Original subtitles

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

Kavelaars: THERE'S MORE THAT WE DON'T KNOW THAN WE DO KNOW.

THAT'S JUST THE NATURE OF THE UNIVERSE.

Narrator: IN THE SEARCH FOR ANSWERS,

IT LAUNCHES ITS SCIENTISTS INTO SPACE,

ITS CRAFT BEYOND THE LIMITS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM.

Williams: TAKING RISK IS PART OF MAKING DISCOVERIES.

SPACE EXPLORATION IS LIKE LIGHTING A MATCH,

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

THERE COULD BE ANYTHING OUT THERE.

Narrator: A MYSTERIOUS FORCE SMASHES A SPACECRAFT

FROM THE APOLLO PROGRAM INTO THE MOON.

YOU THINK WE'D UNDERSTAND IT, WE'D KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT IT,

BUT WE DON'T.

Narrator: A PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN ON THE LUNAR SURFACE

REVEALS SOMETHING THAT SHOULD NOT BE THERE.

Rutkowski: IF THEY'RE REALLY ON THE MOON,

WHY DO WE SEE OBJECTS REFLECTED IN THEIR VISORS?

IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE EMPTY UP THERE.

Narrator: AND FORGOTTEN IMAGES

REVEAL THE TRUTH ABOUT THE MOST ICONIC PICTURE

IN THE HISTORY OF SPACE EXPLORATION.

Bell: IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO LOOK AT THAT PARTICULAR IMAGE

WITHOUT SEEING A HUMAN FACE.

Narrator: NASA's MISSIONS HAVE UNCOVERED DISTURBING ANOMALIES...

MAN: Okay, we're seeing three or four objects.

MAN #2: Yeah, there are three objects.

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

THESE ARE NASA'S UNEXPLAINED FILES.

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

WHEN AN APOLLO SPACECRAFT

CRASHES INTO THE LUNAR SURFACE...

Worden: A LOT OF VERY CLEVER PEOPLE DID THE MATH ON THAT ONE.

IT SHOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED.

Narrator: ...THE NASA INVESTIGATION BEGINS IMMEDIATELY.

YOU THINK WE'D UNDERSTAND IT, WE'D KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT IT,

BUT WE DON'T.

Narrator: AND THE ANSWERS ARE STRANGER THAN FICTION.

WERE WE TRESPASSING ON SOMEBODY ELSE'S TERRITORY?

AUGUST 4, 1971, 75 MILES ABOVE THE LUNAR SURFACE,

APOLLO 15's COMMAND MODULE PILOT, ALFRED WORDEN,

PREPARES THE SPACECRAFT FOR THE PERILOUS THREE-DAY JOURNEY

BACK TO EARTH.

YOU ALWAYS WORRY ABOUT SOMETHING GOING WRONG.

YOU CANNOT DO A PROGRAM AS FAR-REACHING

AND AS CHALLENGING AS GOING TO THE MOON

WITHOUT EXPECTING SOMETHING TO GO WRONG.

Narrator: BEFORE WORDEN HEADS HOME,

HE HAS ONE FINAL MISSION OBJECTIVE --

TO RELEASE A THREE-FOOT-LONG MICROSATELLITE

THAT WILL CONTINUE STUDYING THE MOON

LONG AFTER THE ASTRONAUTS HAVE LEFT.

Worden: WE HAD THAT PROGRAMMED IN OUR FLIGHT PLAN

EXACTLY DOWN TO THE SECOND WHEN WE WERE SUPPOSED TO DO THAT.

ALL I HAD TO DO WAS PUSH A BUTTON.

I HAD THE SIMPLE PART OF THE JOB.

Man: LAUNCH.

Worden: YOU WATCH IT GO, AND YOU CALL HOUSTON CONTROL

AND YOU SAY, "IT'S GONE. IT'S ON ITS WAY."

Man: BACKING STATIONS HAVE ACQUIRED THE SATELLITE.

AND THEN WE WATCHED IT SPIN OUT OF SIGHT.

Narrator: THE SATELLITE DRIFTS OFF,

ORBITING THE MOON EVERY 2 HOURS FOR THE NEXT 16 MONTHS,

GATHERING DATA ABOUT THE MOON'S MAGNETIC

AND GRAVITATIONAL FIELDS.

THE EXPERIMENT IS SO SUCCESSFUL THAT, ON THE NEXT MISSION,

APOLLO 16 ASTRONAUTS LAUNCH AN IDENTICAL SATELLITE.

BUT JUST A FEW DAYS LATER, SOMETHING STRANGE HAPPENS.

Genge: THE SATELLITE STARTS DOING SOMETHING

THAT'S REALLY UNEXPECTED.

IT'S VEERING OFF COURSE, BEHAVING ALMOST UNPREDICTABLY.

Paige: THERE MUST BE SOME FORCE

THAT HAD CAUSED THE SPACECRAFT'S ORBIT

TO BECOME UNSTABLE.

Narrator: THE SATELLITE'S ORBIT KEEPS CHANGING.

WITHIN THREE WEEKS,

IT GOES FROM FLOATING 80 MILES ABOVE THE MOON

TO SKIMMING JUST SIX MILES ABOVE THE SURFACE.

Paige: AS NASA WAS WATCHING THE PROGRESS OF THE MISSION,

THEY WERE, OF COURSE, ALARMED THAT IT WAS GETTING SO CLOSE

TO THE MOON.

Narrator: JUST 35 DAYS AFTER LAUNCH,

NASA LOSES CONTACT WITH ITS SPACECRAFT.

ANALYSIS OF THE FLIGHT DATA

CONFIRMS THE SPACE AGENCY'S FEARS.

THE PROBE CRASHED INTO THE MOON.

THEY HAD A PREDICTION THAT IT WOULD LAST FOR TWO YEARS.

IT ONLY LASTED 35 DAYS.

WHY?

NASA SPACECRAFT DON'T JUST CRASH FOR NO REASON.

Narrator: THE SATELLITE CRASH

PUTS NASA IN A DIFFICULT POSITION

AND PROVOKES WILD SPECULATION.

WAS THERE A GROUP, WHOEVER THAT GROUP MIGHT BE,

THAT DIDN'T WANT US GOING TO THE MOON?

WERE WE TRESPASSING ON SOMEBODY ELSE'S TERRITORY?

Narrator: AS STRANGE AS THE IDEA SOUNDS,

THIS IS NOT THE APOLLO PROGRAM'S FIRST UNCANNY EXPERIENCE

NEAR THE LUNAR SURFACE.

EARLY INCIDENTS PROMPTED NASA SCIENTISTS TO PUT PROCEDURES

IN PLACE TO DEAL WITH UNEXPLAINED SIGHTINGS.

NASA HAS A CODE FOR SOMETHING LIKE THESE.

THEY CALL THEM MOON PIGEONS.

THIS IS PART OF THE IMAGERY THAT LED NASA TO COMMISSION

THIS STUDY OF WHAT THEY CALL MOON PIGEONS,

THINGS SEEN OUT THE WINDOW.

Narrator: NASA DOES NOT BELIEVE THAT SOME UNKNOWN PRESENCE

ON THE MOON IS RESPONSIBLE,

BUT THE SPACE AGENCY'S EXPLANATION FOR THE CRASH

IS NO LESS EXTRAORDINARY.

THERE MAY BE SOMETHING GOING ON INSIDE THE MOON

THAT SCIENTISTS DON'T FULLY UNDERSTAND.

GRAVITY ON THE MOON IS -- IS VARIABLE.

IT'S NOT A CONSTANT GRAVITY AROUND THE MOON.

Schultz: THE MOON IS LUMPY,

NOT JUST BECAUSE OF THE HILLS AND VALLEYS,

BUT BECAUSE THERE'S AREAS UNDERNEATH THAT ACTUALLY

HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE GRAVITY THAN OTHER AREAS.

Narrator: UNUSUALLY DENSE MOON ROCK

CAUSES THESE ZONES OF EXTRA-STRONG GRAVITY.

SCIENTISTS CALLED THE ZONES MASCONS.

A MASCON IS KIND OF AN INVISIBLE FORCE

THAT CHANGES THE BASIC GRAVITY OF THE MOON,

BUT IT CHANGES IT IN LOCAL AREA, NOT THE WHOLE GRAVITY.

Narrator: NASA CALCULATES THE SATELLITE'S TRAJECTORY

TO WITHIN A FRACTION OF A DEGREE,

BUT DIFFICULT VARIABLES LIKE MULTIPLE MASCONS

COULD ADD UP TO CATASTROPHIC CONSEQUENCES.

THESE MASCONS CAUSE THE SATELLITE TO CRASH

BECAUSE THEY GIVE A LITTLE TUG.

SO WHAT THEY DO IS THEY ACTUALLY CHANGE THE POSITION

OF WHERE THE SATELLITE GETS CLOSEST TO THE MOON.

AND IF THEY KEEP DOING IT LONG ENOUGH,

JUST IN SMALL INCREMENTS,

EVENTUALLY IT WILL CRASH.

Narrator: THE CRASH OF THE APOLLO SUBSATELLITE

WAS AN ACCIDENT CAUSED BY FORCES OUTSIDE OF NASA'S CONTROL,

AND IT WAS NOT THE LAST CRAFT TO MEET A VIOLENT END.

UP NEXT, NASA GOES NUCLEAR

ON THE LARGEST PLANET IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM.

IT WAS VERY SURPRISING. NOBODY EXPECTED IT.

WE EFFECTIVELY EXPLODED A NUCLEAR DEVICE

IN JUPITER'S ATMOSPHERE.

Narrator: WHEN A DARK SPOT APPEARS ON THE SURFACE OF JUPITER...

Baines: IT WAS NOT JUST ANY OLD DARK SPOT.

THIS THING WAS HUGE.

Narrator: ...CONSPIRACY THEORISTS BLAME A CONTROVERSIAL NASA MISSION.

WE EFFECTIVELY EXPLODED A NUCLEAR DEVICE

IN JUPITER'S ATMOSPHERE.

Narrator: FROM THE APOLLO PROGRAM TO TODAY'S DEEP-SPACE PROBES,

NASA'S SPACECRAFT

REPRESENT THE PINNACLE OF HUMAN ENGINEERING.

BUT SPACE TRAVEL STILL PROVIDES CHALLENGES

FOR EVEN THE MOST BRILLIANT DESIGNS.

OCTOBER 2003, AN AMATEUR ASTRONOMER

IS TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE LARGEST PLANET

IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM WHEN HE SEES SOMETHING STRANGE.

A DARK SPOT APPEARED ON JUPITER BACK IN 2003,

WHICH WAS VERY STRANGE, VERY SURPRISING.

NOBODY EXPECTED IT.

Narrator: SCIENTISTS INITIALLY SUGGEST THAT,

LIKE JUPITER'S FAMOUS RED SPOT, THE DARK DOT COULD BE A STORM

IN JUPITER'S VIOLENT ATMOSPHERE.

Genge: THE BIG RED SPOT OF JUPITER

IS ACTUALLY A STORM THAT'S RAGED NOW FOR --

FOR AT LEAST 300 YEARS.

THEY COME AND THEY GO.

SO IT WOULDN'T BE TOO SURPRISING

IF A NEW SPOT SUDDENLY APPEARED ON THIS GIANT PLANET.

Narrator: WHILE A STORM COULD GENERATE A SPOT

ON JUPITER'S SURFACE,

FOR IT TO BE VISIBLE THROUGH TELESCOPES,

IT WOULD HAVE TO BE LARGER THAN ANY WEATHER SYSTEM

EVER SEEN ON EARTH.

D'Antonio: JUPITER'S ATMOSPHERE IS MASSIVE.

FOR SOMETHING TO CREATE A BLACK SPOT THAT BIG

WOULD REQUIRE A HUGE AMOUNT OF ENERGY TO BE RELEASED.

Narrator: AN ALTERNATIVE IDEA FOR THE SPOT

IS THAT IT COULD BE THE SITE OF AN ASTEROID OR COMET IMPACT.

JUPITER'S COLOSSAL SIZE

AND POWERFUL GRAVITATIONAL PULL MAKE IT A PRIME TARGET

FOR ANYTHING FLYING THROUGH THE SOLAR SYSTEM.

JUPITER'S THIS GIANT PLANET

THAT PRETTY MUCH VACUUMS UP STUFF AS IT GOES ALONG.

D'Antonio: IT'S QUITE POSSIBLE THAT A FOREIGN BODY, SUCH AS A COMET,

COULD IMPACT JUPITER AND CAUSE MASSIVE EXPLOSION SCARS.

IN FACT, IT'S HAPPENED.

COMET SHOEMAKER-LEVY IMPACTED JUPITER,

AND YOU SAW A BEAUTIFUL STRING OF DARK, BLACK SPOTS.

Narrator: BUT EVEN ON JUPITER,

A BIG IMPACT IS A ONCE-IN-A-DECADE EVENT,

AND RECORDS REVEAL THAT NONE WAS PREDICTED AROUND THE TIME

OF THE SPOT'S APPEARANCE.

D'Antonio: IF THESE BLACK SPOTS AREN'T CAUSED BY SOMETHING NATURAL,

OR IF THEY'RE NOT CAUSED BY AN ALIEN CIVILIZATION,

WHAT'S LEFT?

COULD IT BE US?

Narrator: HUMAN BEINGS CREATING SPOTS

ON THE SURFACE OF A PLANET 500 MILLION MILES AWAY

SOUNDS IMPOSSIBLE...

...BUT JUST A MONTH BEFORE THE DARK SPOT IS PHOTOGRAPHED,

NASA'S GALILEO PROBE IS FLOATING TOWARD JUPITER

AS IT NEARS THE END OF ITS LIFE.

AND THERE IS A MAJOR PROBLEM

WITH DISPOSING OF THE DYING SPACECRAFT.

IT CARRIES A FULLY FUNCTIONING NUCLEAR REACTOR.

WE HAVE TO SEND NUCLEAR DEVICES ON A SPACECRAFT.

THAT'S THE ONLY WAY TO POWER THEM

AS THEY GET INTO DEEP SPACE.

AND SO, YOU HAVE TO CHOOSE BETWEEN DO WE JUST

LEAVE THIS NUCLEAR REACTOR FLOATING AROUND IN SPACE,

OR DO WE DISPOSE OF IT IN SOME WAY?

Narrator: SCIENTISTS FEAR THAT GALILEO'S NUCLEAR POWER GENERATOR

COULD WREAK HAVOC ON ONE OF THE MOST PROMISING PLACES

IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM FOR HOSTING EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE.

THERE WAS A DANGER THAT THE GALILEO SPACECRAFT

MIGHT ACTUALLY IMPACT EUROPA,

WHICH IS WHAT WE DIDN'T WANT TO HAVE HAPPEN,

PARTICULARLY NOW THAT WE THINK THERE COULD BE LIFE

UNDER THE ICE IN THIS BIG OCEAN.

WE DON'T WANT TO IMPACT THIS SPACECRAFT

INTO A LIFE-BEARING OBJECT.

Narrator: AT THE TIME THE GALILEO MISSION WAS PLANNED,

THERE WAS LITTLE EVIDENCE TO SUGGEST

THERE COULD BE LIVING CREATURES BENEATH THE ICE OF EUROPA.

SO SCIENTISTS DIDN'T WORRY ABOUT PROBE DISPOSAL.

BUT THE FEAR OF CONTAMINATING A LIFE-BEARING WORLD

FORCES THEM TO CREATE A FINAL PLAN

TO INCINERATE THE SPACECRAFT AND ITS PLUTONIUM REACTOR.

WE KNEW WE HAD TO DO SOMETHING WITH THIS SPACECRAFT.

WE JUST COULDN'T LET IT FLOAT AROUND IN SPACE.

SO WE DECIDED THAT WE WOULD ACTUALLY PUT GALILEO

TO ITS DEATH BY PLUNGING IT INTO JUPITER.

Narrator: AS NASA'S DECISION GOES PUBLIC,

A DUTCH PHYSICIST, JACCO VAN DER WORP,

WARNS THAT SENDING NUCLEAR MATERIAL

INTO JUPITER'S VOLATILE ATMOSPHERE

COULD HAVE CATASTROPHIC CONSEQUENCES.

JACCO VAN DER WORP'S THEORY IS THAT THE GALILEO PROBE,

WHICH CARRIES PLUTONIUM IN ITS CORE,

COULD ACTUALLY BE IMPLODED BY THE PRESSURE OF THE ATMOSPHERE

AND CAUSE JUPITER TO TURN INTO A MASSIVE FIREBALL.

Narrator: UNDETERRED, NASA CRASHES GALILEO INTO JUPITER.

WE EFFECTIVELY EXPLODED A NUCLEAR DEVICE

IN JUPITER'S ATMOSPHERE.

Baines: THERE WAS SOME EFFORT TO ACTUALLY LOOK AT THE SPACECRAFT

AS IT WENT INTO THE PLANET. IT'S PRETTY AMAZING.

IT ALL VAPORIZED WITHIN A FEW HOURS OF HITTING THAT SURFACE.

THIS ONE OBJECT FROM MANKIND IS NOW JUST PART

OF THE EPHEMERAL GASES OF THE PLANET.

Narrator: DESPITE THE REMARKABLE TIMING OF ITS APPEARANCE,

THE EVIDENCE SEEMS TO INDICATE THE GALILEO EXPLOSION

DID NOT CREATE THE 2003 DARK SPOT.

SCIENTISTS ARE NOW WORKING ON A THEORY THAT THE APPEARANCE

OF AT LEAST SOME OF THE DARK SPOTS ON JUPITER

COULD BE CAUSED BY ATMOSPHERIC PHENOMENON.

IT'S SPECULATED THAT WE MAY BE SEEING THE --

THE EFFECT OF HYDROCARBONS CREATED BY AURORA.

IT'S LIKE THE AURORA BOREALIS ON THE EARTH,

BUT MANY THOUSANDS OF TIMES MORE POWERFUL.

BUT IT'S STILL A MYSTERY.

Narrator: IN A STRANGE TWIST OF FATE, GALILEO'S GREATEST DISCOVERY,

THAT ONE OF JUPITER'S MOONS COULD HOLD LIFE,

CONDEMNED THE PROBE TO DESTRUCTION.

BUT SOME MYSTERIES THAT DEFY EXPLANATION

ARE MUCH CLOSER THAN THE JUPITER SYSTEM.

UP NEXT, ON THE LUNAR SURFACE,

THE APOLLO 12 ASTRONAUTS CATCH SOMETHING IMPOSSIBLE ON CAMERA.

Rutkowski: IF THEY'RE REALLY ON THE MOON,

WHY DO WE SEE OBJECTS REFLECTED IN THEIR VISORS?

IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE EMPTY UP THERE.

Narrator: A PHOTOGRAPH FROM THE APOLLO 12 MISSION

REVEALS SOMETHING THAT SHOULD NOT BE THERE.

Rutkowski: IF THEY'RE REALLY ON THE MOON,

WHY DO WE SEE OBJECTS REFLECTED IN THEIR VISORS?

IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE EMPTY UP THERE.

Man: THIS PARTICULAR PICTURE SHOWS SOMETHING

THAT DOES NOT APPEAR IN ANY OTHER OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPH.

Narrator: COULD A SINGLE IMAGE CAST DOUBT

ON HUMANKIND'S GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT?

Man: I CAN'T BELIEVE IT. AMAZING.

SOME PEOPLE BELIEVE THAT THE MOON LANDINGS NEVER HAPPENED.

Narrator: IN THE APOLLO 12 LUNAR MODULE,

ASTRONAUTS PETE CONRAD AND ALAN BEAN

MAKE THEIR FINAL APPROACH

ABOVE A REGION OF THE MOON KNOWN AS THE OCEAN OF STORMS.

Bean: I'VE GOT SOME KIND OF A HORIZON OUT THERE.

I'VE GOT SOME CRATERS, TOO, BUT I DON'T KNOW WHERE I AM YET.

I THOUGHT, "WHERE ARE WE GONNA LAND?

THERE'S NO ROOM TO LAND."

AND THEN WE WAITED FOR THESE PROBES TO ILLUMINATE,

WHICH WERE ABOUT 5 FEET BELOW THE LANDING PAD.

I SAID, "CONTACT LIGHT."

CONTACT LIGHT.

Man: ROGER. COPY CONTACT.

AND THEN PETE TOUCHED DOWN.

WE ARE ABOUT TO LAND IN 20 FEET.

Narrator: FOR CONRAD AND BEAN,

THE EXPERIENCE OF STEPPING ON TO ANOTHER WORLD

IS OVERWHELMING.

I LET GO OF THE LADDER AND STARTED TO WOBBLE A BIT

AND STEADIED MYSELF, AND I THOUGHT, "WOW.

THIS IS THE MOON. WE'RE REALLY HERE."

THIS IS AMAZING.

THIS IS SCIENCE FICTION, EXCEPT YOU'RE LIVING IT.

[ SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY ]

Narrator: THE ASTRONAUTS SPEND MUCH OF THE MISSION

DOCUMENTING THEIR ACTIVITIES WITH PHOTOGRAPHS.

Bean: WE HAD SPENT A LOT OF TIME

BEING TRAINED TO TAKE PHOTOGRAPHS ON THE MOON.

THEY DIDN'T HAVE AUTOMATIC FOCUS THEN.

THEY DIDN'T HAVE AUTOMATIC EXPOSURE.

YOU HAD TO SET 'EM MANUALLY.

WE DIDN'T SCREW UP ONE SINGLE FRAME

BECAUSE WE HAD HAD THIS GOOD TRAINING.

Narrator: IN SPITE OF CHALLENGING PHOTOGRAPHIC CONDITIONS

AND A TOTALLY ALIEN ENVIRONMENT,

BEAN AND CONRAD CAPTURE IMAGES OF INCREDIBLE QUALITY.

BUT FOR SOME, THE PICTURES SEEM TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE.

Rutkowski: THE PHOTOGRAPHS ARE AMAZING,

AND IT'S VERY HARD TO BELIEVE THAT SUCH QUALITY

COULD BE OBTAINED USING RELATIVELY PRIMITIVE EQUIPMENT

UNDER VERY HARSH CONDITIONS.

Narrator: ONE PHOTOGRAPH OF BEAN

DRAWS UNWELCOME ATTENTION FOR NASA.

THE ANOMALY IS SMALL BUT CLEARLY VISIBLE.

YOU CAN CLEARLY SEE CONRAD IN BEAN'S FACEPLATE HERE,

BUT THERE'S SOMETHING ELSE AS WELL.

DEFINITELY DOESN'T BELONG THERE.

Narrator: THE SINGLE FRAME OFFERS NO EXPLANATION FOR THE ANOMALY,

BUT THERE'S ANOTHER RECORD

OF WHAT HAPPENED DURING THE MISSION.

Bean: WE ARE ABOUT TO LAND IN 20 FEET.

Narrator: APOLLO 12 WAS ALSO EQUIPPED WITH A COLOR TELEVISION CAMERA.

MY JOB WHEN I GOT OUT WAS TO GO OVER,

GET THAT COLOR TV CAMERA, AND MOVE IT OUT

AND POINT IT BACK SO THAT EVERYBODY COULD WATCH.

Narrator: BUT JUST AS HE BEGINS TO FILM,

BEAN'S FOOTAGE CUTS OUT,

LEAVING NO VIDEO RECORD OF THE ANOMALY'S SOURCE.

Rutkowski: CONSPIRACY THEORISTS SAY THAT THERE'S SOMETHING ON THE MOON

THAT NASA DOESN'T WANT THE PUBLIC TO KNOW ABOUT,

AND IT WAS VERY CONVENIENT THAT THE CAMERA BROKE

SO THAT THERE'S NO SUBSEQUENT VIDEO FOOTAGE

OF THE LANDING.

Narrator: BEAN EXPLAINS THE VIDEO FAILURE

AS A SIMPLE MISTAKE.

Bean: I'M SURE THEY TOLD ME IN TRAINING,

"DO NOT POINT THIS THING AT THE SUN.

DO NOT DO THAT."

I DIDN'T REMEMBER THAT, AND I POINTED AT THE SUN

AND IT BURNED OUT THE TUBE.

THIS IS A PRETTY ADVANCED CAMERA,

BUT THERE'S SIMPLE PHYSICS INVOLVED.

AND IF YOU POINT IT AT THE SUN,

YOU'RE GOING TO FRY THE VIDICON TUBE,

AND YOU'RE GOING TO LOSE THE PICTURE.

Narrator: WITHOUT A VIDEO RECORD,

WE CAN ONLY SPECULATE ON WHAT CAUSED THE ANOMALY.

ONE IDEA IS THAT THE ROGUE REFLECTION IN BEAN'S VISOR

COULD BE THE COMMAND MODULE,

CAUGHT ON CAMERA

AS ITS ORBIT CARRIED IT PAST THE LANDING SITE.

BUT THAT EXPLANATION DOESN'T SATISFY THE APOLLO ASTRONAUTS.

IT COULD NOT BE THE COMMAND MODULE

BECAUSE THE COMMAND MODULE IS 60 MILES AWAY,

AND IT'S NOT GONNA SHOW UP THAT BIG.

Narrator: CONSPIRACY THEORISTS SUGGEST THE PHOTOGRAPH

PROVIDES EVIDENCE THAT NASA FAKED THE MOON MISSIONS.

SOME PEOPLE BELIEVE THAT THE MOON LANDINGS NEVER HAPPENED

AND THAT THEY WERE ACTUALLY FILMED IN SOME TYPE

OF MOVIE STUDIO.

PETE CONRAD TAKES A PICTURE OF ALAN BEAN

WITH A REFLECTION IN HIS VISOR

THAT CONSPIRACY THEORISTS POINT TO AS BEING INDICATION

OF STUDIO LIGHTING.

IF THEY'RE REALLY ON THE MOON INSTEAD OF ON A SOUND STAGE,

WHY DO WE SEE OBJECTS REFLECTED IN THEIR VISORS?

IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE EMPTY UP THERE.

Narrator: AN OVERHEAD LIGHTING RIG

ON A MOVIE SET COULD EXPLAIN THE ANOMALY'S PRESENCE,

BUT THERE ARE OTHER THEORIES ABOUT ITS ORIGIN.

D'Antonio: I DON'T BELIEVE THAT.

BACK IN THE '60s AND '70s,

THE TECHNOLOGY DIDN'T REMOTELY EXIST TO FAKE MOON LANDINGS

IN A CONVINCING WAY.

I THINK THAT IT'S ACTUALLY MOON DUST

THAT HAS BEEN PLACED ON THE HELMET

BY THE CONTINUAL RAISING

AND LOWERING OF THE VISOR BY THE ASTRONAUT.

Narrator: WITH NO CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE,

THEORIES ABOUT THE VISOR ANOMALY REMAIN SPECULATION.

BUT THE IDEA THAT NASA FAKED THE MOON LANDINGS

DOESN'T SIT WELL WITH THE MEN WHO FLEW THE MISSIONS.

MY RESPONSE TO THOSE WHO THINK

IT WAS ALL DONE ON A SOUND STAGE...

I THINK IT'S KIND OF AN INSULT

BECAUSE WE HAVE FURTHERED KNOWLEDGE,

WE'VE DONE SOME WONDERFUL THINGS,

AND, AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED, IT'S ALL HOT AIR.

[ CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING ]

Narrator: THE IMAGES FROM THE APOLLO PROGRAM

ARE NOT THE ONLY CONTROVERSIAL NASA PHOTOGRAPHS.

STILL TO COME, INVESTIGATORS DISCOVER

FORGOTTEN IMAGES THAT UNMASK THE FACE ON MARS.

THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST ASTONISHING IMAGES

IN SPACE-EXPLORATION HISTORY.

Narrator: THE FIRST NASA PROBE TO REACH MARS

BEAMS BACK AN ICONIC IMAGE.

THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST ASTONISHING IMAGES

IN SPACE-EXPLORATION HISTORY.

IT LOOKED LIKE A FACE.

YOU CAN SEE EYE SOCKETS, A NOSE AND A MOUTH STRUCTURE.

Narrator: BUT WHEN VIKING TAKES MORE IMAGES

TO VERIFY THE PHENOMENON,

THE DATA GETS BURIED SOMEWHERE IN THE NASA ARCHIVES.

IT SEEMS, TO ME, KIND OF IMPOSSIBLE TO LOSE PICTURES.

Narrator: AND THE MYSTERY OF THE FACE ON MARS

BECOMES A CONSPIRACY THEORY.

IT'S EASY TO SEE WHY SOME PEOPLE WOULD BECOME SUSPICIOUS.

Narrator: EVER SINCE NASA FIRST CARRIED MAN INTO SPACE,

THE AGENCY HAS TAKEN A PURELY SCIENTIFIC APPROACH

TO THE QUESTION OF WHETHER WE ARE ALONE IN THE UNIVERSE.

ITS SCIENTISTS SUBJECT ANY POTENTIAL EVIDENCE

TO CAREFUL SCRUTINY BEFORE RELEASING INFORMATION

TO THE PUBLIC.

BUT SOMETIMES THE PUBLIC MAKES UP ITS OWN MIND.

JULY 1976, NASA'S VIKING I LANDER MAKES HISTORY

AS THE FIRST HUMAN SPACECRAFT

TO TOUCH DOWN ON THE MARTIAN SURFACE.

1,000 MILES UP,

THE VIKING ORBITER SCANS THE SURFACE

TO FIND LANDING SITES FOR SUBSEQUENT MARS MISSIONS.

THE IMAGES IT BEAMS BACK TO SCIENTISTS ON EARTH

SHOW THE RED PLANET

IN UNPRECEDENTED DETAIL.

AND ONE PICTURE SENDS SHOCKWAVES AROUND THE WORLD.

Rutkowski: WHAT CAME BACK WAS AN ASTONISHING ARRAY

OF VALLEYS AND MOUNTAINS,

BUT THE MOST PARTICULARLY INTERESTING FEATURE WAS A FACE

THAT SEEMED TO JUMP OUT OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS,

LOOKING OUT AT EARTH

AS IF TO SAY, "WE ARE HERE. WE ARE HERE."

IT LOOKED LIKE A FACE.

YOU COULD SEE EYE SOCKETS, A NOSE AND A MOUTH STRUCTURE.

Bell: IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO LOOK AT THAT PARTICULAR IMAGE

WITHOUT SEEING A HUMAN FACE.

Narrator: NASA ORIGINALLY RELEASES THE PHOTO OF THE FACE

TO THE PUBLIC TO CAPTURE INTEREST IN SPACE EXPLORATION.

IT WORKS, PERHAPS BECAUSE THE DISCOVERY OF A FACE ON MARS

HAD ALREADY BEEN PREDICTED.

ALMOST 20 YEARS BEFORE VIKING TOOK ITS ICONIC PHOTOGRAPH,

LEGENDARY ARTIST JACK KIRBY

PRODUCED A COMIC BOOK CALLED "THE FACE ON MARS."

JACK KIRBY'S COMIC BOOK

SPECULATED ON A LONG-DEAD RACE THAT HAD ERECTED A FACE ON MARS,

WHICH IS WHY WHEN A FACE ON MARS WAS DISCOVERED,

IT REALLY RAISED FURTHER SPECULATION

THAT WE'RE NOT ALONE IN THIS UNIVERSE.

Narrator: IF THE FACE TRULY IS A MONUMENT,

IT IS SO ENORMOUS, 18 FOOTBALL FIELDS LONG,

THAT IT WOULD BE VIEWABLE ONLY FROM THE AIR

OR FROM SPACE.

SPECULATION THAT THE FACE ON MARS

WAS LEFT BEHIND BY CREATURES THAT USED TO LIVE ON MARS

IS NOT THAT FAR-REACHING.

ON EARTH, WE HAVE THINGS LIKE STONEHENGE AND THE PYRAMIDS.

THEY'RE VISIBLE FROM THE AIR.

Narrator: THE PUBLIC INTEREST IN THE FACE ON MARS TURNS TO FRENZY,

AND VIKING PROGRAM CHIEF SCIENTIST GERALD SOFFEN

ISSUES A STATEMENT DISMISSING THE ANOMALY

AS A TRICK OF THE LIGHT.

Palermo: IT MIGHT HAVE FREAKED THEM OUT A LITTLE BIT.

THEY MIGHT BE JUST NERVOUS ABOUT WHAT THEY MIGHT HAVE FOUND.

AND NASA GOES, "NO, IT'S JUST AN IMAGING GLITCH.

OH, THIS AND THAT. LET'S JUST MOVE ON."

Narrator: SOME SAY THE FACE ON MARS

IS JUST A CREATION OF THE HUMAN IMAGINATION.

WE'RE PROGRAMMED AS HUMANS TO RECOGNIZE FACES.

WE'RE REALLY GOOD AT IT.

YOU KNOW, EVOLUTIONARILY,

IT'S TO OUR ADVANTAGE TO KNOW WHO'S THE GOOD GUYS

AND WHO'S THE BAD GUYS.

IT'S JUST VERY COMMON,

AND WE SEE FACES ALL THE TIME, EVERYWHERE.

Narrator: THE ONLY WAY FOR SCIENTISTS TO ASCERTAIN THE TRUE NATURE

OF THE ANOMALY IS TO OBTAIN MORE DATA.

35 DAYS LATER, THE VIKING ORBITER

MAKES A SECOND PASS OVER THE CYDONIA REGION OF MARS

AND TAKES ANOTHER PICTURE OF THE SAME AREA.

AND DESPITE SHOOTING FROM A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT ANGLE,

THE FACE IS STILL CLEARLY VISIBLE.

IF YOU LOOK AT THIS LEFT-HAND IMAGE,

YOU CAN SEE THE FACE WITH ITS SHADOW.

BUT 35 DAYS LATER, ANOTHER PHOTO OF THE SAME REGION WAS TAKEN,

AND YOU SEE, AGAIN, THE FACE,

BUT WITH A SLIGHTLY SHORTER SHADOW,

MEANING THE SUN WAS AT A DIFFERENT ANGLE.

SO THE QUESTION IS, ARE THESE NATURALLY OCCURRING

OR ARE THEY ARTIFICIAL?

Narrator: THIS SECOND IMAGE SEEMS TO OFFER CONFIRMATION

THAT THE FACE ON MARS IS NOT JUST A TRICK OF THE LIGHT

BECAUSE, IF THE SHAPE WAS ONLY FORMED BY SHADOWS,

IT WOULD NOT BE VISIBLE FROM A DIFFERENT ANGLE

IN DIFFERENT LIGHT CONDITIONS.

BUT FOR SOME REASON, THIS IMAGE DOES NOT REACH THE PUBLIC.

IT ONLY EMERGES FOUR YEARS LATER,

WHEN TWO IMAGE PROCESSING EXPERTS CONDUCT THEIR OWN SEARCH

THROUGH OLD MARS MISSION DATA.

WHEN A SECOND IMAGE OF THE FACE

IS DISCOVERED LATER AMONG SUPPOSEDLY MISFILED DATA,

IT ALL BEGINS TO SMELL A LITTLE FUNNY.

IT'S TEMPTING TO SPECULATE THAT THERE'S SOME SORT

OF CONSPIRACY TO KEEP THE TRUTH FROM THE PUBLIC.

Narrator: NASA MAINTAINS THAT THE IMAGES WERE AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC,

BUT THE METHODS OF ARCHIVING

AND PRESERVATION MAY HAVE MADE THEM HARD TO ACCESS.

THEY ALL GET STORED ON TAPES.

MULTIPLE COPIES OF TAPES GET MADE.

THEY GET ARCHIVED IN MULTIPLE LOCATIONS.

IT SEEMS, TO ME, KIND OF IMPOSSIBLE TO LOSE PICTURES.

Narrator: FOR MORE THAN 20 YEARS,

CONSPIRACY THEORISTS ACCUSE NASA OF IGNORING DEMANDS

FOR FURTHER INVESTIGATION OF THE FACE.

BUT IN 1998, A SPOKESMAN FOR THE MARS EXPLORATION PROGRAM

MAKES A SURPRISE ANNOUNCEMENT.

JIM GARVIN, WHO WAS A SENIOR SCIENTIST

ON THE MISSION TO EXPLORE MARS,

SAID THAT THE FACE ON MARS WAS THE NUMBER-ONE PRIORITY.

Narrator: NASA'S WILLINGNESS TO EXPEND VALUABLE RESOURCES

ON SOMETHING THEY'VE ALREADY DISMISSED AS UNIMPORTANT

AROUSES SUSPICION IN SOME QUARTERS.

WHAT WAS THE SIGNIFICANCE?

WHY WAS IT GOING TO SUCH EXTRAORDINARY LENGTHS

TO LOOK AT THIS FACE?

PERHAPS NASA BELIEVED, ITSELF,

THAT THIS WAS AN ARTIFICIAL CONSTRUCT OF SOME SORT.

Narrator: EVEN THOUGH THE RESOLUTION

IS 10 TIMES SHARPER THAN IN THE 1970s,

NASA'S 1998 PHOTOGRAPH DOESN'T PROVIDE AN ANSWER

TO THE MYSTERY THAT SATISFIES EVERYONE.

SOME PEOPLE ARE SUGGESTING THAT NASA DOCTORED THE IMAGE

TO HIDE THE FACE ON MARS.

D'Antonio: IT WAS TAKEN DURING THE MARTIAN WINTER.

THERE WAS SOME CLOUD COVER

THAT WAS OBSCURING A FEW OF THE DETAILS,

AND THE LIGHT AND THE PHOTO ITSELF

ARE FROM SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT ANGLES.

SO IT WASN'T A DIRECT COMPARISON TO THE PREVIOUS PHOTOS.

Narrator: IN 2001,

NASA MAKES A FINAL ATTEMPT TO SOLVE THE MYSTERY.

THE MARS GLOBAL SURVEYOR PROBE

TAKES ANOTHER IMAGE FROM DIRECTLY OVERHEAD.

NASA BROKE DOWN TO PUBLIC DEMAND.

THEY FINALLY JUST TASKED THE SATELLITE

TO TAKE AN EXACT, CLOSE-UP IMAGE OF THAT AREA.

Narrator: NASA TECHNICIANS MERGE THE LATER SHOT

WITH THE PREVIOUS IMAGES TO BUILD A THREE-DIMENSIONAL MODEL.

TAKE THOSE IMAGES OF DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE,

PUT THEM INTO A COMPUTER.

YOU CAN GO FROM THIS IS A FLAT THING ON A PIECE OF PAPER

SEEN IN THE 1970s.

NOW IT'S REAL.

Narrator: NASA'S 3-D IMAGE PROVIDES CONCLUSIVE PROOF

THAT THE FACE ON MARS ISN'T A FACE AT ALL.

IN FACT, IT IS A BEAUTIFUL MOUNTAIN,

A GEOLOGIC FEATURE WITH ERODING SLOPES.

Narrator: ULTIMATELY, THE MYSTERY OF THE FACE ON MARS

WAS THE PRODUCT OF PRIMITIVE IMAGING TECHNIQUES

FROM THE EARLY DAYS OF SPACE EXPLORATION.

TODAY, WE HAVE HIGH-DEFINITION IMAGES BEAMED FROM ROBOTS

ON THE SURFACE OF THE RED PLANET,

AND YET WE STILL FIND MYSTERIES THERE WE CANNOT EXPLAIN.

STILL TO COME, SOMETHING IS MOVING ON THE SURFACE

OF THE SUPPOSEDLY DEAD PLANET.

ONE MOMENT IT WASN'T THERE YET,

AND THEN THE NEXT MOMENT IT'S THERE.

WHO PUT IT THERE?

Narrator: WHEN NASA'S OPPORTUNITY ROVER PHOTOGRAPHED SOMETHING

EXTRAORDINARY ON THE MARTIAN SURFACE...

SO, HERE, YOU HAVE ON THE GROUND

A LUMP THAT SOMEHOW IS SHAPED LIKE A JELLY DOUGHNUT.

Narrator: ...THE DISCOVERY CREATES WORLDWIDE CONFUSION.

THE JELLY DOUGHNUT IS, INDEED, A BIT OF A MYSTERY.

Lee: ONE MOMENT IT WASN'T THERE YET,

AND THEN THE NEXT MOMENT IT'S THERE.

Narrator: APART FROM OUR OWN PLANET, THERE IS NOWHERE IN THE UNIVERSE

WE KNOW BETTER THAN THE SURFACE OF MARS...

...BUT THIS SUPPOSEDLY DEAD WORLD CAN STILL SURPRISE US.

JANUARY 8, 2014, THE OPPORTUNITY ROVER

HAS SPENT 10 YEARS SCOURING THE RED PLANET FOR MINERALS.

AS IT CROSSES THE RIDGE

ON THE EDGE OF THE 14-MILE-WIDE ENDEAVOR CRATER,

IT SPOTS SOMETHING CONFUSING.

WE TOOK SOME COLOR PICTURES OF IT,

AND THAT'S WHERE THE JELLY DOUGHNUT CAME FROM.

KIND OF ROUND, ABOUT DOUGHNUT SIZE

WITH THIS, YOU KNOW, REDDISH, PURPLISH DIMPLE IN THE MIDDLE.

Narrator: THE UNIDENTIFIED OBJECT

LOOKS LIKE NOTHING ELSE EVER SEEN ON MARS.

BUT WHEN SCIENTISTS LOOK AT PHOTOGRAPHS

OF THE SAME PATCH OF GROUND FROM 12 DAYS EARLIER,

THE ODDITY EVOLVES INTO A MYSTERY.

AT THE EXACT SAME SPOT,

THERE WAS NO JELLY DOUGHNUT.

Bell: THE REASON THAT IT'S INTERESTING TO SEE THINGS MOVE ON MARS

IS BECAUSE IT HARDLY EVER HAPPENS.

THE JELLY DOUGHNUT WAS CERTAINLY NOT THERE,

AND THEN IT WAS THERE.

Bell: THE MOST INTERESTING THING THAT'S HAPPENED IN THIS PLACE

IN THE PAST 2 BILLION YEARS, AT LEAST,

IS THE ROVER DRIVING PAST.

THAT'S THE MOST ACTIVITY THAT'S HAPPENED THERE.

MY FIRST IDEA WHEN I -- WHEN I SAW THIS WAS,

MAYBE A MARTIAN JUST PUT IT THERE AS, "HEY, HERE WE ARE."

Narrator: WHEN NASA DOES NOT OFFER A SATISFACTORY EXPLANATION,

SPECULATION MOUNTS.

IS THE DOUGHNUT ORGANIC LIFE,

A FUNGUS OR PLANT GROWN OUT OF THE MARTIAN SOIL?

ONE CONTROVERSIAL SCIENCE WRITER EVEN FILES A LAWSUIT

THAT PUSHES NASA TO EXAMINE THE OBJECT MORE CLOSELY.

AND SEVERAL LEADING SCIENTISTS AGREE

THAT THE STRANGE OBJECT MERITS INVESTIGATION.

I'VE BEEN A FOSSIL HUNTER FOR MANY, MANY YEARS,

AND WHEN I GO OUT HUNTING FOSSILS,

I SEE THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF ROCKS.

BUT WHEN I SEE ONE THAT LOOKS INTERESTING,

I SAY, "STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING.

WAIT A MINUTE. I'VE GOT TO EXAMINE THIS IN DETAIL."

I CAN'T SAY THAT NASA DIDN'T STUDY THIS ROCK IN DETAIL,

BUT IF IT WERE STUDIED IN DETAIL, THEN THAT

SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE SUBJECT OF A SCIENTIFIC PAPER.

I -- YOU KNOW, I DON'T HAVE ANY COMMENT ON ANY LAWSUITS,

BUT I THINK IT'S -- IT'S ONLY NATURAL

FOR THE PUBLIC TO BE CURIOUS ABOUT THIS.

IT REALLY WAS SOMETHING THAT IS AMBIGUOUS.

Narrator: NASA IS INITIALLY UNABLE TO EXPLAIN

HOW THE MYSTERIOUS ROCK COULD HAVE MOVED.

FORMER NASA SCIENTIST RICHARD HOOVER

HAS HIS OWN THEORY.

Hoover: IT'S PROBABLY PART OF A METEORITE

THAT CAME IN AND LANDED ON THE SURFACE OF MARS

AND BROKE INTO PIECES.

AND ONE OF THE PIECES

HAPPENED TO LAND RELATIVELY CLOSE TO THE ROVER.

Narrator: WHILE HOOVER'S THEORY IS PLAUSIBLE,

THERE IS NO CORROBORATING EVIDENCE AVAILABLE.

Bell: THE ROVER DOESN'T HAVE ANY KIND OF A SEISMOGRAPH.

THERE'S NO WAY TO --

UNLESS WE VISUALLY SAW A NEW CRATER APPEAR,

THAT'S THE ONLY WAY WE'D BE ABLE TO DETECT IT.

Narrator: WHEN NASA DOES MAKE AN OFFICIAL STATEMENT,

IT SUGGESTS THE JELLY DOUGHNUT IS A ROCK

DISLODGED FROM THE ROVER'S WHEEL.

THE OPPORTUNITY ROVER DID A -- A KIND OF A PIROUETTE.

AND WE THINK THAT,

IN THE PROCESS OF THAT WHEEL MOVING ACROSS THE GROUND,

THAT WE KIND OF FLICKED THIS ROCK

AND KIND OF TIDDLY-WINKED IT OUT OF THE GROUND AND THAT IT --

IT MOVED TO THE LOCATION THERE, WHERE WE SEE IT.

Lee: I CAN TELL YOU THAT,

HAVING DRIVEN JEEPS AND ROVERS ACROSS DESERTS ON THE EARTH,

IT ACTUALLY DIDN'T SURPRISE ME AT ALL.

Bell: WHAT WE THINK HAPPENED IS IT CRUSHED THE ROCK,

AND SOME OF THE ROCK WENT INTO THE WHEEL WELL, YOU KNOW,

LIKE IN YOUR WASHING MACHINE,

KIND OF GETTING MIXED AROUND BEFORE IT EVENTUALLY CAME OUT.

Narrator: BUT EVEN IF THE WHEEL THEORY IS CORRECT, NASA SCIENTISTS

ADMIT THAT THE JELLY DOUGHNUT STILL POSES OTHER QUESTIONS.

OUTSIDE, IT'S GOT KIND OF A WEIRD, DEEP, RED COLOR,

NOT A MARTIAN KIND OF RED.

WE'RE SEEING A STRANGE COMPOSITION.

NO ONE HAS EVER PUBLISHED ANY SCIENTIFIC DETAILS

OF WHAT WAS THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION,

WHAT WAS THE NATURE OF THE REDDISH INTERIOR.

THESE ARE THE KINDS OF QUESTIONS

THAT THE BIOLOGISTS WANT TO KNOW,

TO THINK ABOUT WAS IT A HABITABLE ENVIRONMENT.

Narrator: IF NOTHING ELSE,

THE JELLY DOUGHNUT PROVES THAT THERE IS STILL MUCH

WE DO NOT UNDERSTAND ABOUT THE RED PLANET.

BUT WE DO NOT NEED TO TRAVEL TO DISTANT WORLDS

TO FIND MYSTERIES.

SOME OF THE STRANGEST EVENTS HAPPEN IN NASA'S OWN BACKYARD.

All: THREE, TWO, ONE, ZERO.

Narrator: STILL TO COME,

AS NASA PREPARES TO LAUNCH A REVOLUTIONARY SPACE PROBE,

SOMETHING BIZARRE HAPPENS

IN THE SKIES OVER CAPE CANAVERAL.

Man: LIFTOFF OF THE ATLAS V WITH THE SOLAR DYNAMICS OBSERVATORY.

Narrator: AS A NASA ROCKET BLASTS OFF,

A SERIES OF FREAK WEATHER EVENTS HITS THE LAUNCH SITE.

YOU DON'T NORMALLY SEE THIS SORT OF THING AT A ROCKET LAUNCH.

Narrator: AND AS THE ROCKET GETS HIGHER,

THE SKIES ABOVE CAPE CANAVERAL KEEP GETTING STRANGER.

IT WAS QUITE UNIQUE AND UNEXPECTED.

THIS IS LIKE A SCI-FI MOVIE, EXCEPT IT'S REAL LIFE.

IT'S REALLY HAPPENING.

Narrator: CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, FEBRUARY 11, 2010.

AN ATLAS V ROCKET WAITS FOR A BREAK IN THE WEATHER

ABOVE SPACE LAUNCH COMPLEX 41.

IT CARRIES A PRECIOUS PAYLOAD --

NASA'S $850 MILLION SOLAR DYNAMICS OBSERVATORY.

THE SATELLITE PROMISES TO BEAM BACK 50 TIMES MORE DATA

THAN ANY MISSION IN NASA'S HISTORY,

UNLOCKING THE SECRETS OF OUR NEAREST STAR.

Orwall: IT'S A BEAUTIFUL WINTER'S MORNING,

LIGHT CLOUDS IN THE SKY.

IT'S A GORGEOUS DAY FOR A ROCKET LAUNCH.

Man: T-MINUS 15 SECONDS.

Narrator: ROMEO DURSCHER, THE SDO'S EDUCATION

AND OUTREACH MANAGER, FILMS THE LAUNCH.

THIS WAS THE MISSION I HAD BEEN WORKING ON FROM DAY ONE,

SO THERE WAS A LOT OF EXCITEMENT ON MY PART TO BE THERE

AND SEE OUR PROJECT FINALLY LIFT OFF AND TAKE TO THE SKIES.

All: THREE, TWO, ONE, ZERO.

Man: AND IGNITION AND LIFTOFF OF THE ATLAS V.

Narrator: FOR DURSCHER AND HIS COLLEAGUES ON THE OBSERVATORY PROGRAM,

THIS MOMENT SHOULD BE THE CULMINATION OF YEARS OF WORK.

BUT THE CROWD DOESN'T GET THE SPECTACLE

THEY WERE EXPECTING TO SEE.

I WAS LOOKING THROUGH THE VIEWFINDER OF MY CAMERA

WHEN I HEAR THE -- THE CROWD GO, "WOW."

[ CROWD MURMURING ]

EVERYBODY WAS SAYING HOW INCREDIBLE THIS WAS,

AND PEOPLE WHO HAD SEEN 40, 50, 60 LAUNCHES

HAD NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THAT BEFORE.

PEOPLE LOOK UP AND SEE THIS PORTION OF THE SKY

WHERE THERE'S A SPECTRUM OF JUST GORGEOUS COLORS.

YOU SEE THE YELLOW. YOU SEE SOME GREEN AND ORANGE.

IT LOOKS LIKE A DIAMOND IN THE SKY.

Narrator: THE MANIFESTATION OF THE WEIRD RAINBOW PHENOMENON

RIGHT ABOVE AN ACTIVE ROCKET-LAUNCH SITE

IS ALMOST UNHEARD OF.

ANYTHING THAT POSES A THREAT TO THE SPACECRAFT

COULD TRIGGER AN ABORT, EVEN AFTER LAUNCH.

MISSION CONTROL IGNORES THE PHENOMENON

AND THE LAUNCH CONTINUES.

BUT AS THE ROCKET GOES SUPERSONIC...

...THE SKIES AROUND IT BECOME EVEN STRANGER.

Kelley: YOU CAN SEE CONCENTRIC CIRCLES WAVE

AS IT WENT OUT, ONE AFTER THE OTHER,

JUST LIKE THROWING A PEBBLE IN A POND.

Durscher: THE RIPPLES LOOKED, AT FIRST, VERY SMALL,

BUT THEY QUICKLY BECAME BIGGER AND BIGGER.

I'M THINKING, "SOMETHING IS NOT RIGHT HERE."

WE'RE LOOKING AT THIS, NOT QUITE KNOWING WHAT WE'RE WITNESSING.

Narrator: JUST AS IT SEEMS AS IF THE LAUNCH

OF THE SOLAR DYNAMICS OBSERVATORY MUST BE CURSED,

THE WATCHING CROWDS

SEE YET ANOTHER STRANGE PHENOMENON IN THE SKY.

DURSCHER CAPTURES THE MOMENT ON CAMERA.

THERE WAS A -- A KIND OF LIKE A WHITE BEAM OF LIGHT

THAT APPEARED TO FOLLOW THE ROCKET.

WHATEVER IT IS, IT'S TRAVELING AT INCREDIBLE SPEED.

NORMALLY LIGHT EFFECTS HANG IN THE SKY.

THEY'RE NOT CHANGING.

THIS LIGHT FOLLOWS THE ROCKET UPWARDS.

IT'S SOMETHING I'VE NEVER SEEN IN THE SKY BEFORE.

Narrator: FACED WITH SUCH A FREAK EVENT COMING OFF THE BACK

OF AN UNPRECEDENTED SERIES OF PHENOMENON,

SCIENTISTS SEARCH FOR AN EXPLANATION.

THEY THEORIZE THAT THE FIRST PHENOMENON,

A MULTI-COLORED APPARITION ABOVE THE LAUNCH SITE,

COULD BE RELATED TO THE WEATHER CONDITIONS ON THAT DAY.

IT LOOKS LIKE A PATCH OF A RAINBOW,

BUT IN FACT IS NOT A RAINBOW AT ALL.

IT'S KNOWN AS A SUNDOG.

IT'S ESSENTIALLY THE SAME THING AS A RAINBOW,

EXCEPT INSTEAD OF WATER VAPOR

OR WATER DROPLETS, IT'S ICE CRYSTALS.

AND SO YOU HAVE THESE DANCING COLORS IN THE SKY.

Narrator: SUNDOGS ARE PERHAPS THE MOST SPECTACULAR MANIFESTATION

OF A GROUP OF ATMOSPHERIC PHENOMENON

KNOWN TO WEATHER SCIENTISTS AS ICE HALOS.

HALO PHENOMENA CAN RESULT WHEN THE SUNLIGHT

PASSES THROUGH COUNTLESS MINUSCULE CRYSTALS OF ICE

UP IN HIGH CLOUDS,

WHICH EACH ACT LIKE TINY PRISMS

THAT GLINT THE SUNLIGHT TOWARDS YOU.

Narrator: FOOTAGE FROM PREVIOUS LAUNCHES REVEALS THE SECOND PHENOMENON,

THE STRANGE RIPPLING EFFECT IN THE SKY,

HAS BEEN SEEN BEFORE.

BUT ITS INTERACTION WITH THE SUNDOG IS HIGHLY UNUSUAL.

WHAT'S ACTUALLY HAPPENING IS THAT THE ROCKET

IS ACHIEVING MAX Q, THE MAXIMUM DYNAMIC PRESSURE,

THE GREATEST RESISTANCE IN THE ATMOSPHERE,

AS IT'S MOVING UPWARDS.

BAM. THEY HIT THE SUNDOG,

AND IT JUST DISAPPEARS.

Narrator: AND WEATHER SCIENTISTS BELIEVE THAT THE FINAL PHENOMENON,

THE BEAM OF LIGHT THAT PRECEDES THE ROCKET,

COULD ALSO BE A PREVIOUSLY UNDISCOVERED OPTICAL EFFECT.

AS THE ROCKET FLIES THROUGH THE ATMOSPHERE,

IT'S SUPERSONIC,

AND IT HAS TO TELL THE ATMOSPHERE AHEAD OF IT

THAT IT'S COMING, SO IT CREATES A SHOCK FRONT.

AND THAT SHOCK FRONT WILL THEN TRAIL OFF BEHIND THE ROCKET,

JUST LIKE THE WAKE OF A BOAT.

Narrator: THE RAPID APPEARANCE

OF A NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN LIGHT EFFECT

RIGHT AFTER TWO OTHER STRANGE ATMOSPHERIC PHENOMENON

MAY NOT BE A COINCIDENCE.

WHATEVER THE CAUSE OF THIS STRANGE SERIES OF EVENTS WAS,

IT DID NOT PREVENT THE SUCCESSFUL DEPLOYMENT

OF THE SOLAR DYNAMICS OBSERVATORY.

IT CONTINUES TO PROBE THE MYSTERIES

OF OUR NEAREST STAR.

DECADES AFTER MAN FIRST SET FOOT ON THE MOON,

THE APOLLO MISSIONS CONTINUE TO SHOCK AND ASTONISH.

AS WE BUILD UPON THE LESSONS OF THE PAST,

NEW DISCOVERIES BRING WITH THEM FRESH CHALLENGES.

A NEW ERA OF SPACE EXPLORATION RAISES EXCITING QUESTIONS,

AND THE ANSWERS JUST MIGHT CHANGE EVERYTHING.

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS