Original subtitles

Narrator: IN MORE THAN HALF A CENTURY OF SPACE EXPLORATION,

NASA HAS CAPTURED IMAGES

OF SOME OF THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY THINGS

IN THE UNIVERSE --

DESOLATE PLANETS...

GIANT SOLAR FLARES...

AND DISTANT NEBULAE.

BUT THEY'VE ALSO CAPTURED REMARKABLE IMAGES

CLOSER TO HOME...

...OBJECTS WHICH SEEM TO DEFY EXPLANATION,

FLYING JUST OUTSIDE EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE.

Man: WE SEE A COUPLE OF STAR-LIKE THINGS.

Narrator: SENIOR NASA ASTRONAUTS

REMAIN DISTURBED BY THE PHENOMENA THEY'VE SEEN.

I DO NOT KNOW WHAT THAT THING WAS,

AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS TODAY.

Narrator: CAN THESE SIGHTINGS BE EXPLAINED?

IT'S MY CONCLUSION

THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT SOME KIND OF SPACECRAFT.

PEOPLE SEE THINGS AT THE LIMITS OF THEIR VISIONS

AND FILL IN THE REST OF THE DETAILS

FROM THEIR IMAGINATIONS OR FROM THEIR FEARS.

Narrator: IS THERE NOW EVIDENCE

OF ADVANCED EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE?

BILLIONS OF PLANETARY CREATURES THAT HAVE LEFT THEIR PLANET...

...AND THEY'RE VISITING OTHER SOLAR SYSTEMS.

I AM VERY CERTAIN OF OUR VISITATION BY EXTERNAL SPECIES.

Narrator: INCREDIBLE OFFICIAL FOOTAGE.

ONE THING WE CAN SAY ABOUT THIS NASA FOOTAGE

IS IT'S UNIMPEACHABLE.

Narrator: THE GREATEST MISSIONS OF ALL TIME.

WE REVEAL NASA'S STRANGEST ENCOUNTERS IN SPACE.

JOHN GLENN PREPARES FOR A HISTORIC MISSION.

HE'LL BE THE FIRST AMERICAN TO ORBIT EARTH.

Man: GLENN PREPARES TO GO TO THE 11th DECK

AS CLOCKS POINT TO 6:00 A.M., EASTERN STANDARD TIME.

Narrator: NASA DELIBERATELY PICKED A WORLD WAR II HERO

KNOWN FOR PERFORMING UNDER EXTREME PRESSURE.

AT 11:03 A.M., GLENN STEPS ONTO THE ROCKET PLATFORM.

Man: THE SECONDS TICK OFF,

AS HIS RENDEZVOUS WITH SPACE APPROACHES.

I'M SURE JOHN GLENN HAD SOME BUTTERFLIES IN HIS STOMACH

WHILE HE WAS SITTING ON THE LAUNCH PAD,

WAITING TO LAUNCH ON FRIENDSHIP 7.

Glenn: AFFIRMATIVE, MAN.

Bleakley: THE ATLASBOOSTER ROCKET

HADN'T HAD A VERY SUCCESSFUL GESTATION PERIOD.

THERE HAD BEEN SOME VERY VIOLENT ACCIDENTS WITH IT.

Narrator: IN SPITE OF THIS,

GLENN IS READY TO PUT HIS LIFE ON THE LINE.

Man: GODSPEED, JOHN GLENN.

[ RADIO CHATTER ]

Glenn: ROGER -- ZERO G, AND I FEEL FINE.

CAPSULE IS TURNING AROUND.

Narrator: JUST FIVE MINUTES AFTER LAUNCH,

GLENN REACHES ORBIT.

Glenn: OH, THAT VIEW IS TREMENDOUS.

BUT THEN GLENN WITNESSES SOMETHING TOTALLY UNEXPECTED.

HAZY, DARTING LIGHTS SURROUND HIS CAPSULE.

A MASS OF THEM ENVELOP THE CRAFT.

Glenn: I NEVER SAW ANYTHING LIKE IT.

THEY'RE COMING BY THE CAPSULE, AND THEY LOOK LIKE LITTLE STARS,

A WHOLE SHOWER OF THEM COMING BY.

THEY SWIRL AROUND THE CAPSULE AND GO IN FRONT OF THE WINDOW,

AND THEY'RE ALL BRILLIANTLY LIGHTED.

Bleakley: JOHN GLENN SAW SOME SMALL OBJECTS

OUT HIS WINDOW OF HIS SPACECRAFT,

AND HE CALLED THEM THE FIREFLIES.

HE NEVER FIGURED OUT WHAT THEY WERE,

AND NEITHER DID ANYONE ELSE.

Narrator: AFTER THE STRESS OF SUCH A DANGEROUS LAUNCH,

COULD GLENN HAVE IMAGINED THESE SO-CALLED FIREFLIES?

SPACE HISTORIAN JAMES OBERG THINKS THIS IS UNLIKELY.

THE EARLY ASTRONAUTS, THE MAIN THING THEY WERE ABLE TO DO

WAS TO THINK STRAIGHT WHEN UNDER PRESSURE.

THEY WOULDN'T FREEZE UP. THEY WOULDN'T PANIC.

THEY HAD A SPECIAL KIND OF ATTITUDE

TOWARD GETTING THROUGH DANGER.

Narrator: SO IF HE WASN'T IMAGINING THEM, WHAT WERE THEY?

FELLOW ASTRONAUT STORY MUSGRAVE HAS WITNESSED SOMETHING SIMILAR

AND THINKS THEY ARE PARTICLES OF ICE.

Musgrave: THEY HAVE THOUSANDS OF PIECES OF ICE.

IT IS GORGEOUSLY BEAUTIFUL.

IT GETS EVEN MORE BEAUTIFUL WHEN THEY GET FURTHER OUT

'CAUSE THEY'RE ROTATING.

NOW THEY'RE FIREFLIES, AND THEY TURN ON AND OFF.

Narrator: TODAY, MOST EXPERTS

AGREE WITH MUSGRAVE'S EXPLANATION,

BUT GLENN WAS AT THE DAWN OF A NEW ERA OF HUMAN EXPLORATION,

WHERE EVERY LAUNCH WAS A JOURNEY INTO THE UNKNOWN.

LOOKING FOR SIGNS OF ALIEN LIFE MAY SEEM STRANGE,

BUT MOST SCIENTISTS TODAY BELIEVE IT IS HIGHLY LIKELY

THAT LIFE DOES EXIST ELSEWHERE IN THE UNIVERSE.

THERE MUST BE, BECAUSE WE'RE FINDING MORE AND MORE PLANETS --

1,500 PLANETS NOW, JUST RECENTLY.

SO TO THINK THAT NO LIFE HAS EVOLVED ON THOSE PLANETS,

THAT WE'RE ALL ALONE IN THE UNIVERSE

JUST IS ALMOST PREPOSTEROUS.

IT'S LIKE GOING BACK TO THINKING

THAT THE EARTH IS THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE.

WE FOUND LIFE LIVING

IN ALL SORTS OF ENVIRONMENTS HERE ON EARTH.

WE'RE EVEN BEGINNING TO FIND PLANETS

THAT ARE SORT OF LIKE THE EARTH.

SO ALL THESE SIGNS, ALL THESE ARROWS

ARE POINTING IN THE SAME DIRECTION,

NAMELY THAT THERE PROBABLY IS LIFE OUT THERE.

Narrator: SOME ASTRONOMERS BELIEVE

OUR OWN GALAXY, THE MILKY WAY,

CONTAINS BILLIONS OF POTENTIALLY HABITABLE PLANETS.

AND THIS IS ONLY A TINY FRACTION OF THE KNOWN UNIVERSE.

ONE PHOTOGRAPH, ONE OF THE DEEP FIELDS OF HUBBLE,

IS ROUGHLY 300 TRILLION STARS.

THAT'S A BIG NUMBER.

THAT'S ONLY ONE -- ONE DEEP FIELD.

EVEN WHERE WE SAID, "WE'LL AIM IT WHERE THERE'S NOTHING,"

WELL, IT TURNS OUT ANOTHER 1,000, 2,000 GALAXIES.

Narrator: MANY BELIEVE

THAT THESE LITERALLY ASTRONOMICAL NUMBERS...

MEAN THE EXISTENCE OF ALIEN LIFE IS A NEAR CERTAINTY.

Shostak: THE NUMBER OF PLANETS

IN THE PART OF THE UNIVERSE WE CAN SEE

IS ROUGHLY COMPARABLE TO THE NUMBER OF GRAINS OF SAND

ON ALL THE BEACHES OF THE EARTH.

WELL, THE BOTTOM LINE IS VERY SIMPLE --

WITH SUCH ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF COSMIC REAL ESTATE,

IT SEEMS SO IMPROBABLE THAT WE COULD BE ALONE.

Narrator: ABOARD GEMINI IV,

ASTRONAUT ED WHITE BEGINS AMERICA'S FIRST SPACEWALK.

White: OKAY, I'M OUT.

Narrator: COMMAND PILOT JAMES McDIVITT

WATCHES FROM INSIDE THE CAPSULE.

White: I FEEL LIKE A MILLION DOLLARS.

Narrator: THE NEXT DAY, ED WHITE SLEEPS

WHILE GEMINIPASSES OVER THE PACIFIC OCEAN.

SUDDENLY, McDIVITT NOTICES AN OBJECT OUTSIDE THEIR CRAFT.

AN OFFICIAL COMMUNICATION LOG

RECORDS McDIVITT'S CONVERSATION WITH HOUSTON.

BACK ON EARTH, NASA

AND NORAD, THE NORTH AMERICAN AEROSPACE DEFENSE COMMAND,

ATTEMPT TO IDENTIFY THE SIGHTING.

THE CLOSEST MAN-MADE OBJECT THEY LOCATE

IS 1,200 MILES AWAY.

NICK POPE WAS AN OFFICIAL UFO INVESTIGATOR

FOR THE BRITISH MINISTRY OF DEFENSE.

HE HAS STUDIED THOUSANDS OF SIGHTINGS,

DATING BACK OVER 50 YEARS.

THERE WASN'T A DISCREPANCY

BETWEEN WHAT JAMES McDIVITT SAW AND REPORTED

AND WHAT NORAD WAS SUGGESTING THAT HE HAD ACTUALLY SEEN.

Narrator: SOME OBSERVERS BELIEVE

THAT THE OBJECT WAS PART OF THE GEMINICRAFT.

McDIVITT DISAGREES.

McDIVITT NOW STILL SAYS IT WAS NOT HIS OWN BOOSTER.

HE SAID HE SAW IT, AND HE SAYS IT WAS NOT.

Narrator: JOURNALISTS SPECULATE

THAT McDIVITT SAW A SECRET SPY SATELLITE.

WE KNOW AT THE TIME, IN THE MID '60s,

THAT THERE WERE SATELLITES BEING LAUNCHED

THAT WERE NOT ANNOUNCED,

AND IT'S REASONABLE TO SUSPECT

THAT SOMEONE MIGHT LAUNCH A SATELLITE AND MAKE IT STEALTHY.

SO YOU NEVER COULD BE SURE WHAT WAS OUT THERE.

Narrator: BUT NASA CONFIRMED

NO SECRET SATELLITES WERE IN THE AREA.

ON JUNE 7th, THE GEMINICAPSULE LANDS IN THE ATLANTIC OCEAN.

OFFICIALS REMOVE McDIVITT'S FILM FROM THE CRAFT,

AND IT TAKES FOUR DAYS TO PROCESS THE IMAGES.

AND WHEN THEY ARE RELEASED,

McDIVITT SAYS THEY ARE NOT OF THE OBJECT HE WITNESSED.

Oberg: I'VE SEEN THE ORIGINAL FLIGHT FILM.

IT'S PRETTY CLEAR THAT HE DID NOT CAPTURE

WHAT IT WAS HE WAS SEEING THERE.

BUT WHAT IT COULD HAVE BEEN WAS A REAL MYSTERY.

Narrator: TO THIS DAY, IT IS NOT KNOWN WHAT McDIVITT SAW.

Shostak: THE IDEA BEHIND THIS IS VERY SIMPLE.

YOU TUNE OVER AS WIDE A RANGE OF THE RADIO DIAL AS YOU CAN,

LOOKING FOR A SIGNAL.

FINDING EVIDENCE OF ANOTHER INTELLIGENT SPECIES

WOULD CHANGE THE FUTURE HISTORY OF OUR SPECIES FOREVER.

[ BEEPING ]

Narrator: SETH SHOSTAK IS SENIOR ASTRONOMER AT SETI,

THE SEARCH FOR EXTRATERRESTRIAL INTELLIGENCE.

HE IS ONE OF MANY SCIENTISTS

ACTIVELY TRYING TO FIND SIGNS OF ALIEN LIFE

ELSEWHERE IN THE UNIVERSE.

Shostak: FINDING EVIDENCE OF ANOTHER INTELLIGENT SPECIES

WOULD CHANGE THE FUTURE HISTORY OF OUR SPECIES FOREVER.

Narrator: SETI'S RADIO OBSERVATORY

IS BASED NEAR LASSEN NATIONAL FOREST, CALIFORNIA.

Shostak: HEY, THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL PLACE --

I LOVE COMING UP HERE -- BUT IT IS KIND OF ISOLATED.

BUT, OF COURSE, THAT'S WHY IT'S HERE, RIGHT?

YOU WANT TO GET AWAY FROM WHAT'S CALLED MAN-MADE INTERFERENCE.

Narrator: DAY AFTER DAY,

SHOSTAK AND HIS COLLEAGUES SCOUR THE SKIES,

SEARCHING FOR A SIGNAL FROM SPACE.

Shostak: THE IDEA BEHIND THIS IS VERY SIMPLE --

YOU POINT THESE THINGS

IN THE DIRECTION OF SOME NEARBY STAR SYSTEM,

PREFERABLY ONE THAT YOU KNOW HAS PLANETS, RIGHT?

AND THEN YOU TUNE OVER

AS WIDE A RANGE OF THE RADIO DIAL AS YOU CAN,

LOOKING FOR A SIGNAL.

BECAUSE IF YOU PICK UP A SIGNAL,

YOU KNOW THEY'RE SMART ENOUGH TO BUILD A RADIO TRANSMITTER.

Narrator: EACH YEAR, SCIENTISTS DISCOVER

MORE AND MORE PLANETS OUTSIDE OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM,

AND SHOSTAK BELIEVES

WE'RE ON THE VERGE OF HEARING FROM ONE OF THEM.

Shostak: THE TECHNOLOGY FOR FINDING SOMETHING

DOUBLES IN CAPABILITY EVERY TWO YEARS OR SO.

PERSONALLY, I'M VERY OPTIMISTIC THAT WE WILL BOOK SUCCESS

WITHIN THE NEXT COUPLE OF DECADES.

Narrator: IT'S THE START OF THE MISSION

FOR FRANK BORMAN AND JIM LOVELL,

WHO WILL LATER COMMAND THE FATEFUL APOLLO 13MISSION.

UNDER TWO HOURS INTO THEIR VOYAGE,

THE ASTRONAUTS NOTICE SOMETHING OUTSIDE THEIR CRAFT.

OFFICIAL AUDIO RECORDINGS FROM THE MISSION

CONFIRM THE SIGHTING.

JIM LOVELL, A FORMER NAVY PILOT, USES THE TERM "BOGEY,"

A WAY OF DESCRIBING AN ENEMY AIRCRAFT.

BORMAN LATER CLAIMS

THAT THE BOGEY WAS THE CRAFT'S OWN BOOSTER.

BUT OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPTS TAKEN DURING THE MISSION

SUGGEST A DIFFERENT INTERPRETATION.

OFFICIALS ASK...

LOVELL RESPONDS...

AND...

NICK REDFERN IS AN AUTHOR AND UFO INVESTIGATOR.

HE JUMPED ON THIS DISCREPANCY.

BUT WHAT WAS INTERESTING IS THAT THERE WERE REPORTS --

"WELL, WE CAN SEE THE BOOSTER," YOU KNOW,

SO CLEARLY THE BOOSTER COULDN'T BE

IN TWO PLACES AT THE SAME TIME.

THERE WAS OBVIOUSLY SOMETHING ELSE GOING ON.

Narrator: NICK POPE ALSO DOUBTS THAT THE ASTRONAUTS

COULD HAVE MISTAKEN THE BOOSTER FOR ANOTHER OBJECT.

ASTRONAUTS ARGUABLY MAKE ABOUT THE BEST YOU CAN GET,

IN TERMS OF THEIR OBSERVATION, THEIR RELIABILITY.

Redfern: THIS INEVITABLY RAISED THE QUESTION,

"WAS IT A UFO IN THE TERMS OF A FLYING SAUCER,

"OR WAS IT A UFO IN THE TERMS

IT WAS JUST SOMETHING IN THE SKY THAT WASN'T IDENTIFIED?"

Narrator: SOME SPACE EXPERTS CLAIM

THAT THE BOGEY WAS PART OF A LARGER CLUSTER OF DEBRIS,

BUT POPE REMAINS UNCONVINCED.

NOW, SOME PEOPLE SAY THEY WERE JUST PARTS OF THE BOOSTER ROCKET

FALLING AWAY FROM THE CRAFT.

THE REAL ANSWER IS, WE JUST DON'T KNOW.

Narrator: PETE CONRAD AND RICHARD GORDON

PREPARE FOR AMERICA'S 17th MANNED SPACE MISSION.

[ RADIO CHATTER ]

THEIR FIRST CHALLENGE AFTER LAUNCH

IS TO DOCK WITH ANOTHER SPACECRAFT.

Man: ROGER. YOU'RE GO FOR DOCKING.

TRAVELING AT 17,000 MILES PER HOUR,

THE ASTRONAUTS COMPLETE THE HUGELY DEMANDING OPERATION

ON THEIR FIRST ATTEMPT.

Man #2: WE ARE DOCKED.

Man #3: WE CONFIRM THEY'RE DOCKED, FLIGHT.

ROGER.

ROGER. OUTSTANDING.

Narrator: THE FOLLOWING DAY,

THE ASTRONAUTS SEE SOMETHING OUTSIDE GEMINI XI

THAT THEY CANNOT IDENTIFY...

...A BRIGHT OBJECT THAT SEEMS TO CHANGE SHAPE BEFORE THEIR EYES.

THE CREW NOTICED SOMETHING BRIGHT COMING TOWARD THEM.

THEY REACHED FOR CAMERAS,

TOOK SOME PICTURES OF SOMETHING GOING PAST THEIR WINDOWS.

Narrator: AGAIN, OFFICIALS TRY TO IDENTIFY THE SIGHTING.

THEY CLAIM THAT THE NEAREST MAN-MADE OBJECT

IS A RUSSIAN SATELLITE ORBITING 280 MILES AWAY.

BRUCE MACCABEE, AN OPTICAL PHYSICIST FOR THE U.S. NAVY,

INVESTIGATED THE SIGHTING.

GIVEN THE FOCAL LENGTH OF THE CAMERA USED ON THE CRAFT

AND THE SIZE OF THE IMAGE IN THE PICTURE,

HE CONCLUDED IT COULD NOT POSSIBLY BE

THE RUSSIAN SATELLITE.

Maccabee: I DID SOME BASIC CALCULATIONS.

THE SATELLITE MUST HAVE BEEN THOUSANDS OF FEET IN SIZE.

Narrator: MACCABEE'S SUSPICIONS WERE CONFIRMED

WHEN HE DOUBLE-CHECKED THE TRACKING DATA.

THE SATELLITE, IT SEEMED, WAS 3,000 MILES AWAY FROM GEMINI XI,

NOT 280.

Maccabee: THERE WAS A BIG DISCREPANCY

BETWEEN WHAT THE CALCULATIONS SHOWED

AND THE ORIGINAL IDENTIFICATION.

THIS MEANT THAT THEY WERE NOT SEEING THE PROTON 3 SATELLITE.

WHAT THEY DID SEE IS UP FOR GRABS.

Narrator: FOR MACCABEE, AFTER 40 YEARS OF INVESTIGATION,

THE ENCOUNTER REMAINS A MYSTERY.

IT BECOMES WHAT I CALL A TRULY UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECT

IF, AFTER A CAREFUL INVESTIGATION,

IT STILL REMAINS UNEXPLAINED.

Musgrave: I THINK THERE ARE MILLIONS

OR HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS,

POSSIBLY BILLIONS OF PLANETARY CREATURES

THAT HAVE LEFT THEIR PLANET,

AND THEY'RE VISITING OTHER SOLAR SYSTEMS.

Narrator: HOW WOULD ALIENS GET TO EARTH?

THE NEAREST POTENTIALLY HABITABLE PLANETS

ARE LIGHT-YEARS AWAY.

HUMANS ARE UNABLE TO TRAVEL GALACTIC DISTANCES,

BUT ALIEN LIFE-FORMS MAY NOT BE BOUND

BY OUR TECHNOLOGICAL CONSTRAINTS.

KEEP IN MIND THAT THE UNIVERSE

IS ABOUT THREE TIMES AS OLD AS THE EARTH,

SO WE'RE REALLY THE NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK.

Musgrave: IF SOME ADVANCED EVOLUTIONARY STRAIN

GOT THEIR ACT TOGETHER,

THEY COULD HAVE BEEN DEVELOPING TECHNOLOGY

FOR A MILLION YEARS OR A BILLION YEARS.

Narrator: OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE UNIVERSE IS IN ITS INFANCY.

SOME ASTROPHYSICISTS BELIEVE

IT MAY BE POSSIBLE TO TRAVEL BETWEEN GALAXIES.

Dr. Kasher: SPACE CAN BE WARPED OR BENT

SO AN INTENSE GRAVITATIONAL FIELD CAN WARP SPACE.

AND IF ANOTHER CIVILIZATION CAN WARP SPACE ENOUGH,

THEY WOULDN'T HAVE TO TRAVEL ALL THAT DISTANCE.

THEY COULD BEND IT AND THEN JUST JUMP OVER.

Musgrave: SO I THINK THERE ARE MILLIONS

OR HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS,

POSSIBLY BILLIONS OF PLANETARY CREATURES

THAT HAVE LEFT THEIR PLANET,

AND THEY'RE VISITING OTHER SOLAR SYSTEMS.

Narrator: ABOARD APOLLO 11,

NEIL ARMSTRONG, MICHAEL COLLINS, AND BUZZ ALDRIN

PREPARE FOR MANKIND'S GREATEST MISSION --

TO LAND AND WALK ON THE MOON.

Man: WE ARE STILL GO WITH APOLLO 11.

Narrator: 1 MILLION PEOPLE GATHER

AT THE BIGGEST SHOW IN HISTORY.

Man: ASTRONAUTS REPORT IT FEELS GOOD.

T-MINUS 15 SECONDS. GUIDANCE IS INTERNAL.

12, 11, 10, 9...

Narrator: AT 9:31 A.M., THE ENGINES IGNITE

ON THE MOST POWERFUL LAUNCH VEHICLE EVER BUILT.

APOLLO 12ASTRONAUT ALAN BEAN DESCRIBES THE EXPERIENCE.

THE THOUGHT THAT RAN THROUGH MY HEAD WAS,

"I HOPE THE METAL IN THIS SPACESHIP

IS STRONG ENOUGH TO WITHSTAND THIS VIBRATION."

Man: LIFTOFF! WE HAVE A LIFTOFF!

Bean: IT IS MORE THAN I EVER IMAGINED

MACHINERY COULD STAND AND STILL OPERATE.

Man: TOWER CLEAR.

Man #2: APOLLO 11,THIS IS HOUSTON.

YOU ARE GO FOR STAGING, OVER.

Narrator: 12 MINUTES LATER, THE CREW REACH ORBIT.

I LOOKED FOR THE WIRE THAT IS HOLDING THIS EARTH UP

FOR A SECOND.

SEE, YOU CAN'T SUDDENLY CHANGE

FROM AN EARTHLING TO A SPACELING.

YOU JUST CAN'T DO IT.

Narrator: MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WORLDWIDE

WATCH THE MISSION UNFOLD.

Man: 11,YOU GOT A PRETTY BIG AUDIENCE.

IT'S LIVE IN THE U.S.

IT'S GOING LIVE TO JAPAN, WESTERN EUROPE,

AND MUCH OF SOUTH AMERICA.

Narrator: THREE DAYS INTO THEIR MISSION,

THE ASTRONAUTS SEE A FLASHING OBJECT.

ARMSTRONG IMMEDIATELY RADIOS DOWN TO MISSION CONTROL.

Dr. Kasher: THEY'RE NOT GONNA RADIO BACK THAT THEY'VE SEEN SOMETHING

UNLESS IT'S SOMETHING THEY REALLY CAN'T EXPLAIN.

Narrator: THE S-IVB ARMSTRONG REFERS TO

IS A LARGE SECTION OF THE SATURN VROCKET.

NASA GUYS SAID THAT THEIR TRACKING DATA SUGGESTED

IT WAS ABOUT 6,000 MILES AWAY,

WHICH WOULD HAVE BEEN DIFFICULT FOR THEM TO SEE.

Narrator: THE ASTRONAUTS KNOW

THEY CAN'T ANNOUNCE WHAT THEY'RE SEEING

TO MILLIONS OF PEOPLE ON EARTH.

THE ASTRONAUTS ARE VERY HIGHLY TRAINED AND ARE NATIONAL HEROES,

AND YOU MIGHT EXPECT

THAT THEY WOULD FEEL A LITTLE RELUCTANCE TO TALK ABOUT UFOs

AND TO FEEL SOME PRESSURE NOT TO DO THAT.

Narrator: THE CREW MAKE NO ADDITIONAL REPORTS

ON THE SIGHTING DURING THE MISSION.

Oberg: ALTERNATELY, THEY REPORTED

THAT HE DID NOT TELL HOUSTON ABOUT THIS

BECAUSE HE DIDN'T WANT TO CREATE SOME KIND OF UFO FLAP.

Narrator: THE SIGHTING REMAINS UNEXPLAINED.

Pope: GOVERNMENTS ARE INHERENTLY SECRETIVE.

ADD TO THAT THE TABOO ABOUT REPORTING AND DISCUSSING UFOs,

AND YOU HAVE THE PUBLIC PERCEPTION

THAT GOVERNMENTS KNOW SOMETHING AND THEY'RE HIDING SOMETHING.

[ RADIO CHATTER ]

Narrator: THROUGHOUT THE 1960s,

AS THE NUMBER OF MISSIONS INCREASED,

SO DID THE NUMBER OF SIGHTINGS OF UNIDENTIFIED OBJECTS.

WHEN UFO SIGHTINGS FIRST BEGAN IN THE UNITED STATES,

THE AIR FORCE WAS HANDED A PROBLEM OF

"WHAT DO WE DO WITH IT?"

IT LOOKED LIKE THERE WAS THINGS FLYING AROUND

THAT THE AIR FORCE COULDN'T CONTROL.

Narrator: IN AN ATTEMPT TO DEAL WITH THE ISSUE, IN 1968,

THE U.S. AIR FORCE COMMISSIONED A FULL INVESTIGATION,

CALLED THE CONDON REPORT.

DESPITE SEVERAL SIGNIFICANT DISCREPANCIES

BETWEEN THE ASTRONAUTS' ACCOUNTS AND OFFICIAL EXPLANATIONS,

THE REPORT CONCLUDES...

CONDON REPORT WAS DEFINITELY

AN ATTEMPT TO DISCOURAGE PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF THIS.

IT WAS A COVER-UP.

GOVERNMENTS ARE INHERENTLY SECRETIVE.

ADD TO THAT THE TABOO ABOUT REPORTING AND DISCUSSING UFOs,

AND YOU HAVE THE PUBLIC PERCEPTION

THAT GOVERNMENTS KNOW SOMETHING AND THEY'RE HIDING SOMETHING.

[ BELL TOLLS ]

Narrator: UNLIKE THE UNITED STATES,

THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT EMPLOYED

AN OFFICIAL UFO-INVESTIGATION UNIT FOR OVER 50 YEARS.

THIS IS AN OFFICIAL REPORT FROM A SENIOR MILITARY OFFICER

TALKING ABOUT A LANDED UFO.

Narrator: NICK POPE WORKED THERE

BEFORE IT WAS SUDDENLY SHUT DOWN IN 2009.

Pope: BEFORE I BEGAN THAT JOB AT THE MINISTRY OF DEFENCE,

I WAS EXTREMELY SKEPTICAL ABOUT UFOs,

BUT I CAME OUT OF THAT POST

BELIEVING THAT IT WAS POSSIBLE THAT WE WERE BEING VISITED.

IN THE MINISTRY OF DEFENCE, IN NASA FOOTAGE,

THERE ARE THINGS THAT CANNOT BE EXPLAINED.

Narrator: SKYLAB, AN 85-TON SPACE STATION,

IS NEAR THE END OF ITS 59-DAY MISSION.

OWEN GARRIOTT, JACK LOUSMA, AND ALAN BEAN

ARE STUDYING THE EFFECTS

OF LONG-TERM SPACE TRAVEL ON THE HUMAN BODY.

WE DID A LOT OF PHYSICAL EXAMINATIONS OF OURSELVES

TO SEE WHAT WAS HAPPENING TO OUR BODY AS EACH DAY PASSED.

Narrator: ON SEPTEMBER 20th,

PILOT JACK LOUSMA SPOTS SOMETHING...

A BRIGHT RED FLASHING LIGHT

TRAVELING ACROSS THE SKY.

ALAN BEAN RECORDS THE ENCOUNTER IN HIS MISSION DIARY.

IT SAYS HERE, "OUT THE WARD ROOM WINDOW,

"WE SAW A BRIGHT RED LIGHT

"WITH A BRIGHT DIM PERIOD OF 10 SECONDS.

"IT GOT BRIGHTER AND DRIFTED ALONG WITH US

"FOR 20 MINUTES OR MORE.

IT WAS THE BRIGHTEST OBJECT WE'D SEEN."

Narrator: OWEN GARRIOTT TAKES A SERIES OF PHOTOGRAPHS.

THE FIRST THREE CAPTURE THE BRIGHT LIGHT.

BUT THE FOURTH ALSO CAPTURES THE OBJECT'S BIZARRE SHAPE.

Oberg: ONE OF THE PICTURES THEY TOOK WAS WIDELY PUBLISHED

BECAUSE IT SHOWED WHAT LOOKED LIKE A SQUASHED SPIDER,

A SQUIGGLE, A SQUASHED SLINKY TOY.

Narrator: COULD THE OBJECT'S SHAPE BE AN OPTICAL ILLUSION?

IT'S MORE LIKELY THAT THAT PICTURE

IS SOME KIND OF CAMERA ABERRATION,

EXPOSURE-SETTING ERROR.

Narrator: BUT OPTICAL PHYSICIST BRUCE MACCABEE DISAGREES.

Maccabee: ONE THING I AM QUITE SURE OF

IS THE STRUCTURED IMAGE IS NOT

AN ACCIDENT OF ABERRATIONS IN THE LENS.

THE SHUTTER TIME WAS PROBABLY ABOUT 1/250 OF A SECOND.

THAT'S FAST ENOUGH TO STOP ALMOST ANY HAND MOTION.

Narrator: ALAN BEAN WONDERS

IF WHAT THEY SAW WAS SOME KIND OF SATELLITE.

Bean: THIS WAS THE BRIGHTEST OBJECT WE'D SEEN,

AND IT WAS TUMBLING, SO IT WAS FLASHING.

OWEN AND JACK POINTED OUT IT WAS PROBABLY A SATELLITE.

THEN THAT'S WHAT I THINK IT WAS, AND I SAID THAT THERE.

Narrator: BUT OBERG IS NOT CONVINCED.

Oberg: NO SATELLITES ARE DOMINANTLY RED.

YOU WILL PROBABLY NEVER SEE

A RED-LOOKING SATELLITE GOING BY OVERHEAD.

Narrator: DURING THE ENCOUNTER,

ASTRONAUT OWEN GARRIOTT TIMED HOW LONG IT TOOK THE OBJECT

TO FALL INTO THE EARTH'S SHADOW, COMPARED WITH SKYLAB.

BRUCE MACCABEE USES THIS INFORMATION AND THE PHOTOGRAPH

TO GAUGE THE OBJECT'S SIZE.

Maccabee: YOU COME UP WITH SOMETHING

THAT'S A COUPLE HUNDRED METERS IN SIZE,

MUCH LARGER THAN ANYTHING THAT WAS IN ORBIT,

MUCH LARGER EVEN THAN THE SKYLABITSELF,

WHICH WAS THE BIGGEST THING IN ORBIT AT THE TIME.

Narrator: THE EXACT NATURE OF THE BRIGHT-RED OBJECT

SEEN BY THE ASTRONAUTS ON SKYLAB 3

REMAINS A MYSTERY.

IT'S NOT SPACE JUNK. THAT DOESN'T CHANGE DIRECTION.

IT'S NOT A METEOR. THEY DON'T CHANGE DIRECTION.

IT'S MY CONCLUSION

THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT SOME KIND OF SPACECRAFT.

Narrator: SHUTTLE MISSION STS-48 IS ORBITING OVER AUSTRALIA,

WHEN ONE OF THE EXTERNAL CAMERAS CAPTURES A REMARKABLE EVENT.

AN OBJECT MOVES THROUGH SPACE.

A FLASH APPEARS, AND THE OBJECT CHANGES DIRECTION.

THEN AN UNIDENTIFIED STREAK

SHOOTS THROUGH THE FRAME AT HIGH SPEED.

JAMES OBERG WORKED AT MISSION CONTROL

WHEN THE INCIDENT OCCURRED.

THE STS-48 VIDEO IS PROBABLY THE CLASSIC SPACE-SHUTTLE UFO CASE

BECAUSE OF DOTS APPEARING ON THE SCREEN,

SOME CHANGING COURSE, ZIPPING AROUND,

AND SOME PASSING CLOSE TO EACH OTHER, AS IF BY INTENT.

Narrator: PHYSICIST JACK KASHER

HAS ANALYZED HOURS OF NASA FOOTAGE.

Dr. Kasher: EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE,

YOU GOT SOMETHING THAT'S REALLY HARD TO EXPLAIN.

Narrator: HAVING STUDIED THE FOOTAGE FRAME BY FRAME,

HE RULES OUT THE MOST OBVIOUS EXPLANATIONS.

IT'S NOT SPACE JUNK. THAT DOESN'T CHANGE DIRECTION.

IT'S NOT A METEOR. THEY DON'T CHANGE DIRECTION.

A COMET DOESN'T ENTER THE ATMOSPHERE.

Narrator: OBERG BELIEVES THE OBJECT IS A SMALL PIECE OF ICE.

THE WAY STUFF OUTSIDE THE SHUTTLE MOVES AROUND

IS COMPLETELY UNEARTHLY, AS YOU EXPECT,

BECAUSE THEY'RE OFF THE PLANET.

AND IF A THRUSTER FIRES OR SOMETHING ELSE LEAKS OUT,

IT CAN BE BLOWN TO A DIFFERENT COURSE.

Narrator: BUT DR. KASHER DISAGREES.

Dr. Kasher: THE OBJECT MOVES OVER

AND REALLY PHYSICALLY STOPS FOR HALF A SECOND.

NOW, IF THIS THING IS AN ICE PARTICLE, IT CAN'T DO THAT.

I THINK THAT ANY SKEPTICS THAT WOULD TRY TO DISPARAGE THAT

AND MAKE THESE INTO ICE PARTICLES ARE JUST SIMPLY WRONG.

Narrator: SO IF THE OBJECT IS NOT MAN-MADE

OR NATURAL IN ORIGIN,

WHAT COULD IT BE?

IT'S MY CONCLUSION

THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT SOME KIND OF SPACECRAFT.

Narrator: BUT WHAT ABOUT THE FLASH THAT APPEARS

AS THE OBJECT CHANGES DIRECTION?

KASHER WORKED ON REAGAN'S STAR WARS PROGRAM IN THE 1980s.

HE WONDERS IF THE FLASH

COULD BE A FORM OF DIRECTED ENERGY WEAPON.

SOME PEOPLE WOULD TEND TO THINK THAT IT'S MAYBE

SOME KIND OF A PARTICLE-BEAM WEAPON OF SOME KIND.

THAT IS A POSSIBILITY I CAN'T RULE OUT.

Narrator: THE STS-48 SIGHTING REMAINS UNRESOLVED.

COLUMBIA ORBITS 200 MILES ABOVE THE EARTH'S SURFACE,

PREPARING ONE OF THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY EXPERIMENTS

IN NASA'S HISTORY --

THE DEPLOYMENT OF A SATELLITE

ATTACHED TO A 12-MILE-LONG CABLE.

FRANKLIN CHANG DIAZ,

JOINT RECORD HOLDER FOR THE MOST LAUNCHES IN NASA HISTORY,

IS THE MISSION SPECIALIST ON BOARD.

Diaz: THE TETHER EXPERIMENT

WAS A VERY INTERESTING EXPERIMENT IN ELECTRODYNAMICS,

ESSENTIALLY CREATING A COSMIC-SIZED GENERATOR.

Narrator: THE CREW HOPED TO EXTEND THE TETHER

THROUGH THE EARTH'S MAGNETIC FIELD,

GENERATING ELECTRICITY.

AS THE TETHER DEPLOYS, THE ASTRONAUTS DETECT A CURRENT.

THEN SUDDENLY, THE CABLE BREAKS.

THE TETHER, NEARLY AS LONG AS MANHATTAN,

NOW THREATENS THE SHUTTLE AND HER CREW.

Diaz: WE DIDN'T WANT TO GET THE SHUTTLE

TANGLED UP WITH THIS TETHER IN THE NEXT ORBIT,

SO IT WAS IMPORTANT FOR US TO DO A MANEUVER AND GET OUT OF THERE.

Narrator: THE SHUTTLE CREW AVOIDS DISASTER,

WATCHING MULTI-MILLION-DOLLAR HARDWARE

FLOAT OFF INTO THE VOID.

D'Antonio: ALL THEY COULD DO WAS CONTINUE TO FILM IT,

AND THAT'S WHAT THEY DID.

THEY ZOOMED IN, THEY ZOOMED OUT,

AND THIS IS THE FOOTAGE THAT BECAME THE STS-75 INCIDENT.

Man: YOU GUYS GETTING THE IMAGE?

WE SEE A LONG LINE, A COUPLE OF STAR-LIKE THINGS,

AND A LOT OF THINGS SWIMMING IN THE FOREGROUND.

Narrator: THE CAMERA CAPTURES A SWARM OF OBJECTS

FLYING AROUND THE GIANT TETHER.

PHOTO ANALYST MARK D'ANTONIO IS FASCINATED BY THE FOOTAGE.

D'Antonio: AND THESE LARGE OBJECTS

THAT APPEAR TO BE FLOATING BEHIND THE TETHER,

AND BECAUSE THEY'RE SHARPLY OUTLINED, THEY APPEAR TO BE

SOME TYPE OF INTELLIGENTLY CONSTRUCTED VEHICLE.

Narrator: THE OBJECTS' APPARENT SIZE

WAS JUST AS REMARKABLE AS THEIR SHEER NUMBERS.

THE TETHER IS MILES AND MILES AWAY, AND IT'S 12 MILES LONG,

AND THESE OBJECTS APPEAR TO BE, THEMSELVES, MILES ACROSS.

AND THIS IS WHAT EXCITED THE UFO COMMUNITY SO MUCH.

THIS WAS THEIR SMOKING GUN.

Narrator: BUT D'ANTONIO BELIEVES

THAT THE FOOTAGE ISN'T WHAT IT APPEARS TO BE.

THIS EXPERIMENT DEMONSTRATES WHAT HE THINKS HAPPENED.

WHAT I'VE DONE IS I'VE CUT THIS PIECE OF MATERIAL

TO SIMULATE THE TETHER SEEN IN THE STS-75 FOOTAGE.

IT'S VERY REFLECTIVE, JUST LIKE THE REAL TETHER WAS.

Narrator: D'ANTONIO POSITIONS THE TETHER AWAY FROM THE CAMERA.

THEN HE HANGS SOME SMALL PARTICLES IN FRONT OF IT

AND STARTS FILMING.

D'Antonio: THE PARTICLES ARE VERY BRIGHTLY LIT,

AND THEY'RE ALSO OUT OF FOCUS.

WHEN THEY'RE OUT OF FOCUS, THEY LOOK VERY LARGE.

Narrator: VIDEO FOOTAGE CAPTURES THE OPTICAL ILLUSION.

SMALL OBJECTS IN THE FOREGROUND

APPEAR TO PASS BEHIND THE DISTANT, BRIGHT TETHER.

D'Antonio: SO THIS SHOWS THAT THE STS-75 INCIDENT,

WHICH CAUSED A MASSIVE UPROAR,

WAS NOTHING MORE THAN A VIDEO ILLUSION.

Musgrave: I DO NOT KNOW WHAT THAT THING WAS,

AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS TODAY.

UNIDENTIFIED AND UNKNOWN.

Narrator: SHUTTLE MISSION STS-80 --

THE LONGEST MISSION OF ALL TIME.

ON BOARD IS LEGENDARY ASTRONAUT STORY MUSGRAVE.

DURING DOWN TIME,

MUSGRAVE SEARCHES FOR UNIDENTIFIED OBJECTS.

IN ORDER TO SEE OBJECTS OUT THERE,

YOU WANT TO BE IN THE NIGHTTIME

AND YOU WANT THE OBJECT TO BE IN THE SUNLIGHT.

IF YOU WANT TO OBSERVE POSSIBLE UFOs OR ANY OTHER OBJECT

OR WHAT'S GOING ON OUT THERE,

THAT'S THE ONLY WAY YOU'RE GONNA SEE STUFF.

Narrator: AT NIGHT,

THE SHUTTLE'S CAMERAS ARE POINTED BACK TO EARTH,

WHEN THEY CAPTURE THIS EVENT.

Oberg: OBJECTS APPEAR.

WHITE DOTS SUDDENLY SHOW UP,

MAYBE FROM BEHIND THE EARTH, FROM BEHIND A CLOUD.

Narrator: THE OBJECTS THEN SEEM TO MOVE INTO A CIRCLE.

BECAUSE OF THE PARTICULAR POSITIONS OF THESE OBJECTS,

ONE INTERPRETATION HAS BEEN

THAT IT'S DELIBERATE, TO ATTRACT ATTENTION.

Narrator: AS THE OBJECTS ALIGN, THEY BEGIN TO FLASH.

SOME INVESTIGATORS BELIEVE

THAT THIS REPRESENTS AN ATTEMPT BY UFOs TO COMMUNICATE.

ARE THESE OBJECTS TALKING TO EACH OTHER?

ARE THEY TALKING TO US?

WHAT ARE THEY DOING? WHY ARE THEY BLINKING?

Narrator: BUT PHOTO ANALYST D'ANTONIO

HAS A THEORY TO EXPLAIN THE BLINKING.

D'Antonio: THE LOW-LIGHT CAMERA BASICALLY PICKS UP INTENSITIES.

IT CAN'T SEE THE SHAPES OF THE OBJECTS.

THESE OBJECTS ARE IRREGULAR IN SHAPE,

AND ONE THING THAT THEY'RE DOING THAT PEOPLE DON'T REALIZE

IS THEY'RE TUMBLING.

AND AS THEY TUMBLE,

THEY PRESENT A BRIGHT FACE AND THEN A LESS BRIGHT FACE,

A BRIGHT FACE AND A LESS BRIGHT FACE AS THEY MOVE.

THIS LOOKS LIKE BLINKING TO THE LOW-LIGHT CAMERA.

Musgrave: THE VIEWERS ASSUME

THAT THEY WERE IN THE ATMOSPHERE,

THOUSANDS OF MILES AWAY.

IF THEY HAD BEEN A THOUSAND MILES AWAY,

THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN VERY IMPRESSIVE.

BUT THEY WERE NOT.

Narrator: OBERG ALSO THINKS

THAT THE OBJECTS ARE BITS OF DEBRIS NEAR THE SHUTTLE.

THINGS DO LOOK DIFFERENTLY,

AND GIVEN ENOUGH RANDOM VARIATIONS AND RANDOM MOTIONS,

YOU'LL FIND CIRCLES, YOU'LL FIND TRIANGLES,

YOU'LL FIND RHOMBOIDS.

YOU'LL SEE THEM ALL IF YOU WAIT LONG ENOUGH.

Narrator: WHILE MUSGRAVE BELIEVES

THE STS-80 FOOTAGE CAN BE EXPLAINED,

ENCOUNTERS ON TWO OF HIS OTHER MISSIONS CANNOT.

TWICE HE SEES AND FILMS THIS OBJECT.

Musgrave: I GUESS MOST PEOPLE WOULD CALL IT A SNAKE.

I WAS IMPRESSED BECAUSE IT HAD INTERNAL MOTION.

Narrator: MUSGRAVE CONTACTS MISSION CONTROL.

THEY, TOO, ARE UNABLE TO IDENTIFY THE SIGHTING.

I TRIED TO FIND OUT. I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT WAS.

Narrator: TO THIS DAY, MUSGRAVE DOES NOT HAVE

A SATISFACTORY EXPLANATION FOR WHAT HE SAW.

I DO NOT KNOW WHAT THAT THING WAS,

AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS TODAY.

UNIDENTIFIED AND UNKNOWN.

Narrator: SHUTTLE MISSION STS-115.

SOON, THESE ASTRONAUTS WILL BE TRAVELING AT MACH 23,

OVER 200 MILES ABOVE THE EARTH.

CAMERAS CAPTURE EVERY MOMENT OF THE LAUNCH.

BUT THEY ALSO RECORD SOMETHING

THAT EXPERTS FIND VERY HARD TO EXPLAIN.

Man: T-MINUS THREE MINUTES AND COUNTING.

Narrator: AS TWO-TIME ASTRONAUT WINSTON SCOTT KNOWS,

A SHUTTLE LAUNCH IS THE ADRENALINE RUSH OF A LIFETIME.

I CAN REMEMBER LYING ON THE LAUNCH PAD,

WATCHING THE CLOCK COUNT DOWN AND HEARING THE ENGINES ROAR

AND WATCHING THE SMOKE AND FIRE BILLOW UP AROUND THE WINDSCREEN

AND THEN SORT OF YELLING

THE WAY YOU DO WHEN YOU RIDE A BIG ROLLER COASTER.

THE SOLID ROCKET BOOSTERS IGNITE,

AND THEN, BOOM, YOU'RE OFF TO THE RACES.

Narrator: NEARLY 8 MILLION POUNDS OF THRUST

LIFT ATLANTIS OFF THE LAUNCH PAD.

AFTER 45 SECONDS, THE SHUTTLE BREAKS THE SOUND BARRIER.

ATLANTIS IS NOW BURNING

A SWIMMING POOL OF FUEL EVERY 25 SECONDS.

AFTER TWO MINUTES, THE THROTTLES COME DOWN JUST A LITTLE BIT.

THE POWER IS REDUCED.

THEN THERE'S A LOUD EXPLOSION -- BOOM! --

JUST LIKE A CANNON FIRING, AND THIS BRIGHT FLASH OUTSIDE.

WE KNOW THAT'S THE SOLID ROCKET BOOSTERS

BEING JETTISONED AWAY FROM THE VEHICLE.

Narrator: SEVEN MINUTES LATER,

THE SHUTTLE PREPARES TO SHED ITS FUEL TANK.

AS THE CAMERA TRACKS THE STS-115 FUEL TANK,

IT ALSO CAPTURES THIS UNEXPLAINED IMAGE

ON THE BOTTOM RIGHT OF THE SCREEN.

AS WE WATCH THIS TRIANGULAR OBJECT MOVE,

IT SEEMS TO BE SHADOWING THE MOVEMENT OF THAT EXTERNAL TANK.

Narrator: THE OBJECT'S SHAPE AND MOVEMENT ATTRACTS ATTENTION.

Dr. Kasher: WHEN WE THINK ABOUT EXTRATERRESTRIAL CRAFT,

WE THINK USUALLY ABOUT A SAUCER-SHAPED THING,

BUT WE SEE MORE THAN THAT.

WE SEE TRIANGLES, WE SEE CIGAR SHAPES, WE SEE BOXES.

A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE SEEN TRIANGULAR SPACECRAFT,

AND IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE ON STS-115, WHAT DO WE SEE?

A TRIANGULAR-LOOKING OBJECT.

THIS MAKES IT VERY INTERESTING.

A REAL ALIEN SPACECRAFT MAY LOOK COMPLETELY DIFFERENT

TO ANYTHING THAT WE'VE CONCEIVED OF.

Narrator: BUT D'ANTONIO THINKS

HE HAS AN EXPLANATION FOR THE FOOTAGE.

ONE OF THE CONCLUSIONS I DREW WAS THAT IT'S VERY LIKELY

THAT THIS IS A REFLECTION IN THE WINDOW

THROUGH WHICH THE ASTRONAUT IS SHOOTING

OF SOMETHING BRIGHT BEHIND THE ASTRONAUT.

PEOPLE SEE THINGS AT THE LIMITS OF THEIR VISIONS

AND FILL IN THE REST OF THE DETAILS

FROM THEIR IMAGINATIONS OR FROM THEIR FEARS.

Narrator: NO ONE KNOWS

WHAT NASA HAS ENCOUNTERED ON MANY OF ITS MISSIONS...

...OR WHAT FORM ALIEN CONTACT MAY TAKE.

Shostak: LIFE IS VERY DIVERSE.

LIFE CAN ADAPT TO ALL SORTS OF CONDITIONS

THAT WE HAVEN'T THOUGHT OF.

WE KIND OF THINK OF ALIEN VISITORS, FOR EXAMPLE,

AS, YOU KNOW, SOME SORT OF BODY

THAT STEPS OUT OF SOME SORT OF SPACESHIP.

BUT COULD THERE BE THE EQUIVALENT OF --

I DON'T KNOW -- ALIEN POND SCUM?

IF WE CONTINUE TO THINK

WE ARE THE ONLY PLANET THAT HAS LIFE ON IT

IN THIS WHOLE UNIVERSE

OF TRILLIONS OF TRILLIONS OF PLACES,

WE'RE LIMITING OURSELVES.

Narrator: WHILE PROOF OF EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE

REMAINS ELUSIVE,

FOR OBSERVERS LIKE NICK POPE,

THE QUESTION IS NOT WHETHER ALIENS WILLVISIT EARTH --

IT'S WHETHER THEY ALREADY HAVE.

EXTRATERRESTRIALS MIGHT BE HERE, AND WE MIGHT JUST NOT KNOW IT.

MAYBE WE SHOULD BE THINKING IN DIFFERENT WAYS

AND LOOKING IN DIFFERENT PLACES.

--Captions by VITAC-- www.vitac.com

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS