Original subtitles

Narrator: NASA's MISSION IS TO EXPLORE THE UNKNOWN.

Man: THERE IS MORE THAT WE DON'T KNOW THAN WE DO KNOW.

THAT'S JUST THE NATURE OF THE UNIVERSE.

Narrator: SEARCHING FOR ANSWERS,

IT LAUNCHES SCIENTISTS INTO SPACE,

AND CRAFT BEYOND THE EDGE OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM.

Man: TAKING RISK IS PART OF MAKING DISCOVERIES.

SPACE EXPLORATION IS LIKE LIGHTING A MATCH...

[ BURSTING ]

AND WE DON'T KNOW WHAT LURKS IN THE SHADOWS.

THERE COULD BE ANYTHING OUT THERE.

Narrator: ENIGMATIC FLYING SAUCERS

FROM SECRET GOVERNMENT PROJECTS.

[ CRACKLE, BEEP ]

MEGA HEXES ON SATURN.

SPACE SQUID NEAR THE MOON.

AND ALIEN POWER PLANTS ON DISTANT WORLDS.

NASA's MISSIONS UNCOVER DISTURBING EVIDENCE...

Man: OKAY, WE'RE SEEING THREE OR FOUR OBJECTS.

Man: YEAH, THERE ARE, UH, THERE ARE THREE OBJECTS.

...THAT CONTINUES TO PERPLEX OUR FINEST SCIENTIFIC MINDS.

THIS IS "NASA's UNEXPLAINED FILES."

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

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

[ SCI-FI THEME PLAYING ]

IT BEGAN ON THE BANKS OF A DRY LAKE BED...

UH, RIGHT ON CHINA LAKE, I BELIEVE IT WAS.

...WITH A SIGHTING THAT IS OUT OF THIS WORLD.

A TOP NASA ASTRONAUT BELIEVES THAT FLYING SAUCERS ARE REAL.

SOMEHOW, HE MUST CONVINCE A DISBELIEVING WORLD.

BUT FOR HIM, THE MYSTERY HAS ONLY JUST BEGUN.

IT'S ONE OF THE MOST CONVINCING STORIES

TOLD BY ONE OF THE MOST CREDIBLE WITNESSES

ABOUT AN ABSOLUTELY UNWORLDLY EVENT.

Narrator: IT WAS AN ORDINARY DAY AT EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE.

EDWARDS CLEARED FOR TAKEOFF.

BUT AT EDWARDS, NO DAY IS TRULY ORDINARY.

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE IS A PLACE

WHERE ALL SORTS OF TOP-SECRET PROJECTS ARE GOING ON.

[ INDISTINCT CONVERSATION ]

Narrator: CAPTAIN GORDON COOPER IS AN ACE TEST PILOT.

HE FLIES AIRCRAFT AT THE CUTTING EDGE OF AERONAUTICAL DESIGN.

HE WAS ONE OF THOSE TYPES THAT WANTS TO BE OUT THERE

PUSHING THE LIMITS, AND WANTS TO BE OUT THERE

FLYING AS FAST AS YOU CAN FLY.

Narrator: COOPER IS PREPARING TO TEST

A REVOLUTIONARY NEW LANDING SYSTEM

IN A LAKE BED NEAR THE CALIFORNIA DESERT.

HE SENDS TWO PHOTOGRAPHERS, JAMES BITTICK AND JACK GETTYS,

TO SET UP RECORDING EQUIPMENT BY THE SHORES OF THE LAKE.

BUT AS BITTICK AND GETTYS ARE SETTING UP THEIR EQUIPMENT,

SOMETHING CATCHES THEIR EYE.

THEY SPOT AN UNUSUAL FLYING CRAFT APPROACHING THEM

ACROSS THE LAKE BED.

[ CLICKING ]

THEY BEGIN FILMING IT BECAUSE THEY DON'T RECOGNIZE IT.

[ WHIRRING ]

[ CLICKS ]THE CRAFT EXTENDS

THE TRIPOD LANDING GEAR, HOVERS,

AND THEN DESCENDS, LANDING ON THE LAKE BED

WHILE THE CAMERAMEN ARE OBSERVING AND PHOTOGRAPHING.

[ SHUTTER CLICKS ]

[ CRAFT WHIRRING ]

THEY APPROACH IT ON FOOT.

[ WHIRRING ]

IT TAKES OFF, RETRACTS THE LANDING GEAR,

AND DISAPPEARS OVER THE HORIZON.

[ CAMERAS WHIRRING ]

[ SHUTTERS CLICKING ]

Narrator: BITTICK AND GETTYS CAPTURE IMAGES OF THE SAUCER,

AND HURRY BACK TO REPORT

THEIR EXTRAORDINARY SIGHTING TO COOPER.

[ WHIRRING ]Pope: THESE ARE TOUGH GUYS.

THEY DON'T SCARE EASILY. SOMETHING DEFINITELY HAPPENED.

SOMETHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY.

Narrator: INITIALLY SKEPTICAL,

COOPER IS CONVINCED WHEN HE LOOKS AT THE NEGATIVES.

HE SENDS THEM TO WASHINGTON,

ALONG WITH A FULL REPORT IN A LOCKED COURIER BOX,

AND THE FOOTAGE IS NEVER SEEN AGAIN.

THERE ARE TWO QUESTIONS HERE.

FIRSTLY, WHAT IS IT THAT THESE PEOPLE ARE SEEING?

SECONDLY, WHERE'S THE FOOTAGE?

Narrator: NASA's JIM OBERG HAS SEEN THE REPORT

OF THE ENCOUNTER IN PROJECT BLUE BOOK...

...THE U.S. AIR FORCE RECORD OF MORE THAN 12,000

U.F.O. SIGHTINGS.

[ TYPING ]

Oberg: THE REPORT HAS A BLUE BOOK CASE NUMBER.

IT'S THAT DATE, IT'S THAT EVENT, IT'S THOSE WITNESSES.

AND IT'S ON RECORD, AND YOU CAN GET A COPY OF IT ON MICROFICHE

FROM THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES.

Narrator: THOUGH THE BLUE BOOK IS ON FILE,

COOPER'S REPORT, AND ANY FILMED FOOTAGE FILED WITH IT,

IS MYSTERIOUSLY MISSING.

ALL THAT REMAINS ARE A FEW FUZZY PHOTOGRAPHS.

YET THE STORY COOPER AND HIS PHOTOGRAPHERS TOLD LATER

REMAINS CLEAR.

GORDON COOPER'S ACCOUNT OF THAT EVENT WAS CRYSTAL CLEAR.

IT WAS A U.F.O., IT LANDED, PHOTOGRAPHERS TOOK SOME FILM,

STRANGE PEOPLE --

INTELLIGENCE OFFICER CAME AND TOOK THE FILM,

AND EVERYBODY WAS ADVISED -- THREATENED --

NEVER TO TALK ABOUT IT AGAIN.

Narrator: IF THAT'S TRUE,

WHAT COULD PROVOKE SUCH A SEVERE REACTION?

SOME BELIEVE THAT COOPER'S MEN SPOTTED

AN EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT SO SECRET,

ALL REFERENCE TO IT WAS CLASSIFIED.

THE IRONY HERE IS THAT THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE

ARE ACTUALLY DEVELOPING A KIND OF REAL-LIFE FLYING SAUCER.

Man: WIND TUNNEL TESTS WERE PERFORMED TO DETERMINE

AERODYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS DURING TAKEOFF, HOVERING,

TRANSITION AND FORWARD FLIGHT.

THE CENTER OF GRAVITY OF THE AVROCAR IS LOCATED...

Narrator: THE AVROCAR WAS UNLIKE ANY AIRCRAFT PREVIOUSLY FLOWN.

Benkert: THE AVROCAR WAS A FAN, BASICALLY,

WITH LIKE A -- A -- UH, A ROUND OBJECT AROUND IT.

Oberg: YOU WOULDN'T SEE ANY WINGS.

UH, IT WOULDN'T EVEN SEE -- UH, ANY BLADES.

THEY'RE ALL INTERNAL.

SO, THINGS THAT YOU MIGHT SEE,

UH, THE FIRST -- THE FIRST GUESS IS GONNA BE

THAT THE I HAD ACTUALLY ENCOUNTERED A U.F.O.

Narrator: THE AVROCAR BEARS A STRIKING RESEMBLANCE

TO WHAT THE PHOTOGRAPHERS SAW THAT DAY.

IT COULD PROVIDE THE MOST PLAUSIBLE EXPLANATION.

BUT THERE'S A QUESTION ABOUT THE AVROCAR --

DOES IT REALLY WORK?

Benkert: THE AVROCAR NEVER WORKED.

IT WAS NOTHING MORE THAN A, UH, HOVERCRAFT, REALLY.

I MEAN, AND IT HOVERED MAYBE TWO OR FOUR FEET OFF THE GROUND.

IT WAS REALLY UNCONTROLLABLE.

Birnes: FROM WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE AVROCAR,

IT DID NOT HAVE THE ABILITY TO ENGAGE

IN THAT KIND OF FLIGHT TO GO THAT DISTANCE.

IN FACT, THE WHOLE DEVICE WAS TECHNOLOGICALLY UNWORKABLE

AND WAS ABANDONED IN THE 1950s.

Narrator: SO THE AVROCAR WAS NEVER CAPABLE OF THE BEHAVIOR

BITTICK AND GETTYS DESCRIBED.

BUT OBERG BELIEVES THEIR DESCRIPTION

HAS BEEN DISTORTED IN THE YEARS SINCE THE SIGHTING.

THE STORY HAS BEEN EVOLVING.

OVER THE YEARS, THE STORY HAS BEEN IMPROVING

WITH EACH RETELLING.

THOSE STORIES HAVE BEEN TOLD SO OFTEN,

AND HAVE BEEN IMPROVED SO MUCH TO PLEASE THE AUDIENCE

AND TO PLEASE THE TELLER, THAT THEY HAVE DEPARTED,

UH, SIGNIFICANTLY AND SOMETIMES IRREVOCABLY,

FROM REALITY.

Narrator: BASED ON THE BLUE BOOK REPORT, OBERG THINKS

THAT BITTICK AND GETTYS SPOTTED A WEATHER BALLOON

DRIFTING OVER THE HORIZON.

THE ACCOUNTS AT THE TIME WERE CLEAR THAT THIS WAS AN OBJECT

DRIFTING WITH THE WIND, AND IT WAS SEEN A FEW MINUTES

AFTER A BALLOON HAD BEEN RELEASED,

IN PREPARATION FOR A MORNING FLIGHT TEST.

NOW, THE TWO MEN WHO SAW IT ABSOLUTELY REJECTED

THAT EXPLANATION.

Narrator: BUT FOR SOME, THE WEATHER BALLOON EXPLANATION

IS JUST TOO CONVENIENT.

YOU ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO TAKE GORDON COOPER'S,

UH, TESTIMONY SERIOUSLY.

A MAN OF HIS STATUS, WHO'S AN INCREDIBLE PILOT

AND AN ASTRONAUT, OKAY?

HE KNEW WHAT HE SAW THAT DAY, AND HE --

THERE WAS NO DOUBT IN HIS MIND IT WAS NOT FROM THIS WORLD.

I WAS ACTUALLY ABLE TO CONTACT ONE OF THE PHOTOGRAPHERS,

A MAN NAMED GETTYS, WHO AGREED TOTALLY

THAT COOPER HAD NEVER BEEN INVOLVED,

THAT HE WAS NOT EVEN ON BASE AT THE TIME.

ALTHOUGH HE WAS ON BASE,

HE WAS NOT WORKING WITH THIS CREW AT ALL.

COOPER LATER ON ADDED HIMSELF INTO A STORY

THAT HE'D HEARD ABOUT.

Narrator: THAT DOESN'T ALTER THE FACT

THAT GETTYS STILL SAW SOMETHING HE COULD NOT EXPLAIN.

Birnes: UNLESS THE GOVERNMENT COMES FORWARD,

AND BY THE GOVERNMENT, I MEAN THE AIR FORCE,

AND ADMITS THERE WAS A LANDING OF AN OTHERWORLDLY OBJECT

AT EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE,

ADMITS THERE WAS FILM, AND PRODUCES THE REPORT,

I THINK WE'LL NEVER GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS MYSTERY.

Narrator: COMING NEXT...

WE HAVE NOTHING LIKE THIS ON ANY OTHER PLANET

IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM.

Narrator: A MASSIVE HEXAGONAL SHAPE ON TOP OF SATURN

LINGERS THERE FOR 30 YEARS.

NOW WE START THINKING,

THIS FEELS MORE LIKE AN ARTIFICIAL STRUCTURE

THAN A RANDOM WEATHER PATTERN.

Narrator: SOMETHING WEIRD IS HAPPENING ON TOP OF SATURN.

WE HAVE NOTHING LIKE THIS ON ANY OTHER PLANET,

UH, IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM.

Narrator: A FORMATION OF INTENTIONAL DESIGN?

COULD THERE BE SOME KIND OF INTELLIGENCE BEHIND IT?

Narrator: WHAT IS SATURN'S MEGA HEX?

SOMETHING IS ORGANIZING IT, SOMETHING'S KEEPING THIS THING

TOGETHER, AND WE DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT IT IS.

Narrator: ON ITS JOURNEY OUT OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM,

NASA's SPACECRAFT VOYAGER REACHES ITS NEXT TARGET --

SATURN.

BUT ITS CAMERAS CAN ONLY SEE THE RINGED PLANET'S SIDE.

THE VOYAGER SPACECRAFT WAS JUST TAKING

LOTS AND LOTS OF PHOTOGRAPHS AS IT --

AS IT FLEW PAST SATURN.

[ SHUTTER CLICKING ]

Narrator: WHEN A SCIENTIST STITCHES THE IMAGES TOGETHER,

CREATING A PICTURE OF THE PLANET'S POLE,

THE RESULT IS COMPLETELY UNEXPECTED.

HE SAW A SIX-SIDED SHAPE ON THE TOP OF SATURN.

[ SHUTTER CLICKS ]

Narrator: A PERFECT HEXAGON ENGULFS SATURN'S NORTH POLE.

IT ALMOST LOOKS TOO REGULAR TO BE NATURAL.

WE HAVE NOTHING LIKE THIS ON ANY OTHER PLANET

IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM.

Narrator: BUT NASA DOWNPLAYS THE DISCOVERY.

THE EXPLANATION WAS SIMPLE. THIS IS JUST A WEATHER PATTERN.

Read: THIS WAS A CURIOSITY AT THE TIME,

BUT WE WERE NOT ABLE TO FOLLOW THIS UP

WITH ANY OTHER OBSERVATION, SO INTEREST IN IT WANED.

Narrator: SATURN'S SECRET IS FORGOTTEN --

BUT NOT FOREVER.

JUNE 2004.

ALL SYSTEMS GO.

[ WHOOSHING ]

[ BEEPING ]

THE CASSINI SPACE PROBE ARRIVES AT SATURN.

IT CAN LOOK WHERE VOYAGER COULD NOT,

DIRECTLY INTO THE DARK SIDE OF SATURN'S NORTH POLE.

[ BEEP ]

CASSINI CAN GO UP TO THE POLES AND LOOK DOWN FROM THE POLES,

WHICH NO OTHER SPACECRAFT HAS BEEN ABLE TO DO UP UNTIL NOW.

Narrator: AND WHAT ITS INFRARED CAMERA SEES

ASTONISHES NASA SCIENTISTS.

THE GIGANTIC HEXAGON STILL DOMINATES SATURN.

Baines: IT'S STILL THERE.

HASN'T BUDGED MUCH AT ALL IN 30 YEARS.

I MEAN, THIS THING SHOULD BE UNSTABLE.

IT JUST CAN'T KEEP ITS FORM LIKE THAT.

Narrator: THE ANOMALY IS MASSIVE,

LARGE ENOUGH TO CONSUME FOUR PLANET EARTHS.

[ BEEPING ]

BUT THE HEX IS ALSO DOING WEIRD THINGS.

Baines: THE CLOUD FOLLOWS THE HEXAGON

AS IF IT'S A RACE TRACK.

SO WE HAD THESE CLOUDS THAT GO INTO STRAIGHT LINES,

AND THEN THEY TURN THE CORNERS,

AND THEN THEY GO INTO THE NEXT STRAIGHT LINE.

IT'S REALLY BIZARRE.

SOMETHING IS ORGANIZING IT,

SOMETHING IS KEEPING THIS THING TOGETHER,

AND WE DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT IT IS.

WHENEVER YOU SEE THESE LINEAR FEATURES,

THERE'S THE TEMPTATION TO THINK,

COULD THERE BE SOME KIND OF INTELLIGENCE BEHIND IT?

Capps: NOW WE START THINKING,

THIS FEELS MORE LIKE AN ARTIFICIAL STRUCTURE

THAN A RANDOM WEATHER PATTERN.

Narrator: FOR SOME OBSERVERS, A COLOSSAL STRUCTURE LIKE THIS

COULD BE USED TO EXPLOIT THE GAS GIANT'S

NATURAL RESOURCES, CRITICAL FOR SPACE TRAVEL.

WHEN TRAVELING AT INTERSTELLAR DISTANCES,

WHAT YOU NEED IS PROPELLANT.

AND SATURN IS A PERFECT PLACE TO PICK UP FUEL.

Narrator: 75% OF SATURN'S ATMOSPHERE IS HYDROGEN GAS,

THE SAME FUEL THAT GOT US TO THE MOON.

[ STATIC BLIPS ]

THE ATMOSPHERE ALSO CONTAINS HELIUM-3,

WHICH COULD BE THE GAS OF THE FUTURE.

WHAT IF THE GAS GIANT IS IN FACT A GIANT GAS STATION?

IT'S HARD FOR US TO FATHOM HOW IT CAN BE DONE,

BUT IT DOESN'T MEAN IT CAN'T BE DONE

BY A CIVILIZATION MORE ADVANCED THAN OURS.

[ STATIC BLIPS ]

Narrator: SCIENTISTS ARE NOT CONVINCED

THAT A HUGE GAS REFINERY IS BEHIND SATURN'S MEGA HEX.

NUMEROUS PEOPLE HAVE TRIED TO SAY THIS IS AN ALIEN FEATURE

OF SOME TYPE ON SATURN, BUT IT LOOKS LIKE THERE ARE

NATURAL EXPLANATIONS FOR IT.

Narrator: AND PROFESSOR PETER READ

COULD HAVE THAT EXPLANATION.

USING A MODEL OF SATURN'S ATMOSPHERE,

HE INVESTIGATES THE ANOMALY.

THE TANK HERE REPRESENTS THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE OF SATURN,

UH, WITH THE POLE AT THE CENTER.

AT THE REGION WHERE THE HEXAGON OCCURS,

THERE'S A STRONG JET STREAM ON SATURN.

Narrator: A DISK SPINNING AT THE CENTER

CREATES A FASTER FLOW OF FLUID, A JET STREAM.

WHERE THE TWO FLOWS MEET, THE HEXAGON SHOULD FORM.

SO WE CAN ILLUSTRATE THIS BY ADDING SOME GREEN DYE

TO THE TANK.[ BEEP ]

[ WHOOSHING ]

THE DYE MOVES AROUND THE TANK,

PICKING OUT THE SIX SIDES OF THE HEXAGON.

Narrator: REID'S APPARATUS HAS SUMMONED SATURN'S MEGA HEX.

BUT THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE RESULT.

IN THE EXPERIMENT, WHIRLPOOL VORTICES

HOLD THE SIDES OF THE HEXAGON STRAIGHT.

SATURN -- WE'VE LOOKED AND LOOKED AND LOOKED,

AND WE HAVE NOT SEEN ANY OF THOSE VORTICES

ON ANY OF THOSE STRAIGHT-LINE SEGMENTS.

Narrator: WITHOUT THESE VORTICES,

THE HEX OUGHT TO COLLAPSE...

BUT IT DOESN'T.

IT'S A REAL MYSTERY, WE REALLY DON'T KNOW WHY.

Narrator: THE CAUSE OF SATURN'S MEGA HEX REMAINS UNEXPLAINED.

[ WHOOSHING ]

Brin: A TINY PORTION OF THE BRAIN SHOULD BE SAYING,

"OOH, WHAT'S THAT?"

JUST IN CASE IT REALLY IS SOMETHING WEIRD.

Narrator: STILL TO COME...

THINGS DIDN'T GO EXACTLY THE WAY WE PLANNED THEM.

WHEN APOLLO 14 NEARLY CRASHES ON THE MOON...

THEY'RE ESSENTIALLY FLYING BLIND.

...PEOPLE START ASKING QUESTIONS.

WAS THERE OUTSIDE INTERFERENCE TELLING US

IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS, "STOP GOING TO THE MOON"?

[ BEEPING, ALARM WAILING ]

Narrator: MULTIPLE DISASTERS IN MOON ORBIT...

WHY ARE THESE SUCCESSIVE NEAR-CATASTROPHES

HAPPENING TO THIS MISSION?

...FOLLOWED BY STRANGE HOVERING BLUE LIGHTS.

WHAT IS THAT BLUE STREAK JUST ABOVE THE HORIZON?

[ BEEP ]

THIS COULD BE A DISASTER FOR NASA.

Narrator: APOLLO 14 ASTRONAUTS ALAN SHEPARD AND EDGAR MITCHELL

ARE IN SERIOUS TROUBLE.

AS THEY PREPARE FOR A MOON LANDING ON FEBRUARY 5, 1971,

THE LUNAR MODULE COMPUTER MALFUNCTIONS.

WE KNEW WHAT WE WERE GETTING INTO.

NOW OF COURSE, THINGS DIDN'T GO EXACTLY THE WAY WE PLANNED THEM.

[ INDISTINCT CONVERSATION ]

THEY FIRED THE DESCENT ENGINE, THEY START GETTING

1,200 SERIES ALARMS ONTO THE COMPUTER.

THEY CAN'T PROCEED DOWN WITH THESE ALARMS

BECAUSE THE DANGER IS, IS THAT IF THEY HAVE THAT ALARM,

THE SYSTEM WILL ABORT WHEN THEY MAKE THE FINAL DESCENT

DOWN TO THE LUNAR SURFACE.

Narrator: IF THE SYSTEM ABORTS,

THE COMPUTER WILL AUTOMATICALLY SEND THE MODULE BACK INTO ORBIT.

[ RADIO STATIC ]

FOLLOWING VERY CLOSE ON THE HEELS OF APOLLO 13,

THIS COULD BE A PUBLIC RELATIONS DISASTER.

SO THE GROUND CONTROLLERS AT MISSION CONTROL AND MIT,

THEY COME UP WITH A SOLUTION. IT'S A WORK-AROUND.

IT WILL BYPASS THE ALARMS.

AND THEY SEND THAT UP TO AL AND ED UP IN THE SPACECRAFT.

Narrator: THE MISSION NOW HANGS ON MITCHELL'S ABILITY

TO CARRY OUT THE PROCEDURE PERFECTLY.

Mitchell: FAILURE IN THE SYSTEM.

AND SO WE HAD TO DISABLE PART OF THAT SYSTEM

ON THE LAST PASS BEFORE WE LANDED.

Orwoll: ED HAS TO ENTER ON THE DISPLAY KEYBOARD

ABOUT 80-PLUS STROKES UH, INTO THAT.

AND IF HE MISSES ONE ENTRY INTO THAT,

THE SYSTEM WILL ABORT AND WILL FIRE THE ASCENT ENGINES.

WE HAD TRAINED AND TRAINED AND TRAINED,

SO IT WAS A MATTER OF DOING EXACTLY WHAT WE THOUGHT

WE WERE SUPPOSED TO BE DOING, AND FOLLOWING OUR CHECKLIST.

Narrator: ON INSTRUCTIONS FROM MISSION CONTROL,

MITCHELL RESETS THE COMPUTER

JUST MOMENTS BEFORE AUTOMATIC ABORT.

[ CHEERING ]

BUT THE MISSION FACES YET ANOTHER UNEXPECTED SETBACK.

NOW THEY'RE PROCEEDING DOWN TO THE LUNAR SURFACE,

AND AS IF THAT WASN'T ENOUGH TO HAVE THE FIRST PROBLEM,

NOW THEY'RE HAVING A SECOND PROBLEM WITH THE LANDING RADAR.

Narrator: A SECOND CRITICAL SYSTEM GOES OFFLINE.

Orwoll: THEY'RE ESSENTIALLY FLYING BLIND.

THEY HAVE NO INDICATION OF ALTITUDE,

AND THERE'S THE FEAR OF RUNNING INTO A MOUNTAIN

ON THE LUNAR SURFACE.[ ALARM WAILING ]

Narrator: DESCENDING AT 500 FEET PER SECOND,

THE LUNAR MODULE IS ON A COLLISION COURSE WITH THE MOON.

Mitchell: THAT WAS A NO-GO SITUATION.

HAD WE NOT BEEN ABLE TO GET THE LANDING RADAR ON,

IT WOULD HAVE BEEN AN ABORT SITUATION.

Narrator: THE ASTRONAUTS RESET ONE OF THE CIRCUIT BREAKERS,

AND THE RADAR KICKS INTO LIFE.[ WHOOSHING ]

THEY RESET THE SYSTEM AND EVENTUALLY IT DOES COME BACK,

BUT, YOU KNOW, THEY DIDN'T KNOW THE CAUSE AT THE TIME.

Narrator: THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME

THAT APOLLO HAS RUN INTO TROUBLE ON THIS PART OF THE MOON.

THE ILL-FATED APOLLO 13 MISSION WAS SLATED TO LAND

IN EXACTLY THE SAME SPOT.

WAS THERE OUTSIDE INTERFERENCE TELLING US

IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS, "STOP GOING TO THE MOON"?

NASA WILL NEVER SAY THAT.

Narrator: THE IDEA OF SOME UNKNOWN FORCE

INTERFERING WITH THE LANDING MIGHT SEEM FAR-FETCHED,

BUT MISSION PHOTOS DEVELOPED

ONCE THE ASTRONAUTS RETURNED TO EARTH RAISE SUSPICIONS.

ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE NOTICE IN THE IMAGES

IS THESE BLUE STREAKS THAT APPEAR IN THE SKYLINE,

ALMOST HOVERING.

Narrator: UNSEEN BY THE ASTRONAUTS

DURING MORE THAN 33 HOURS ON THE LUNAR SURFACE,

THESE STRANGE BLUE LIGHTS APPEAR ON A SERIES OF PHOTOS

TAKEN DURING THE MISSION.

SO THE KEY QUESTION EVERYBODY'S ASKING IS, IS,

"WHAT IS THAT IMAGE?"

WHAT IS THAT BLUE STREAK JUST ABOVE THE HORIZON?"

Narrator: NASA BELIEVES THIS IS FILM DAMAGE

CAUSED BY COSMIC RAYS IN THE NEAR-VACUUM OF SPACE.

COSMIC RAYS, X-RAYS, ARE VERY HIGH-ENERGY PARTICLES,

HIGH-ENERGY RADIATION.

THE PHOTOS THAT WERE TAKEN ON THE MOON

WERE DEPOSITED IN FILM CANS.

BUT, ON THE MOON THERE'S NO PROTECTION FROM COSMIC RAYS,

OR -- OR GAMMA RAYS, OR OTHER TYPES OF RADIATION.

SO THESE CANS COULD HAVE ENDED UP GETTING FOGGED

BY COSMIC RAY BOMBARDMENT.

NASA LIKES COSMIC RAYS AS AN EXPLANATION

BECAUSE THEY'RE INHERENTLY MYSTERIOUS.

IT'S A HANDY WAY OUT, I'M AFRAID.

Birnes: I DON'T THINK IT'S COSMIC RAYS.

WHY WASN'T ALL THE FILM EXPOSED?

IT JUST MAKES NO SENSE TO FOLLOW THE NASA EXPLANATION.

Narrator: SUBSEQUENT MOON MISSIONS FAILED TO DETECT

FURTHER EVIDENCE OF THESE MYSTERIOUS BLUE LIGHTS.

WHATEVER THEY WERE, THEY HAVEN'T BEEN SEEN AGAIN.

STILL TO COME...

WE'RE LOOKING FOR ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS

BEYOND OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.

IN THE SEARCH FOR EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE,

WE GO LOOKING FOR THE UNIVERSE'S LARGEST POWER PLANT.

GRABBING ALL OF THE LIGHT FROM THE SUN AND USING ALL OF IT.

AND HAVE WE RECEIVED A MESSAGE FROM E.T.?

I JUST KNEW THAT THIS MAY BE THE SIGNAL,

MAYBE THE FIRST ONE DETECTED, AND WE NEED TO INVESTIGATE THIS.

Narrator: A SERIES OF ENCOUNTERS PLAGUES THE SHUTTLE PROGRAM.

IS THIS NATURAL PHENOMENON, OR IS IT SOMETHING ELSE?

Narrator: UNEXPLAINED OBJECTS DEFY THE LAWS OF PHYSICS.

THE QUESTION IS, WHERE DO THESE OBJECTS COME FROM?

Narrator: AND RAISE UNCOMFORTABLE QUESTIONS

ABOUT WHAT SENIOR OFFICIALS MAY KNOW.

ARE THESE ACCIDENTS, OR ARE WE BEING TOLD SOMETHING?

Narrator: MARCH 2001.

SPACE SHUTTLE DISCOVERY DISENGAGES

FOLLOWING A TEXTBOOK MISSION TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.

STS102 IS RESUPPLYING THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.

UH, IT'S ALSO CHANGING OUT THE CREW --

EXPEDITION ONE AND EXPEDITION TWO.

IN THE CONTEXT OF SPACE OPERATIONS,

IT'S KIND OF ABOUT AS ROUTINE AS YOU CAN GET.

Narrator: BUT AS COMMANDER JAMES D. WETHERBEE AND HIS CREW

PREPARE FOR THE RETURN TO EARTH,

THE SHUTTLE'S EXTERNAL CAMERAS DETECT SOMETHING UNSEEN

BY ANYONE ON BOARD.

SUDDENLY, THEY SEE SOMETHING ELSE.

Narrator: OBJECTS APPEAR TO FLY PAST THE SHUTTLE

ON MULTIPLE TRAJECTORIES.

WHAT MAKES THIS SIGHTING INTERESTING IS THAT

THESE OBJECTS APPEAR TO CHANGE DIRECTION.

THEY SEEM TO BE MOVING INDEPENDENTLY, UH, STARTING,

STOPPING, MOVING AROUND IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS.

Narrator: THERE'S NO OFFICIAL EXPLANATION FOR THE SIGHTING,

AND THE BEHAVIOR OF THESE STRANGE OBJECTS

PROMPTS SOME TO DRAW COMPARISONS WITH A PRIOR SHUTTLE ENCOUNTER.

THIS EVENT UNCANNILY MIRRORS AN INCIDENT

THAT TOOK PLACE 10 YEARS BEFORE ON A PREVIOUS SHUTTLE MISSION.

Narrator: IN 1991, AN OBJECT SEEN

DURING DISCOVERY MISSION STS-48 ALSO APPEARS

TO CHANGE DIRECTION RAPIDLY.

YOU HAVE AN OBJECT COMING IN FROM THE RIGHT-HAND CORNER

OF THE FRAME OF THE CAMERA.

SUDDENLY, THE OBJECT SEEMS TO MAKE A U-TURN.

NORMALLY AN OBJECT WOULDN'T CHANGE DIRECTION,

UNLESS IT WAS UNDER INTELLIGENT CONTROL.

SO WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?

NASA ANALYST JIM OBERG BELIEVES THAT, IN BOTH CASES,

THE OBJECTS ARE SIMPLY PIECES OF SPACE DEBRIS

BEING PROPELLED AWAY FROM THE SHUTTLE BY ITS THRUSTERS.

BECAUSE THE SPACE SHUTTLE IS SO BIG --

IT'S THE SIZE OF A SMALL AIRLINER --

THERE ARE DIFFERENT PIECES COMING ALL AT DIFFERENT PLACES,

AND THAT WILL PUSH THESE TINY SNOWFLAKES

INTO DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS.

AND NOT ALWAYS THE DIRECTIONS YOU THINK,

BECAUSE THE PLUME ITSELF

BOUNCES OFF OTHER PARTS OF THE SHUTTLE,

LIKE THE WING OR THE BACK END OF IT,

AND COMES BACK IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS.

IT'S A VERY DYNAMIC AND A VERY SURPRISING

CREATOR OF STRANGE VIDEOS.

Narrator: IN JUNE 2005,

FOLLOWING A FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST,

NASA RELEASES DATA LISTING THE EXACT TIMINGS

OF THE THRUSTER BURNS ON THE DAY THE OBJECTS WERE SPOTTED.

WHEN THE DATA IS ANALYZED, THE TIMINGS APPEAR

TO CORRELATE WITH THE MOVEMENT OF THE OBJECTS.

BUT FOR SOME, THE FOOTAGE FROM BOTH THESE SIGHTINGS

RAISES DIFFICULT QUESTIONS.

DID WE FIRE A WEAPON AT THIS PARTICULAR OBJECT,

SENDING IT AWAY?

THE OBJECT MAKING A U-TURN AND HEADING INTO SPACE,

AVOIDING THIS LIGHT COMING AFTER IT,

SEEMS TO BE A REAL CASE OF AN ATTEMPTED U.F.O. SHOOT-DOWN

WHICH WAS AVOIDED BY THE U.F.O.

Narrator: THERE IS NO CLEAR EVIDENCE

THAT NASA HAS EVER MOUNTED WEAPONS ON THE SHUTTLE.

FURTHER OUT IN DEEP SPACE,

AN UNKNOWN PRESENCE BEAMS A SIGNAL TO EARTH.

COULD THIS HAVE BEEN ALIEN INTELLIGENCE OUT THERE?

IS THIS A DIRECT LINE TO A DISTANT WORLD?

I JUST KNEW WE HAD SOMETHING AMAZING HERE.

IF THIS TURNS OUT TO BE GENUINE,

THESE PEOPLE WILL GO DOWN IN HISTORY.

Narrator: SCIENTISTS ARE CONSTANTLY SCANNING THE STARS

FOR RADIO TRANSMISSIONS THAT MIGHT ONE DAY CONNECT US

TO INTELLIGENT ALIEN LIFE.

PICKING UP A SIGNAL LIKE THIS ON A RADIO TELESCOPE

IS THE SINGLE MOST LIKELY WAY THAT WE'LL FIND

EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE.

Narrator: AND ON AUGUST 19, 1977,

RADIO ASTRONOMERS THINK THEY'VE DONE JUST THAT.

OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY HAS THIS BIG ANTENNA RADIO TELESCOPE.

IT'S BIGGER THAN A FOOTBALL FIELD.

AND THEY'RE JUST USING IT TO SCAN THE SKY EVERY DAY

AUTOMATICALLY.

Narrator: WHEN RADIO ASTRONOMER JERRY EHMANN PICKS UP A SIGNAL

FROM THE CONSTELLATION SAGITTARIUS...

[ BEEPING ]...5,000 LIGHT YEARS FROM EARTH,

HE THINKS HE'S HIT THE JACKPOT.

IT'S HARD FOR ME TO CONVEY THAT EMOTION,

OTHER THAN I WAS AMAZED.

Narrator: THE SIGNAL IS BROADCAST AT 1420 MEGAHERTZ,

A FREQUENCY NOT GENERATED BY ANY KNOWN NATURAL FORCE

IN THE UNIVERSE.

IT'S AS IF A DISTANT WHALE SONG HAD STARTED HUMMING

THE THEME TO "STAR TREK."

I JUST KNEW THAT THIS MAY BE THE SIGNAL,

MAYBE THE FIRST ONE DETECTED, AND WE NEED TO INVESTIGATE THIS.

Narrator: EHMANN IMMEDIATELY CALLS HIS COLLEAGUES

TO VERIFY THE DATA.

Pope: THEY PICK UP THIS SIGNAL.

IT'S UNLIKE ANYTHING THEY'VE SEEN BEFORE.

ALL THEY CAN DO IS WRITE IN THE MARGIN THE SINGLE WORD, "WOW."

IT DIDN'T TAKE ME LONG TO WRITE THE WORD "WOW"

IN THE COMPUTER PRINTOUT.

Narrator: AS WORD SPREADS OF THE SO-CALLED "WOW!" SIGNAL,

SCIENTISTS AND ASTRONOMERS ATTEMPT TO FIND

OTHER EXPLANATIONS FOR ITS ORIGIN.

Ehmann: OF COURSE WE THOUGHT, YEAH, THIS IS A POSSIBLE

EXTRATERRESTRIAL SIGNAL, BUT WE COULDN'T BE SURE.

Brin: YOU HAVE TO TRY TO SEE IF THERE'S A HUMAN SOURCE.

COULD IT BE THIS RADIO STATION, THIS SATELLITE PASSING OVERHEAD?

Narrator: BUT 1420 MEGAHERTZ IS OFF-LIMITS

TO ALL EARTH-BASED RADIO TRAFFIC FOR EXACTLY THIS REASON.

NO HUMAN SATELLITE TRANSMITS ON THIS PROTECTED BAND.

I HAD TO GET BACK ON CONCENTRATING FOR OTHER SIGNALS

TO SEE IF THAT SAME SIGNAL OCCURRED AGAIN.

Narrator: EFFORTS TO PICK UP THE SIGNAL AGAIN FAIL.

AFTER THEY RECEIVE THIS FANTASTIC SIGNAL, NOTHING.

Narrator: IT APPEARS THE LINE HAS GONE DEAD.

IT WASN'T SEEN A MINUTE LATER, IT WASN'T SEEN YEARS LATER.

IT'S NEVER BEEN SEEN AGAIN.

Narrator: NUMEROUS ATTEMPTS HAVE BEEN MADE TO FIND THE SIGNAL

IN THE YEARS SINCE EHMANN'S DISCOVERY.

BUT IT APPEARS THAT THIS LONG-DISTANCE CALL

WAS A ONE-TIME EVENT.[ BEEPING ]

Brin: THOSE ALIENS MIGHT HAVE PINGED US IN 1977,

AND WE MIGHT HAVE TO WAIT ANOTHER 50, 60 YEARS

FOR THEM TO PING US AGAIN.

Shostak: YOU CAN'T SAY THAT IT WAS E.T.

IF YOU ONLY SEE IT ONCE, ALL YOU CAN SAY IS,

"I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT WAS."

Brin: IF IT HAPPENS AGAIN, WE'LL KNOW

THAT SOMEONE WAS KNOCKING ON OUR DOOR, SAYING, "IS SOMEONE HOME?"

[ BEEPING ]

COMING UP --

A SQUID-LIKE CREATURE FLOATS ABOVE THE MOON.

MAYBE IT'S SOME KIND OF ALIEN SPACECRAFT.

AND WEIRD LIGHTS IN THE SKY TOWER OVER THUNDERSTORMS.

WHAT IN THE WORLD COULD HAVE CAUSED THIS THING?

YOU MIGHT EVEN THINK IT'S A U.F.O.

Narrator: SPACE CREATURES APPEAR TO BE STALKING

THE FIRST MANNED NASA CRAFT TO CIRCUMNAVIGATE THE MOON.

[ STATIC BLIPS ]

APOLLO 8 SEES AN OBJECT THAT LOOKS LIKE A SQUID.

IT LOOKS ALIEN.

THINGS THAT WE SEE UP THERE THAT WE CAN'T IDENTIFY

OR READILY EXPLAIN.

WHAT IS IT? WHY IS IT?

AND DID WE EVER GET AN EXPLANATION FROM NASA

THAT ACTUALLY MAKES SENSE?

Narrator: DECEMBER 1968.

AT THE HEIGHT OF THE SPACE RACE,

APOLLO 8'S MISSION IS TO FLY TO THE MOON

AND COME BACK WITH HIGH-RESOLUTION PHOTOGRAPHY

OF POTENTIAL LANDING SITES.

THE MISSION APPEARS TO BE A SUCCESS.

Man: AN INCREDIBLE ADVENTURE.

NASA REMAINS CONFIDENT THEY CAN BEAT THE SOVIET UNION

TO THE MOON.[ CROWD CHEERING ]

BUT AS NASA DEVELOPS THE APOLLO 8 FILM,

IT APPEARS TO SHOW SOMETHING STRANGE.

Orwoll: APOLLO 8, THEY'RE TAKING LOTS AND LOTS OF PHOTOS

DURING THE MISSION, BUT THEY DON'T SEE THOSE PHOTOS

LIKE WE DO THESE DAYS WHEN WE TAKE A DIGITAL SHOT.

THEY DON'T SEE THEM UNTIL THEY GET BACK TO EARTH

AND PROCESS THEM, AND THEY START TO SEE SOMETHING

IN THE PHOTOS THAT THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND.

Oberg: WHEN YOU'RE SEEING THESE PICTURES,

YOU'RE CERTAINLY THINKING YOU'RE SEEING SOME TRAILER

FOR SOME "STAR TREK" EPISODE.

SOMETHING IS COMING DOWN, UH, REACHING OUT WITH TENDRILS,

READY TO ENVELOP AND SUCK YOUR BRAIN OUT, OR SOMETHING.

BECAUSE IT LOOKS ALIEN.

Narrator: THE PICTURES SEEM TO PORTRAY

A SQUID-LIKE CREATURE FLOATING IN SPACE.

Birnes: IT'S BEEN CALLED THE SPACE SQUID.

WHAT'S A SPACE SQUID?

HOW COULD A SQUID LIVE IN SPACE?

ARE THERE CREATURES THAT CAN LIVE

IN AN OXYGEN-FREE ENVIRONMENT?

Narrator: NO KNOWN CREATURE CAN THRIVE IN THE FREEZING,

AIRLESS VACUUM OF SPACE.

BUT ASTROBIOLOGIST CHRIS McKAY SUSPECTS THE SPACE SQUID

MAY NOT BE A LIVING ORGANISM.

[ STATIC CRACKLES ]

MY BEST GUESS WOULD BE THAT IT IS

SOME KIND OF ALIEN SPACECRAFT.

IT'S GENERATIONS AHEAD OF OUR SPACECRAFT,

AND IT'S DESIGNED TO SURVIVE IN SPACE.

IT'S DESIGNED TO NEED ONLY ENERGY.

IF THE SQUID IS A SPACECRAFT,

PERHAPS THE TENTACLES ARE PART OF AN EXOTIC POWER DRIVE

SPEWING A WEB OF ENERGY BEHIND THE CRAFT.

WHAT MIGHT ALIENS USE

TO TRANSPORT THEMSELVES ACROSS THE STARS?

WELL, THERE'S SOME CLEVER TRICKS YOU CAN PULL.

USING FUSION-POWERED ROCKETS, OR LIGHT SAILS

PROPELLED BY LASER BEAMS.

AND YOU MIGHT WANNA USE ELECTRON BEAMS INSTEAD OF LASERS.

Narrator: PERHAPS APOLLO 8's PHOTOGRAPH CAPTURED THE TRACES

OF SOME SORT OF ELECTRON DRIVE.

BUT NASA's JIM OBERG IS NOT CONVINCED

THAT IT'S A SPACECRAFT.

I THINK PEOPLE CAN JUMP TO FANTASTIC INTERPRETATIONS

OF THESE IMAGES FOR A NUMBER OF COMPLETELY REASONABLE

AND RATIONAL WAYS.

IF YOU JUST SIMPLY USE YOUR OWN INSTINCTIVE INTERPRETATION

PROCESSES, SOME OF THESE IDEAS MAKE SENSE.

Narrator: OBERG BELIEVES THAT THE APOLLO 8 SPACE SQUID

IS THE RESULT OF ELECTROSTATIC CHARGES

OVEREXPOSING SMALL PATCHES OF THE PROCESSED FILM NEGATIVE,

CREATING SQUID-LIKE PATTERNS.

[ STATIC BLIPS ]

Oberg: IT'S DIM.

YOU HAVE TO ENHANCE THE BRIGHTNESS TO EVEN SHOW IT,

WHICH SUGGESTS THERE'S A FILM EMULSION FLAW.

YOU DON'T NEED TO GO TO FURTHER EXPLANATIONS.

IF YOU KEPT SEEING THE SAME PATTERN AGAIN AND AGAIN,

THEN YOU PAY ATTENTION.

WHEN WE FIND ALIENS, THEY'RE GONNA BE SO DIFFERENT

FROM HOW WE EXPECT,

WE'LL PROBABLY KNOW THEY'RE REAL PICTURES.

Narrator: PERHAPS AN ALIEN WOULDN'T LOOK LIKE LIFE AT ALL.

IT WOULD DEVELOP ALONG A WHOLE DIFFERENT PATH,

AND IT WOULD MAYBE LOOK VERY DIFFERENT.

AND IT CERTAINLY WOULDN'T BE SOMETHING WE'D UNDERSTAND.

Narrator: WHEN NASA ASTRONAUTS SEE STRANGE LIGHTS

STREAKING INTO SPACE FROM EARTH...

LOOKED LIKE GIANT RED JELLYFISH IN THE SKY.

Gibson: YOU LOOKED AT IT AND YOU SAID TO YOURSELF,

"DID I JUST SEE WHAT I -- WHAT I THINK I SAW?"

Narrator: THEY START ASKING UNCOMFORTABLE QUESTIONS.

WHAT IN THE WORLD COULD HAVE CAUSED THIS THING?

YOU MIGHT EVEN THINK IT'S A U.F.O.

HOLY SMOKES.

Narrator: OCTOBER 1989.

THE SPACE SHUTTLE ATLANTIS FILMS THUNDERSTORMS ON EARTH

FOR THE MESOSCALE LIGHTING EXPERIMENT.

WHEN THE TAPES MAKE IT BACK TO EARTH,

THEY'RE REVIEWED BY ATMOSPHERIC SCIENTIST SKEET VAUGHAN.

[ CLICKS ]

WHAT HE SEES DEFIES EXPLANATION.

Vaughan: IT LOOKS LIKE A GIANT, BIG, RED JELLYFISH

WITH TENTACLES HANGING DOWN.

YOU TENDED TO SAY TO YOURSELF,

"DID I JUST SEE WHAT I THOUGHT I SAW?"

AND THE ANSWER WAS, "YES,

I DID -- I DID JUST SEE WHAT I THOUGHT I SAW,"

WHICH WAS THIS PHENOMENA THAT'S KNOWN AS SPACE SPRITES,

OR SPACE ANGELS.

Narrator: SPACE SPRITES, OR SPACE ANGELS,

APPEAR TO BE HUGE DISCHARGES OF ELECTRICITY

WHICH TAKE PLACE ABOVE THE CLOUDS.

Vaughan: WHEN I SAW THE FIRST FLASH,

THAT WAS THE MOST EXCITING PART OF THE WHOLE THING.

YOU NOTICE ONE, AND YOU SAY, "WOW."

I MEAN, IT'S SOMETHING YOU DIDN'T EXPECT AT ALL.

I COULD ACTUALLY CALCULATE THE HEIGHT OF THE FLASH.

IT WENT UP TO ABOUT 35 MILES.

AND THEN YOU SAY, "WELL, WHAT IN THE WORLD

COULD HAVE CAUSED THIS THING?"

Dwyer: TO ME, IT'S ABSOLUTELY AMAZING

THAT YOU CAN HAVE SUCH INTERESTING THINGS

GOING ON RIGHT OVER OUR HEADS.

THESE ARE GIANT DISCHARGES, MILES AND MILES ACROSS.

[ RUMBLING, STATIC ]

Narrator: WHEN FOOTAGE OF THE ANGELS GOES ONLINE,

IT BECOMES A SOCIAL MEDIA PHENOMENON.

Narrator: OTHERS SUSPECT THE LIGHTS ARE BEACONS

FOR INTERGALACTIC TRAVELERS.[ WHOOSHING ]

HOW DO YOU TELL THE MOTHERSHIP WHERE YOU ARE?

PUTTING A BOLT OF LIGHTNING ABOVE THE ATMOSPHERE

WHERE IT CAN'T BE SEEN FROM BELOW, MAYBE.

RENDEZVOUS AT A CERTAIN LOCATION.

"HERE'S WHERE WE ARE."

Narrator: SCIENTISTS LIKE NINGYU LIU

KNOW THAT A SPRITE FIRES INTO SPACE EVERY TWO MINUTES.

LIU THINKS THEY ARE CAUSED BY HUGE ELECTRICAL FIELDS

THAT BUILD UP ABOVE STORM CLOUDS.

[ RUMBLING ]

WHEN THE CHARGE GETS TOO STRONG, IT DISCHARGES ABOVE THE CLOUD.

BUT DESPITE YEARS OF STUDY, HE CAN'T UNLOCK

THE SPACE ANGELS' SECRETS.

Narrator: FOR REASONS STILL UNKNOWN,

ONE IN TEN LIGHTNING BOLTS CARRIES A POSITIVE,

INSTEAD OF A NEGATIVE, CHARGE TO THE GROUND.

[ WHOOSHING ]

THESE POSITIVE DISCHARGES ARE THOUGHT TO GENERATE THE SPRITES,

AS HIGH AS 50 MILES UP ON THE EDGE OF THE ATMOSPHERE.

THERE ARE SOME THINGS ABOUT

THUNDERSTORMS AND LIGHTNING THAT WE KNOW.

IN FACT, WE'RE PRETTY GOOD AT SAYING WHAT THEY DO,

BUT THE PROBLEM IS, WE'RE NOT SO GOOD AT SAYING HOW THEY DO IT.

Narrator: NO ONE KNOWS EXACTLY HOW OR WHY SPRITES

SO VIVIDLY RESEMBLE GIANT ELECTRIFIED JELLYFISH, EITHER.

WE KNOW LESS ABOUT THE, UH, DEPTHS OF THE OCEAN

THAN WE DO THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON.

IT TURNS OUT THAT THE SAME THING IS TRUE

FOR OUR OWN ATMOSPHERE.

[ STATIC WHINING ]

THERE ARE STILL MYSTERIES. WE DON'T KNOW IT ALL YET.

[ RUMBLING, CRACKLING ]

Narrator: COMING UP --

ONE SCIENTIST HUNTS FOR ALIEN POWER STATIONS.

WHEN YOU'RE OUT LOOKING FOR THESE THINGS,

YOU NEED SOMETHING THAT'S PLANET-SCALE.

EVEN STAR-SCALE WOULD BE BETTER.

Narrator: A LONG-FORGOTTEN SPACE PROBE

PICKS UP TRACES OF WHAT COULD BE AN ALIEN POWER SOURCE.

THE ENERGY THAT CAN BE COLLECTED

IS A TRILLION TIMES MORE THAN THE TOTAL ENERGY

THAT THE EARTH RECEIVES FROM THE SUN.

Narrator: IT'S SO MASSIVE, IT CAN ENGULF AN ENTIRE STAR.

Brin: WHEN WE LOOK OUT INTO THE COSMOS,

WE SEE A LOT OF PHENOMENA THAT ARE CLEARLY NATURAL.

AND OCCASIONALLY, PHENOMENA THAT MAKE US WONDER,

"COULD THIS HAVE AN ARTIFICIAL SOURCE?"

[ CRACKLING ]

Narrator: IN 1983, NASA LAUNCHES THE WORLD'S FIRST-EVER

INFRARED SATELLITE, IRAS.

IT SPENDS 10 MONTHS SCANNING THE UNIVERSE

FOR INFRARED SIGNALS, JUST TO SEE WHAT'S OUT THERE.

THAT SATELLITE SAW SOMETHING LIKE 250,000

STAR-LIKE THINGS.

Narrator: MORE THAN 20 YEARS LATER,

PHYSICIST DICK CARRIGAN DECIDES TO SCOUR THE IRAS MISSION DATA

FOR SIGNS OF THE LARGEST CONSTRUCTION PROJECT

EVER CONCEIVED.

HE'S LOOKING FOR A DYSON SPHERE.

Carrigan: DYSON SPHERE IS, UM, UH, A POWER STATION

TO HARVEST ALL THE LIGHT OF A STAR.

IF YOU'RE REALLY AN ADVANCED SOCIETY,

YOU'RE NOT GONNA WORRY ABOUT DIGGING UP COAL AND BURNING IT.

WHAT YOU'RE GONNA DO IS YOU'RE GONNA PUT SOLAR PANELS

ALL AROUND YOUR STAR, TURN SUNLIGHT INTO ENERGY,

THEN YOU USE IT TO POWER

WHATEVER IT IS YOU NEED TO POWER.

Brin: IN EFFECT, SURROUNDING THE SUN

WITH A SPHERE, GRABBING ALL OF THE LIGHT FROM THE SUN,

AND USING ALL OF IT.

Narrator: IT WAS NAMED AFTER VISIONARY SCIENTIST

FREEMAN DYSON, WHO PROPOSED THE IDEA IN THE 1960s.

THE TECHNOLOGY TO BUILD ONE OF THESE MEGASTRUCTURES

IS WAY BEYOND HUMANITY'S CAPABILITIES.

TO MAKE A DYSON SPHERE,

YOU WOULD FIRST BREAK UP AN UNWANTED PLANET...

...FIT THE MILLIONS OF FRAGMENTS

WITH ENERGY-GRABBING SOLAR PANELS,

ASSEMBLE THEM AROUND A BLISTERING-HOT SUN.

THE SHEER SCALE OF THE ENTERPRISE

IS WHAT MAKES IT WORTH LOOKING FOR.

WHEN YOU'RE OUT LOOKING FOR THESE THINGS, YOU'RE --

YOU WANT AN EFFECT THAT'S PRETTY LARGE.

A SPACESHIP FLYING BY A ZILLION MILES AWAY

IS NOT GONNA MAKE ANY CHANGE.

YOU NEED SOMETHING THAT'S PLANET-SCALE,

EVEN STAR-SCALE WOULD BE BETTER.

SO THE QUESTION IS, COULD WE DETECT A DYSON SPHERE?

[ BEEPING ]Narrator: DYSON SPHERES

DON'T SHINE BRIGHTLY LIKE NORMAL STARS.

IF YOU'RE OUTSIDE OF IT, YOU WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO SEE

THE LIGHT FROM THE SUN.

BUT YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO SEE INFRARED RADIATION,

BECAUSE THE SHELL IS BEING HEATED BY THE SUN.

AND SO YOU WOULD SEE THAT AS A BIG SOURCE

OF INFRARED RADIATION.

Narrator: WHICH IS WHY CARRIGAN HAS TURNED TO THE IRAS DATA.

Carrigan: WHEN WE STARTED THIS SEARCH,

WE HAD 250,000 POSSIBLE INFRARED, UH, OBJECTS.

WE WINNOWED THIS DOWN TO SOMETHING LIKE A HANDFUL

OF SOURCES.[ CLICKING ]

WE FOUND SOME CANDIDATES,

BUT NOTHING THAT YOU'D BET YOUR iPHONE ON.

[ LAUGHS ]

Narrator: ASTRONOMERS ARE NOW USING

EVEN MORE POWERFUL TELESCOPES TO LOOK FOR DYSON SPHERES.

[ WHIRRING ]

IT MAY BE ONLY A MATTER OF TIME

BEFORE THEY SPOT SOMETHING EXTRAORDINARY.

[ WHIRRING ]

WHAT IF THERE'S A GALAXY OUT THERE

WHERE THE CIVILIZATION IS SO ADVANCED

THAT THEY'VE DYSON-SPHERED ALL THEIR STARS?

WOULD BE SCREAMING ACROSS THE HEAVENS IN INFRARED,

"WE'RE ADVANCED.

WE'RE THE BEST."

[ RUMBLING ]

[ CRACKLING ]

Narrator: THE DEEPER NASA LOOKS INTO SPACE,

THE MORE ASTONISHING OUR COSMOS BECOMES.

COME ON, IT'S A BLACK HOLE, AND BLACK HOLES ARE COOL ENOUGH.

I MEAN, THERE'S ONE AT THE CENTER OF OUR GALAXY

KEEPING US SPINNING, RIGHT? IT'S JUST AMAZING.

Narrator: EVERY MISSION POSES NEW QUESTIONS.

IT'S LIKE SOMEONE HAD PUT AN "X" IN THE SKY

AND SAID, "LOOK HERE. SOMETHING INTERESTING IS GOING ON."

Narrator: AND THE ANSWERS ARE STRANGER

THAN ANYONE COULD IMAGINE.

Woman: I TAKE A DEEP BREATH AND I SAY,

"WE THINK WE'RE SEEING AN ATMOSPHERE AT ENCELADUS.

ENCELADUS IS ALIVE."

Narrator: ONE THING IS CERTAIN --

WE HAVE ONLY BEGUN TO SCRATCH THE SURFACE

OF A UNIVERSE PACKED WITH MYSTERIES.

I FIND IT EXHILARATING THAT YOU CAN'T EXPLAIN

EVERYTHING THAT YOU SEE IN SPACE.

THAT'S QUITE FRANKLY THE REASON WE GO THERE, TO LEARN MORE.

AND EVERY TIME WE SEND A PROBE FURTHER AND FURTHER

INTO THE UNIVERSE, WE FIND EXOTIC THINGS

THAT NOBODY EVEN ENVISIONED BEFORE.

[ RUMBLING ]

THAT'S PRETTY COOL.