.
238
00:23:13,789 --> 00:23:19,189
But then, 1.8 million years ago,
something spectacular happens.
239
00:23:19,189 --> 00:23:23,829
You get an explosion of homonym
species, including this...
240
00:23:25,309 --> 00:23:30,869
..Homo erectus, with a brain size
that is double Australopithecus.
241
00:23:30,869 --> 00:23:34,589
Then, 800,000 years ago,
this species appears,
242
00:23:34,589 --> 00:23:37,509
Homo heidelbergensis,
243
00:23:37,509 --> 00:23:41,189
accompanied by another rapid
increase in brain size,
244
00:23:41,189 --> 00:23:45,709
from 800cc to around 1,200cc.
245
00:23:45,709 --> 00:23:51,109
Then, we wind forward to
200,000 years ago, this skull,
246
00:23:51,109 --> 00:23:57,749
called Omo II, with a brain
size of around 1,400-1,500cc,
247
00:23:57,749 --> 00:24:01,189
which is close to my brain size.
248
00:24:01,189 --> 00:24:06,709
So this is one of the first skulls
that you can say is a modern human.
249
00:24:11,589 --> 00:24:15,629
Interestingly, each one of these
increases in brain size
250
00:24:15,629 --> 00:24:21,069
occurred at a time when the Earth's
orbit was at its most elliptical...
251
00:24:21,069 --> 00:24:22,109
THUNDER CRASHES
252
00:24:26,029 --> 00:24:28,709
..and the climate
at its most volatile.
253
00:24:32,589 --> 00:24:35,309
So the theory is
that human intelligence,
254
00:24:35,309 --> 00:24:41,149
our intelligence, is a response
to periods of very rapid and violent
255
00:24:41,149 --> 00:24:46,989
climate change, specifically, here
in the Rift Valley of East Africa.
256
00:24:51,509 --> 00:24:54,309
And that ultimately,
it was the precise geography
257
00:24:54,309 --> 00:24:58,749
of our corner of the universe
that made us who we are.
258
00:25:00,629 --> 00:25:05,029
You know, I find it quite dizzying,
a very powerful thought,
259
00:25:05,029 --> 00:25:08,189
that my existence,
the existence of my brain,
260
00:25:08,189 --> 00:25:11,109
the existence of us,
our species, Homo sapiens,
261
00:25:11,109 --> 00:25:15,069
was a result of changes
in the Earth's orbit,
262
00:25:15,069 --> 00:25:18,109
which depend on the precise
position and orbits
263
00:25:18,109 --> 00:25:20,709
of the other planets
in the solar system,
264
00:25:20,709 --> 00:25:23,829
the way that the Earth's
spin axis moves around,
265
00:25:23,829 --> 00:25:27,629
which depends on the position
and mass of the moon
266
00:25:27,629 --> 00:25:30,149
and the position and mass of the sun
267
00:25:30,149 --> 00:25:34,269
and the influence of those changes
on the climate here on Earth
268
00:25:34,269 --> 00:25:36,669
and, in particular,
that there's a place,
269
00:25:36,669 --> 00:25:41,509
like this, that can amplify those
changes in just such a way
270
00:25:41,509 --> 00:25:45,549
that it makes living things,
my ancestors,
271
00:25:45,549 --> 00:25:51,349
respond by increasing their brain
size, increasing their intelligence.
272
00:25:59,229 --> 00:26:02,829
It's these brains that separate us
from the other primates.
273
00:26:05,149 --> 00:26:09,189
They evolved in response
to rapidly-fluctuating climate,
274
00:26:09,189 --> 00:26:13,789
and now they enable us to colonise
every environment on the planet.
275
00:26:16,709 --> 00:26:18,509
MEN SING
276
00:26:30,269 --> 00:26:33,349
At the heart of
the Danakil Depression,
277
00:26:33,349 --> 00:26:37,109
the volcanism that sculpted
the Great Rift is still active...
278
00:26:38,709 --> 00:26:41,669
..creating some of the harshest
conditions on Earth.
279
00:26:46,989 --> 00:26:51,149
Yet, it's here that the Afar people
have made their home.
280
00:27:34,629 --> 00:27:38,709
To exist here, the Afar
rely on all the advantages
281
00:27:38,709 --> 00:27:42,389
that large brains
gave those very first humans...
282
00:27:47,109 --> 00:27:49,829
..the ability to club
together in groups...
283
00:27:51,269 --> 00:27:55,589
..develop tools and technologies
to provide food and shelter...
284
00:27:57,429 --> 00:28:01,149
..the ingenuity to adapt
their diet and lifestyle...
285
00:28:07,989 --> 00:28:10,349
..and, perhaps most
crucially of all,
286
00:28:10,349 --> 00:28:13,109
the ability to pass
the secrets of surviving
287
00:28:13,109 --> 00:28:16,149
in this most unforgiving
of environments...
288
00:28:17,229 --> 00:28:19,229
..down the generations.
289
00:29:11,589 --> 00:29:13,189
This is it, the human brain
290
00:29:13,189 --> 00:29:14,989
and it might not look like it,
291
00:29:14,989 --> 00:29:16,509
but it's the most complex
292
00:29:16,509 --> 00:29:18,429
physical structure we know of,
293
00:29:18,429 --> 00:29:19,909
anywhere in the universe.
294
00:29:19,909 --> 00:29:22,429
There are over 80 billion neurons
295
00:29:22,429 --> 00:29:24,509
in the average human brain.
296
00:29:24,509 --> 00:29:26,349
That's comparable to the number
297
00:29:26,349 --> 00:29:27,549
of stars in a galaxy.
298
00:29:28,749 --> 00:29:32,309
That doesn't even begin
to describe its complexity.
299
00:29:32,309 --> 00:29:34,429
Those neurons form connections
300
00:29:34,429 --> 00:29:35,829
between 10,000
301
00:29:35,829 --> 00:29:37,709
and 100,000 connections
302
00:29:37,709 --> 00:29:39,229
to other neurons
303
00:29:39,229 --> 00:29:42,629
and it's from that complex circuitry
304
00:29:42,629 --> 00:29:45,509
that the human condition emerges.
305
00:29:52,989 --> 00:29:57,909
Everything that makes us who we are
comes from this kilogram and a half
306
00:29:57,909 --> 00:30:01,749
of matter that resides
in the skull of every human
307
00:30:01,749 --> 00:30:03,669
that has ever walked the Earth.
308
00:30:11,149 --> 00:30:13,109
So who are we?
309
00:30:13,109 --> 00:30:14,949
Well, a possible answer is that
310
00:30:14,949 --> 00:30:16,789
we are something that emerges
311
00:30:16,789 --> 00:30:19,629
from electrical activity inside this
312
00:30:19,629 --> 00:30:22,309
impossibly complex blob of matter.
313
00:30:42,189 --> 00:30:43,869
You know, I love Ethiopia
314
00:30:43,869 --> 00:30:45,949
and not just because
it's a beautiful country
315
00:30:45,949 --> 00:30:47,909
but because of an idea.
316
00:30:47,909 --> 00:30:50,149
It's impossible to sit here
317
00:30:50,149 --> 00:30:53,149
and not catch a glimpse out of
your peripheral vision
318
00:30:53,149 --> 00:30:56,829
of a line of ghosts stretching
back 10,000 generations
319
00:30:56,829 --> 00:31:00,829
because we are all related
to someone who lived here
320
00:31:00,829 --> 00:31:03,469
200,000 years ago.
321
00:31:03,469 --> 00:31:07,549
And those first Homo sapiens
weren't that different to us -
322
00:31:07,549 --> 00:31:09,589
in many ways they were the same.
323
00:31:09,589 --> 00:31:13,109
So if you could bring a newborn
baby from the Rift Valley
324
00:31:13,109 --> 00:31:15,909
all those years ago
to the 21st century
325
00:31:15,909 --> 00:31:18,389
and subject it
to a 21st-century education,
326
00:31:18,389 --> 00:31:21,549
then there's no reason
why it couldn't achieve anything
327
00:31:21,549 --> 00:31:23,549
that a modern child could achieve.
328
00:31:24,589 --> 00:31:26,269
It could even be an astronaut.
329
00:31:58,749 --> 00:32:01,309
The brains that take us
off our planet...
330
00:32:02,949 --> 00:32:04,989
..that build spacecraft...
331
00:32:06,829 --> 00:32:09,749
..and enable us to live in
the vacuum of space...
332
00:32:11,109 --> 00:32:14,269
..are the same brains that
once fashioned spear points
333
00:32:14,269 --> 00:32:17,869
on the plains of Africa
a quarter of a million years ago.
334
00:32:26,069 --> 00:32:30,709
But if those brains have barely
changed since we first evolved,
335
00:32:30,709 --> 00:32:33,629
what was it that took us
from the Rift Valley
336
00:32:33,629 --> 00:32:35,949
to living amongst the stars?
337
00:32:58,629 --> 00:33:02,589
The road to civilisation
began 60,000 years ago
338
00:33:02,589 --> 00:33:05,509
when modern humans first
left Africa.
339
00:33:26,509 --> 00:33:29,629
They moved north through the deserts
of the Middle East,
340
00:33:29,629 --> 00:33:33,309
forging the routes the Bedouin
still use to this day.
341
00:34:00,189 --> 00:34:03,629
2,000 years ago, this part
of the Jordanian desert was home
342
00:34:03,629 --> 00:34:05,749
to the Nabataeans and,
for millennia,
343
00:34:05,749 --> 00:34:07,589
they lived a nomadic lifestyle,
344
00:34:07,589 --> 00:34:11,069
so living under canvas and
driving their camel trains along
345
00:34:11,069 --> 00:34:14,109
the ancient trade routes
that snaked across the desert.
346
00:34:14,109 --> 00:34:20,189
But some time around 150 BC, they
decided to try something different.
347
00:34:30,349 --> 00:34:35,349
This is the Nabataeans'
great capital, Petra.
348
00:34:39,909 --> 00:34:43,069
It stands testament to
the moment they abandoned
349
00:34:43,069 --> 00:34:47,949
their traditional way of life and
built a civilisation in the desert.
350
00:34:51,949 --> 00:34:54,509
This is probably the
most famous building in Petra,
351
00:34:54,509 --> 00:34:58,229
it's called Al Khazneh, which means
treasure box, after a Bedouin legend
352
00:34:58,229 --> 00:35:01,509
that a Pharaoh hid an urn
of treasure there.
353
00:35:08,629 --> 00:35:12,949
Although its precise function
is lost beneath the sands of time,
354
00:35:12,949 --> 00:35:17,389
the sheer scale of these buildings
serves a far deeper purpose.
355
00:35:22,429 --> 00:35:26,069
Monumental architecture is a key
feature of human civilisation -
356
00:35:26,069 --> 00:35:28,749
a statement of power and grandeur.
357
00:35:28,749 --> 00:35:31,589
It cements the place of the rulers
358
00:35:31,589 --> 00:35:34,789
and therefore provides
stability and security.
359
00:35:34,789 --> 00:35:38,789
And this is one of the main
ceremonial routes into Petra,
360
00:35:38,789 --> 00:35:41,629
but this isn't the tradesmen's
entrance, you know,
361
00:35:41,629 --> 00:35:44,709
dignitaries, important people
from across the ancient world,
362
00:35:44,709 --> 00:35:48,909
from Mesopotamia, from Rome and
Egypt would have entered Petra here.
363
00:35:48,909 --> 00:35:51,749
Just imagine what it would
have been like.
364
00:36:04,789 --> 00:36:09,829
The city sat on a trade route
which brought wood and spices
365
00:36:09,829 --> 00:36:13,029
and incense and dyes
up from Africa and India
366
00:36:13,029 --> 00:36:16,349
and into the Mediterranean,
black pepper alone
367
00:36:16,349 --> 00:36:20,749
fetched 40 times its own weight
in gold in a Roman market,
368
00:36:20,749 --> 00:36:24,629
and this city controlled all that
trade and they taxed it.
369
00:36:40,789 --> 00:36:46,429
Every rock you see on every hillside
right across the city
370
00:36:46,429 --> 00:36:48,989
is not actually a rock,
it's a brick
371
00:36:48,989 --> 00:36:51,629
because these hillsides
would have been covered
372
00:36:51,629 --> 00:36:54,469
with houses and temples and palaces.
373
00:36:54,469 --> 00:36:58,349
And then all these stone facades
would have been covered
374
00:36:58,349 --> 00:37:02,349
in white plaster
and painted bright colours
375
00:37:02,349 --> 00:37:05,709
and not only the temples and houses
but every tomb
376
00:37:05,709 --> 00:37:10,909
on every mountainside - this city
would have been a magnificent sight.
377
00:37:21,669 --> 00:37:25,709
At its peak, Petra had
a population of 30,000...
378
00:37:41,549 --> 00:37:44,709
..but today it lies
empty and abandoned,
379
00:37:44,709 --> 00:37:48,069
as it has for nearly 1,500 years.
380
00:37:53,109 --> 00:37:57,789
Its only occupants
a handful of Bedouin tribespeople
381
00:37:57,789 --> 00:38:00,749
who've made their home
amongst the ruins.
382
00:38:06,909 --> 00:38:10,629
So what was it that enabled
the ancient Nabataeans to support
383
00:38:10,629 --> 00:38:12,789
a metropolis here in the desert?
384
00:38:20,269 --> 00:38:23,509
The Nabataeans were masters of
fluid engineering
385
00:38:23,509 --> 00:38:25,909
and virtually every drop of
rainwater
386
00:38:25,909 --> 00:38:28,309
that fell on this landscape
was captured
387
00:38:28,309 --> 00:38:30,949
and channelled in grooves
that they cut into the rock
388
00:38:30,949 --> 00:38:35,429
and stored in giant reservoirs
and cisterns like this one.
389
00:38:35,429 --> 00:38:38,029
They were better at plumbing
than the Romans,
390
00:38:38,029 --> 00:38:40,869
they had the first ever
pressurised water system
391
00:38:40,869 --> 00:38:44,509
and they used it to deliver
12 million gallons of water
392
00:38:44,509 --> 00:38:47,589
every day into the city of Petra.
393
00:38:49,429 --> 00:38:52,629
By carefully managing
this precious resource,
394
00:38:52,629 --> 00:38:55,069
the Nabataeans sustained their city
395
00:38:55,069 --> 00:38:57,789
and flourished here
for seven centuries...
396
00:39:03,829 --> 00:39:08,509
..because with water came the thing
that underpins all civilisation.
397
00:39:39,469 --> 00:39:42,509
Ali Abdullah is part of the farming
tradition that
398
00:39:42,509 --> 00:39:44,989
goes back further than
anywhere in the world...
399
00:39:46,909 --> 00:39:51,949
..because it was here in the
fertile crescent 11,500 years ago
400
00:39:51,949 --> 00:39:54,269
that the first
agriculture emerged...
401
00:39:59,869 --> 00:40:03,709
..closely followed by
the first civilisations.
402
00:40:05,869 --> 00:40:08,029
The reason agriculture
is so important
403
00:40:08,029 --> 00:40:10,069
for the development of civilisation
404
00:40:10,069 --> 00:40:14,909
is because it supports large
numbers of people in one place.
405
00:40:14,909 --> 00:40:17,789
It also frees up people's time -
406
00:40:17,789 --> 00:40:21,349
they don't need to spend all
their day toiling in the fields,
407
00:40:21,349 --> 00:40:25,109
so at least some of them
can do other things like think,
408
00:40:25,109 --> 00:40:29,869
or become experts and, ultimately,
build that civilisation.
409
00:40:44,709 --> 00:40:49,269
The human brain is what separates us
from the other primates,
410
00:40:49,269 --> 00:40:53,949
but building civilisations
requires not just one
411
00:40:53,949 --> 00:40:56,269
but many brains working together.
412
00:41:01,229 --> 00:41:04,269
And it was this coming together
of minds
413
00:41:04,269 --> 00:41:08,709
that led to an innovation
that changed who we are for ever.
414
00:41:12,469 --> 00:41:18,269
In 1993, archaeologists discovered a
set of around 150 Nabataean scrolls.
415
00:41:18,269 --> 00:41:21,309
Now they date from
the last days of Petra
416
00:41:21,309 --> 00:41:24,669
as an occupied city around 550 AD.
417
00:41:24,669 --> 00:41:28,509
And the most intact
documents a court case
418
00:41:28,509 --> 00:41:30,909
between two priests
who lived together.
419
00:41:30,909 --> 00:41:34,189
And one of the priests
decided to run away
420
00:41:34,189 --> 00:41:36,989
and he stole from the house,
according to the scroll,
421
00:41:36,989 --> 00:41:41,469
a key to one of the upstairs rooms,
two wooden beams
422
00:41:41,469 --> 00:41:44,069
that presumably held the roof up,
423
00:41:44,069 --> 00:41:46,949
six birds and a table.
424
00:41:46,949 --> 00:41:50,669
So he's a bit like
a Nabataean Father Ted.
425
00:41:52,429 --> 00:41:56,709
Now, mundane as it may seem,
this is probably how writing began -
426
00:41:56,709 --> 00:42:00,989
the greatest invention in
the history of human civilisation
427
00:42:00,989 --> 00:42:03,589
probably arose for admin purposes.
428
00:42:09,109 --> 00:42:11,509
With writing came literature,
429
00:42:11,509 --> 00:42:14,509
science,
mathematics and engineering.
430
00:42:20,149 --> 00:42:24,349
And, as time passed, so the
information held in the written word
431
00:42:24,349 --> 00:42:26,589
grew and evolved.
432
00:42:31,229 --> 00:42:33,709
Writing was such
an important innovation
433
00:42:33,709 --> 00:42:36,389
because it freed the acquisition
of knowledge from
434
00:42:36,389 --> 00:42:38,829
the limits of the human memory.
435
00:42:38,829 --> 00:42:43,029
Once we could write things down,
an almost unlimited amount of
436
00:42:43,029 --> 00:42:46,389
information could be passed, not
only from generation to generation,
437
00:42:46,389 --> 00:42:48,509
but from city to city,
438
00:42:48,509 --> 00:42:50,349
from country to country,
439
00:42:50,349 --> 00:42:53,229
across oceans, across the world.
440
00:42:53,229 --> 00:42:59,029
Knowledge became widespread
accessible and permanent,
441
00:42:59,029 --> 00:43:02,189
never lost and always added to.
442
00:43:02,189 --> 00:43:05,589
Writing created a cultural ratchet,
443
00:43:05,589 --> 00:43:07,869
an exponentiation of the known,
444
00:43:07,869 --> 00:43:10,829
which ultimately
led us to the stars.
445
00:43:58,469 --> 00:44:03,829
In the world of space exploration,
this room is hallowed ground because
446
00:44:03,829 --> 00:44:08,029
every astronaut that flies to the
International Space Station today,
447
00:44:08,029 --> 00:44:12,189
and, indeed,
pretty much every astronaut
that's ever flown into space,
448
00:44:12,189 --> 00:44:14,749
first American,
then Russian and European,
449
00:44:14,749 --> 00:44:16,829
have sat at this table
450
00:44:16,829 --> 00:44:18,949
and signed this book.
451
00:44:20,949 --> 00:44:23,429
This is so precious.
452
00:44:24,829 --> 00:44:32,789
It's a tradition that began in
1969 with three Soyuz crews,
453
00:44:32,789 --> 00:44:35,589
Soyuz 6, 7 and 8.
454
00:44:35,589 --> 00:44:38,549
And, as you flick through the pages,
455
00:44:38,549 --> 00:44:42,509
you just turn through
the history of space exploration.
456
00:44:44,349 --> 00:44:48,429
And here on a visit,
1st June 1970,
457
00:44:48,429 --> 00:44:50,349
is Neil Armstrong.
458
00:44:51,909 --> 00:44:54,869
And the reason every astronaut
wants to come here
459
00:44:54,869 --> 00:44:57,909
and sit at this table
is because this table,
460
00:44:57,909 --> 00:45:00,149
and all the furniture in the office,
461
00:45:00,149 --> 00:45:04,029
everything you see in the office,
belonged to Yuri Gagarin.
462
00:45:11,709 --> 00:45:14,669
MAN SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN
463
00:45:42,549 --> 00:45:45,869
You know, it's easy to
characterise the early astronauts,
464
00:45:45,869 --> 00:45:49,629
the pioneering test pilot
astronauts, as emotionless people,
465
00:45:49,629 --> 00:45:53,469
you know, people who were just
interested in flying the vehicles.
466
00:45:53,469 --> 00:45:58,549
But you only need to listen to Yuri
Gagarin's words to realise that
467
00:45:58,549 --> 00:46:02,509
he knew precisely the significance
of what he was about to do.
468
00:46:22,709 --> 00:46:29,069
On 12th April, 1961, we
became a space-faring civilisation.
469
00:46:35,189 --> 00:46:39,189
And in 48 hours, the latest
humans to sign Gagarin's book
470
00:46:39,189 --> 00:46:43,309
are due to make the long journey
back to their home world.
471
00:47:21,389 --> 00:47:24,749
This is Kazakhstan,
and certainly at this time of year,
472
00:47:24,749 --> 00:47:25,869
in mid March,
473
00:47:25,869 --> 00:47:31,389
it's a massed, icy wilderness, and
it's just flat as far as the eye can
474
00:47:31,389 --> 00:47:36,829
see, and for around 800,000 square
kilometres, which is basically the
475
00:47:36,829 --> 00:47:41,189
reason that we're here because we're
part of a search and rescue mission.
476
00:47:41,189 --> 00:47:44,309
Tomorrow morning we're going
to meet three astronauts
477
00:47:44,309 --> 00:47:46,989
out there in the snow, because
we're going to rendezvous with
478
00:47:46,989 --> 00:47:49,029
a Soyuz spacecraft as it returns
479
00:47:49,029 --> 00:47:51,509
from the International
Space Station.
480
00:47:58,109 --> 00:48:02,069
The technology that will bring
those three humans back to Earth
481
00:48:02,069 --> 00:48:04,149
and the physics that will guide them
482
00:48:04,149 --> 00:48:07,789
home is the culmination of
hundreds of years of knowledge.
483
00:48:11,189 --> 00:48:15,029
Now, even I, just knowing
a bit of physics in my head,
484
00:48:15,029 --> 00:48:18,269
can calculate exactly
what the astronauts have to do
485
00:48:18,269 --> 00:48:20,269
to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere -
486
00:48:20,269 --> 00:48:24,309
all you need are the two laws
written down first
487
00:48:24,309 --> 00:48:29,909
by Isaac Newton, F = MA and
the universal law of gravitation.
488
00:48:29,909 --> 00:48:33,349
Now, what you can show
from those, really simply, is
489
00:48:33,349 --> 00:48:37,749
that, for a circular orbit, which is
what the International Space Station
490
00:48:37,749 --> 00:48:42,349
is basically in, the velocity
flying along there is given
491
00:48:42,349 --> 00:48:47,029
by the square root of GM over R,
where M's the mass of the Earth,
492
00:48:47,029 --> 00:48:50,229
and R is the distance
from the centre of the Earth.
493
00:48:50,229 --> 00:48:52,389
And the equations tell you
that to return to Earth,
494
00:48:52,389 --> 00:48:55,829
all the astronauts need
to do is reduce that velocity
495
00:48:55,829 --> 00:49:00,029
by 128 metres per second,
and gravity will do the rest.
496
00:49:02,269 --> 00:49:04,749
And here is the important thing.
497
00:49:04,749 --> 00:49:09,149
I can do that because I know those
two equations. Why do I know them?
498
00:49:09,149 --> 00:49:13,229
Because I read them in a textbook
that was based on Newton's work
499
00:49:13,229 --> 00:49:15,789
and published in 1687.
500
00:49:15,789 --> 00:49:18,029
But if I had to do
that from scratch,
501
00:49:18,029 --> 00:49:22,349
if I had to come up with those
two equations, it'd never happen.
502
00:49:22,349 --> 00:49:26,109
Newton was a genius, he worked
for decades on those equations -
503
00:49:26,109 --> 00:49:27,429
I would have no chance.
504
00:49:36,909 --> 00:49:40,349
Newton famously said that
he built his knowledge,
505
00:49:40,349 --> 00:49:44,389
his great laws, on the shoulders
of giants, and indeed he did.
506
00:49:44,389 --> 00:49:48,789
It was Euclid, it was Descartes,
it was the great mathematicians
507
00:49:48,789 --> 00:49:53,269
and geometers, not only of
Newton's time and before Galileo,
508
00:49:53,269 --> 00:49:56,829
but stretching all the way back
to Euclid and the Ancient Greeks,
509
00:49:56,829 --> 00:50:00,989
and he got that knowledge
from the written word, from books.
510
00:50:28,789 --> 00:50:31,829
So, this is the place where
it's going to hit the snow,
511
00:50:31,829 --> 00:50:35,429
hopefully tomorrow, although
apparently the wind is quite high,
512
00:50:35,429 --> 00:50:38,869
so it's possible...
possible they'll cancel the landing
513
00:50:38,869 --> 00:50:41,229
and move it 24 hours
into the future.
514
00:50:41,229 --> 00:50:44,549
We're just waiting for a phone call
from the Russian Space Agency
515
00:50:44,549 --> 00:50:48,109
to tell us whether the Soyuz
undocked from the Space Station.
516
00:50:48,109 --> 00:50:51,509
So, fingers crossed we're
going to get that phone call,
517
00:50:51,509 --> 00:50:55,229
and otherwise we've got enough
vodka for about a month.
518
00:51:15,709 --> 00:51:17,189
Right here you can see
519
00:51:17,189 --> 00:51:19,509
in the foreground the three
departing crew members,
520
00:51:19,509 --> 00:51:22,589
that's Sergey Ryazansky on the left
there, Oleg Kotov in the middle,
521
00:51:22,589 --> 00:51:26,349
and just floating to the back, in
the grey jumpsuit, is Mike Hopkins.
522
00:51:29,749 --> 00:51:33,389
There are Kotov and Ryazansky,
giving the final wave goodbye.
523
00:51:41,269 --> 00:51:43,549
Once the hatches are closed,
524
00:51:43,549 --> 00:51:47,589
the Soyuz, containing its
three human passengers, undocks...
525
00:51:49,269 --> 00:51:50,749
Physical separation confirmed.
526
00:51:52,429 --> 00:51:54,349
Confirmed at 7.02pm central time.
527
00:51:54,349 --> 00:51:58,109
..and the tiny craft
gently drifts away.
528
00:51:59,869 --> 00:52:04,149
ON RADIO:
'Separation. Copying, looking good.'
529
00:52:07,229 --> 00:52:08,389
RADIO INTERFERENCE
530
00:52:08,389 --> 00:52:09,429
BEEPING
531
00:52:17,829 --> 00:52:24,349
This is the GPS system in the car,
and it's just ticked over to 08.30
532
00:52:24,349 --> 00:52:28,909
now, so that means now, this moment,
the Soyuz is firing its rockets -
533
00:52:28,909 --> 00:52:30,869
that's going to change its orbit,
534
00:52:30,869 --> 00:52:33,109
it's going to slow it down
in its orbit.
535
00:52:33,109 --> 00:52:36,469
So instead of following the
International Space Station
536
00:52:36,469 --> 00:52:39,709
and orbiting around the Earth,
it takes a more elliptical orbit
537
00:52:39,709 --> 00:52:42,869
and drops towards
the Earth's atmosphere.
538
00:52:45,229 --> 00:52:49,149
This view from external cameras
on the International Space Station
539
00:52:49,149 --> 00:52:51,949
showing the entry
of the Soyuz vehicle
540
00:52:51,949 --> 00:52:54,629
as it barrels through
the Earth's atmosphere.
541
00:52:58,309 --> 00:53:02,789
The capsule glows white hot
as it slowed from 26,000
542
00:53:02,789 --> 00:53:07,629
to just 800 kilometres per hour
by the time its parachutes open.
543
00:53:09,509 --> 00:53:11,709
A rare view of the Soyuz,
544
00:53:11,709 --> 00:53:14,989
streaking towards the
central steppe of Kazakhstan.
545
00:53:17,429 --> 00:53:20,749
I've got to say this is one of the
most exciting things I've ever done,
546
00:53:20,749 --> 00:53:23,509
waiting for a spaceship to return
547
00:53:23,509 --> 00:53:26,309
from the International Space
Station, it's just...
548
00:53:30,469 --> 00:53:32,149
Go.
549
00:53:39,869 --> 00:53:41,869
HORN BLASTS
550
00:53:56,749 --> 00:54:00,149
Nobody can see it at the moment,
but it should be there.
551
00:54:14,869 --> 00:54:16,589
There it is, there it is.
552
00:54:22,069 --> 00:54:24,469
We're right there,
I can see the parachutes.
553
00:54:27,029 --> 00:54:30,189
We're the first there, we're
the first vehicle there, actually,
554
00:54:30,189 --> 00:54:32,949
although there's one after.
It's quite remarkable.
555
00:54:57,069 --> 00:54:58,749
You can smell a faint...
556
00:55:00,509 --> 00:55:02,829
..faint burning smell,
not surprisingly -
557
00:55:02,829 --> 00:55:05,989
you see the, yeah, damage.
558
00:55:05,989 --> 00:55:07,869
Well, the sacrificial heat shield
559
00:55:07,869 --> 00:55:11,309
that's burnt away to protect it
on its way to re-entry.
560
00:55:11,309 --> 00:55:13,629
This is incredible -
561
00:55:13,629 --> 00:55:18,829
I can't believe you can
just stand next to a spacecraft.
562
00:55:26,069 --> 00:55:28,589
But the... If you turn around now,
563
00:55:28,589 --> 00:55:31,189
the first astronaut's
going to come out,
564
00:55:31,189 --> 00:55:33,589
I think it's going to be
the captain first.
565
00:55:53,469 --> 00:55:57,069
You can see what a physical
experience it must be -
566
00:55:57,069 --> 00:56:01,029
not only the re-entry, which
is, you know, ONLY an hour
567
00:56:01,029 --> 00:56:03,069
and it probably pulls
four or five g,
568
00:56:03,069 --> 00:56:04,709
but after living on the space
569
00:56:04,709 --> 00:56:08,429
station for six months,
to feel Earth's gravity,
570
00:56:08,429 --> 00:56:13,629
to feel this cold air again, er,
it... They look very happy,
571
00:56:13,629 --> 00:56:16,989
they're all smiling, but
they look absolutely knackered.
572
00:56:33,749 --> 00:56:36,989
A single human lifetime ago,
60 or 70 years,
573
00:56:36,989 --> 00:56:40,749
this journey would have been
unthinkable, but now,
574
00:56:40,749 --> 00:56:45,189
in the 21st century, it's routine -
four times a year astronauts
575
00:56:45,189 --> 00:56:49,909
make the journey from our permanent
home in space back to planet Earth.
576
00:56:51,269 --> 00:56:55,389
But, to me, it's much more than
that, because this space travel,
577
00:56:55,389 --> 00:56:57,149
the exploration of the universe,
578
00:56:57,149 --> 00:57:00,549
is the ultimate expression
of a much grander journey.
579
00:57:07,789 --> 00:57:11,989
After almost 14 billion years
of cosmic evolution...
580
00:57:14,749 --> 00:57:17,749
..and some four billion years
of life on Earth...
581
00:57:19,149 --> 00:57:21,309
..the universe became conscious.
582
00:57:27,029 --> 00:57:31,509
And in just 200,000 years,
we humans have transformed
583
00:57:31,509 --> 00:57:33,949
ourselves beyond all recognition.
584
00:57:36,349 --> 00:57:39,069
We've built great civilisations...
585
00:57:40,909 --> 00:57:44,589
..accumulated knowledge
and technology...
586
00:57:44,589 --> 00:57:47,549
until, finally, apeman...
587
00:57:49,069 --> 00:57:50,669
..became spaceman.
588
00:58:00,869 --> 00:58:06,029
And, like all journeys,
like all great adventures,
589
00:58:06,029 --> 00:58:08,229
our journey just began
590
00:58:08,229 --> 00:58:09,669
with a moment.
50979
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