All language subtitles for NASAs.Unexplained.Files.S02E07.Lethal.Weapons.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DD+2.0.H.264-BATMAN_track3_[eng]

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 LIMIT
OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM.

Duke: 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: THE APOLLO PROGRAM

BRINGS BACK SOMETHING IMPOSSIBLE
FROM THE MOON.

PEOPLE WERE SHOCKED.

THERE WAS A MYSTERY INSIDE.

HOW MUCH HAS NASA LEARNED
THAT THEY WOULD NEVER TELL US?

Narrator: NASA's SEARCH
FOR A NEW EARTH HITS PAY DIRT.

WHAT'S THE BEST OTHER WORLD

THAT WE'VE FOUND THAT
MIGHT HOUSE INTELLIGENT BEINGS?

PROBABLY KEPLER-186F.

KEPLER-186F
IS LIKELY OLDER THAN OUR STAR

AND OUR EARTH
AND OUR CIVILIZATION,

WHICH MEANS THEY COULD BE
MORE ADVANCED THAN US.

Narrator:
AND A SECRET SATELLITE PROGRAM

THREATENS TO HEAT UP
THE COLD WAR.

THIS COULD POTENTIALLY CHANGE
THE COURSE OF THE COLD WAR.

THIS IS SCI-FI WARFARE
HAPPENING NOW.

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

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

Man #2:
THERE ARE THREE OBJECTS.

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

THESE ARE
"NASA's UNEXPLAINED FILES."

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

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY
DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

THE APOLLO ASTRONAUTS
RETURN FROM THE MOON MISSIONS

WITH THE MOST PRECIOUS ROCKS
IN HUMAN HISTORY.

YOU WERE TRYING TO GET
THE BEST COLLECTION OF SAMPLES,

AS WELL AS KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN
FOR THE UNUSUAL,

THE UNANTICIPATED,

THE UNKNOWN UNKNOWNS.

Narrator: WHEN NASA SCIENTISTS
ANALYZED THE ROCKS, THE RESULTS

SUGGEST SOMETHING IMPOSSIBLE
HAS HAPPENED TO OUR MOON.

PEOPLE WERE SHOCKED.
THERE WAS A MYSTERY INSIDE.

IT WASN'T JUST THE ROCKS
AND WHEN THEY FORMED,

IT WAS SOMETHING ELSE.

Narrator: AS SOON
AS THE APOLLO 17 ASTRONAUTS

TOUCHED DOWN ON THE MOON,

THEY BEGIN RACING
THROUGH A PUNISHING LIST

OF SCIENCE OBJECTIVES.

Schmitt:
THE CLOCK IS TICKING AWAY,

AND YOU'VE GOT TASKS TO DO THAT
EVERYBODY EXPECTS YOU TO DO.

THERE'S NO PLACE
FOR BOREDOM ON THE MOON.

BELIEVE ME.

Narrator: ONE OF THEIR MOST
IMPORTANT TASKS IS

COLLECTING CHUNKS OF MOON ROCK
FOR GEOLOGISTS BACK ON EARTH.

WE WENT AS FAR AS 7 KILOMETERS
AWAY FROM THE LUNAR MODULE.

WE WERE TRAVERSING ALL OVER
THAT VALLEY OF TAURUS-LITTROW,

WHICH IN ITSELF WAS A VALLEY OF
TRULY MAGNIFICENT PROPORTIONS.

I picked up a fairly good
sample of boulders.

Narrator: FOR LUNAR SCIENTISTS,

THE ROCKS PROMISE ANSWERS
TO TIMELESS MYSTERIES.

WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY IDEA
HOW OLD THE MOON

WAS WHEN APOLLO 11 LANDED,

WHAT IT'S HISTORY HAD BEEN
OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.

Man, that is hard.

Just don't stub your toe.

I WAS WAITING
FOR THE SAMPLES TO COME BACK.

THE IDEA THAT WE WOULD LOOK
AT THESE ROCKS

AND ACTUALLY TELL
WHAT THEY ARE, FINALLY...

FOR THE FIRST TIME.

THIS IS JUST SOMETHING DREAMS
ARE MADE OUT OF.

Narrator:
BUT WHILE THE ROCKS PRESENT
AN UNPRECEDENTED OPPORTUNITY,

THEY MAY ALSO BE A THREAT.

NO IDEA WHETHER OR NOT
THESE ROCKS WERE TO CONTAIN

ANY BACTERIA
THAT MAY INFECT US IN SOME WAY.

Narrator:
EXTRATERRESTRIAL CONTAMINATION

COULD POTENTIALLY
BYPASS OUR IMMUNE SYSTEMS,

WIPING OUT HUMANITY.

FOR THEIR OWN PROTECTION,

SCIENTISTS UNPACK THE SAMPLES
INSIDE A SEALED CLEAN ROOM.

IT WAS LIKE HOLDING
THE ROSETTA STONE.

THE ROCKS SPAN BILLIONS
OF YEARS OF LUNAR HISTORY.

Narrator: FOR MONTHS, HUNDREDS
OF SCIENTISTS SUBJECT THE ROCKS

TO AN EXHAUSTIVE SERIES
OF EXPERIMENTS.

AND THE EARLY RESULTS

SUGGEST THAT SOMETHING STRANGE
HAPPENED TO THE MOON.

THEY FOUND THAT THE ROCKS
WERE MAGNETIZED.

PEOPLE WERE SHOCKED.

AND THEY'RE NOT STRONG ENOUGH
TO STICK TO YOUR REFRIGERATOR,

BUT THEY MUST HAVE FORMED
IN A VERY,

VERY STRONG MAGNETIC FIELD

TWICE THE STRENGTH
OF WHAT'S ON THE EARTH TODAY.

Narrator:
BEFORE THE APOLLO PROGRAM,

GEOLOGISTS BELIEVED THE MOON
NEVER HAD A MAGNETIC FIELD.

Schultz:
SO A LOT OF THESE ROCKS HAVE
MAGNETIC FIELD TRAPPED INSIDE.

THAT MAKES NO SENSE AT ALL.

THERE ARE THEORIES OUT THERE

THAT MAYBE THESE MAGNETIC FIELDS
CAME FROM ALIENS.

BUT THAT'S NOT --

THAT CAN'T BE RIGHT.

Birnes:
THE MOON ITSELF ISN'T MAGNETIC.

WHAT ARE MAGNETIC ROCKS DOING
ON THE SURFACE OF THE MOON?

Narrator: SOMETHING MUST HAVE
PRODUCED THE MAGNETIC ROCKS,

BUT SCIENTISTS
ARE COMPLETELY BAFFLED.

Birnes: ALL THE WAY
BACK IN THE EARLY DAYS,

NASA WOULD SEE THESE STRANGE
TYPES OF OBJECTS ON THE MOON

MAYBE AS A SOURCE
OF MAGNETISM ON THE MOON

THAT WE DON'T KNOW ABOUT.

Narrator: ON EARTH, THE PLANET'S
SPINNING MOLTEN IRON CORE

CREATES A MAGNETIC FIELD
THAT MAGNETIZES MOLTEN ROCKS

AS THEY COOL.

NOW, SOME SCIENTISTS BELIEVE
THAT APOLLO'S MAGNETIC ROCKS

ARE EVIDENCE
OF A MAGNETIC SOURCE

DEEP UNDER THE LUNAR SURFACE.

IT SEEMS THAT THE MOON

FORMED NOT ONLY A METALLIC CORE
LIKE THE EARTH,

BUT THAT THAT CORE
WAS UNDERGOING

LARGE-SCALE COMPLEX FLUID
MOTIONS KIND OF LIKE THE GOO

IN YOUR LAVA LAMP
THAT'S RISING AND FALLING.

Narrator:
BUT WHAT SCIENTISTS STILL
CAN'T DEFINITIVELY EXPLAIN

IS WHY SUCH A POWERFUL MAGNETIC
FIELD WOULD STOP WORKING.

IF THE MOON HAD THIS MAGNETIC
FIELD, WHEN DID IT DISAPPEAR?

Weiss:
AFTER 3.5 BILLION YEARS AGO,

THEN THE FIELD
SEEMS TO HAVE CRASHED.

Narrator: SO FAR, EXPLANATIONS
FOR THE MOON'S DISAPPEARING

MAGNETIC FIELD

REMAIN IN THE REALM
OF SPECULATION.

Weiss:
IT'S KIND OF A BIG MYSTERY.

THE MOON WAS COOLING OFF.

MAYBE ITS CORE
WAS GETTING SO COLD

THAT IT STARTED THE CRYSTALLIZE
AND PRODUCE A SOLID CORE.

THERE'S STILL SO MUCH
ABOUT THE MOON

THAT WE JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND.

WE REALLY NEED TO GO BACK.

THERE'S SO MUCH MORE TO LEARN.

Narrator: MORE THAN FOUR DECADES

AFTER MANKIND'S FIRST FALTERING
STEPS INTO SPACE,

WE STILL STRUGGLE WITH MYSTERIES
FROM THOSE VOYAGES.

MAN: Oh! Hey!

Look at this!
I can see it from here!

It's orange!

Narrator:
NOW THAT NASA IS EXPLORING
FAR BEYOND THE SOLAR SYSTEM,

THE CHALLENGES ARE EVEN GREATER.

NASA's ONGOING SEARCH

FOR LIFE-SUSTAINING PLANETS
FACES DAUNTING ODDS.

IT'S LIKE LOOKING FOR A FIREFLY
RIGHT NEXT TO A SEARCHLIGHT.

Narrator: BUT NOW
A PLANET 500 LIGHT-YEARS

FROM EARTH OFFERS NEW HOPE.

OF ALL OF THE PLANETS
THAT WE HAVE FOUND SO FAR,

THIS ONE IS THE MOST INTRIGUING.

Narrator:
THE WORLD KNOWN AS 186F

BARES AN ASTONISHING RESEMBLANCE
TO OUR OWN.

WHAT'S THE BEST OTHER WORLD

THAT MIGHT HOUSE
INTELLIGENT BEINGS?

PROBABLY KEPLER-186F.

Narrator:
THE HALF-BILLION DOLLAR
KEPLER TELESCOPE

IS FOUR YEARS INTO IT'S MISSION

TO FIND POTENTIAL
LIFE-SUSTAINING PLANETS.

ANALYZING DATA FROM
THE DISTANT CYGNUS STARFIELD,

THE KEPLER TEAM

SPOTS WHAT APPEARS TO BE
A VERY PROMISING PLANET.

Christiansen:
WE HAVE THIS NEW BATCH OF DATA
DOWN FROM THE SPACECRAFT.

WE'RE ALL ANALYZING THE DATA,

AND TOM BARCLAY RUNS AROUND
TO EVERYBODY'S OFFICES

AND SAYS, "HAVE YOU SEEN
THIS PLANET?"

AND "IT'S THE ONE. IT'S THE ONE
WE'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR."

IT'S AN EARTH-SIZED THING

IN THE HABITABLE ZONE
OF IT'S STAR,

AND EVERYBODY
WAS EXTREMELY EXCITED.

Narrator: THE NEW PLANET IS
ALMOST THE SAME SIZE AS EARTH.

IT'S ALSO THE RIGHT DISTANCE
FROM IT'S STAR

IN WHAT SCIENTISTS
CALL THE GOLDILOCKS ZONE.

Christiansen:
WE CALL IT THE GOLDILOCKS ZONE

BECAUSE IT'S NOT TOO HOT,
AND IT'S NOT TOO COLD.

IT'S JUST RIGHT FOR LIQUID WATER
TO BE ON THE SURFACE.

Narrator:
FOR PLANETARY SCIENTIST,

SARA SEAGER, FINDING KEPLER-186F
IS A DREAM COME TRUE.

KEPLER-186F WAS
THE FIRST EXAMPLE OF A PLANET

THAT'S ABOUT EARTH'S SIZE THAT'S
IN ITS STAR'S HABITABLE ZONE.

AND SO IT WAS A CAUSE
FOR CELEBRATION.

Narrator:
BUT FOR ALL THE SIMILARITIES
BETWEEN KEPLER-186 AND EARTH,

THERE IS ONE CRUCIAL DIFFERENCE.

Christiansen: KEPLER-186 IS
MORE LIKE AN EARTH COUSIN,

BUT IT'S ORBITING A VERY
DIFFERENT STAR FROM THE SUN.

THE STAR THAT KEPLER-186
IS ORBITING IS AN M-DWARF.

SO IT'S ONLY ABOUT HALF THE SIZE
OF THE SUN.

IT'S SMALLER. IT'S REDDER.
IT'S COOLER.

Narrator: THE READINGS GIVE RISE
TO SPECULATION AMONG SCIENTISTS

THAT THE PLANET COULD HAVE
AN EARTH-LIKE ATMOSPHERE

AND RAISES THE QUESTION
OF WHAT LIFE

ON THIS STRANGE WORLD
MIGHT BE LIKE.

Christiansen: THE LIGHT
FROM THE STAR IS QUITE RED,

SO THE OCEANS
WOULD LOOK QUITE ORANGE.

THE VEGETATION MIGHT DO
VERY WELL ON KEPLER-186F

BECAUSE THERE'S SO MUCH MORE
LIGHT IN THE INFRARED.

Narrator:
A WORLD WITH ORANGE SEAS
AND STRANGE YELLOW VEGETATION

COULD EVEN OFFER
A VIABLE ENVIRONMENT

FOR MORE COMPLEX LIFE-FORMS.

I WOULD LOVE TO IMAGINE
THAT KEPLER-186F

HAS A DENSE ATMOSPHERE

THAT ACTUALLY IS EQUIVALENT
TO THE DENSITY OF WATER.

AND YOU COULD IMAGINE CREATURES

THAT CAN MOVE EASILY
BETWEEN WATER AND AIR,

JUST LIKE WE HAVE AMPHIBIANS.

Narrator:
THE PLANET'S COMBINATION
OF LOCATION AND COMPOSITION

MAKE IT OUR BEST HOPE

FOR DISCOVERING OTHER SENTIENT
LIFE-FORMS IN THE UNIVERSE.

Shostak: WHAT'S THE BEST
OTHER WORLD THAT WE'VE FOUND

THAT MIGHT HOUSE
INTELLIGENT BEINGS,

BEINGS AS CLEVER
AS WE ARE OR MORE SO?

PROBABLY KEPLER-186F
IS THAT SIMPLY BECAUSE IT'S

THE CLOSEST ANALOG
WE'VE FOUND TO EARTH.

KEPLER-186F IS LIKELY OLDER
THAN OUR STAR AND OUR EARTH

AND OUR CIVILIZATION,
WHICH MEANS THEY

COULD BE MORE ADVANCED THAN US
IF THEY'RE THERE.

Narrator: BUT IF THERE IS
INTELLIGENT LIFE ON KEPLER-186F,

WE MAY HAVE TO WAIT A LONG TIME
FOR A CLOSE ENCOUNTER.

KEPLER-186F IS
500 LIGHT-YEARS AWAY,

WHICH IS PRETTY CLOSE
BY GALACTIC STANDARDS

BUT PRETTY FAR AWAY
BY OUR CURRENT TECHNOLOGY.

Narrator: FOR SPACE SCIENTISTS,

THIS NEW EARTH
OFFERS A PROMISING DESTINATION

FOR WHEN HUMANKIND EVENTUALLY
DEPARTS FOR THE STARS.

MANY OF US SHARE THE DREAM
THAT, SOMEDAY, OUR DESCENDANTS

WILL FIND A WAY TO TRAVEL
TO PLANETS ORBITING OTHER STARS,

AND THEY'RE GOING TO NEED
THE CLOSEST PLANETS POSSIBLE.

Narrator: COMING UP,
A SECRET NASA COLD WAR PROJECT

UNCOVERS SOMETHING DISTURBING.

THIS COULD POTENTIALLY CHANGE
THE COURSE OF THE COLD WAR.

THIS COULD BE THE BEGINNING
OF THE END.

Narrator: IN THE DARK DAYS
OF THE COLD WAR,

A NASA SATELLITE

DETECTS A FRIGHTENING SIGNAL
IN EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE.

THIS WAS ALMOST CERTAINLY
A NUCLEAR EXPLOSION.

THIS COULD POTENTIALLY CHANGE
THE COURSE OF THE COLD WAR.

Narrator:
COULD IT BE A PREEMPTIVE STRIKE?

THROUGHOUT THE COLD WAR,

NASA SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS
MAN THE FRONT LINES.

WHILE THE SPACE RACE

MAKES HEADLINES
FOR MORE THAN A DECADE,

THE AGENCY ALSO PLAYS A SECRET
ROLE AIDING THE U.S. MILITARY.

IN AUGUST 1963, LEADERS
OF THE WORLD'S SUPERPOWERS

COME TOGETHER TO SIGN ONE
OF THE MOST IMPORTANT AGREEMENTS

IN HISTORY.

Nichols: AFTER THE CUBAN
MISSILE CRISIS IN 1962,

BOTH SIDES REALIZED THAT THEY
HAD ALMOST GONE TOO FAR,

AND THINGS HAD ALMOST GOTTEN
OUT OF CONTROL.

KENNEDY AND KHRUSHCHEV
REALIZED THAT WE NEED TO HAVE

A PARTIAL TEST-BAN TREATY.

BOTH SIGN IT,
BUT NEITHER TRUST EACH OTHER.

Narrator:
THE TREATY BANS ALL NUCLEAR TEST
EXPLOSIONS ABOVE GROUND.

Nichols:
DESPITE ALL OF THESE TREATIES,

NEITHER SIDE REALLY KNEW
WHAT THE OTHER ONE WAS UP TO.

AND BOTH OF THEM ARE
DEEPLY SUSPICIOUS AND FEARFUL.

MAN: Three, two, one.

Narrator: NASA ASSISTS
WITH A SERIES OF SPY SATELLITES,

VELA 1 THROUGH 12,

TO ENSURE NO ONE
BREAKS THE PACT.

THESE ADVANCED VELA SATELLITES

ARE LOADED
WITH HIGH-TECH EQUIPMENT --

X-RAY, GAMMA, NEUTRON DETECTORS.

BUT THEY ALSO HAVE BANG METERS,

WHICH ARE UTILIZED TO DETECT
THE INTENSE LIGHT FLASHES

THAT COME
FROM A ATOMIC EXPLOSION.

Narrator:
16 YEARS AFTER THE FIRST LAUNCH,

THE VELA SATELLITES ARE NEARING
THE END OF THEIR USEFUL LIVES,

BUT TECHNICIANS AT PATRICK
AIR FORCE BASE, FLORIDA,

STILL KEEP AN EYE
ON THEIR READINGS.

AND WHEN THEY LOOK AT VELA 6911,

WHAT THEY SEE
IS TRULY DISTURBING.

IT'S A DOUBLE FLASH SIGNATURE.

THE DOUBLE FLASH IS THE HALLMARK
OF A NUCLEAR DETONATION.

Nichols: MOST PEOPLE
THINK OF A NUCLEAR WEAPON

AS SOMETHING THAT JUST EXPLODES.

IT ACTUALLY EXPLODES TWICE.

AND THAT WAS
THE UNIQUE SIGNATURE

THAT WAS CAUGHT
BY THE SATELLITE.

Narrator:
TO THE TECHNICIANS IN FLORIDA,

THE FLASHES LOOK LIKE A ROGUE
NUCLEAR EXPLOSION.

BUT THE LOCATION,
SOMEWHERE OVER THE OCEAN

BETWEEN AFRICA AND ANTARCTICA,
MAKES NO SENSE.

Nichols: THERE WEREN'T SUPPOSED
TO BE ANY NUCLEAR DETONATIONS

IN THE MIDDLE
OF THE ATLANTIC OCEAN.

Orwoll: THERE'S MANY LOCATIONS
THAT WOULD BE OBVIOUS

POTENTIALLY
FOR A NUCLEAR DETONATION,

BUT BETWEEN AFRICA
AND ANTARCTIC?

NOT WHERE WE EXPECTED.

Narrator:
THE DETECTION OF THE SUSPECTED
NUCLEAR EXPLOSION CREATES PANIC

AT THE WHITE HOUSE.

HAS SOMEONE BREACHED
THE NUCLEAR TESTING BAN?

THE OBVIOUS IMMEDIATE SUSPECT
WOULD BE THE SOVIET UNION,

BUT THAT MADE NO SENSE.

THEY HAD NO REASON
TO BE TESTING NUCLEAR WEAPONS

IN THE MIDDLE OF THE OCEAN.

Narrator:
SINCE 1963, THE U.S. PRESIDENT
HAS HAD A HOT LINE TO MOSCOW

TO AVERT
ANY POTENTIAL NUCLEAR CRISIS.

THE RUSSIANS DENY ANY KNOWLEDGE
OF THE INCIDENT,

BUT THE SOVIETS ALSO

HAVE A HISTORY OF CONDUCTING
SECRET NUCLEAR OPERATIONS.

AND A PREVIOUS ATTEMPT

TO MOVE MISSILES
ACROSS THE ATLANTIC TO CUBA

RESULTED IN MANKIND'S CLOSEST
BRUSH WITH ATOMIC ANNIHILATION.

THE U.S. GOVERNMENT
SENDS AIRCRAFT AND SHIPS

SPECIALLY CONFIGURED
TO DETECT RADIATION

TO THE SOUTHERN OCEANS
TO INVESTIGATE.

Baines: THE STRANGE THING
IS THEY FOUND NO OTHER EVIDENCE

OF A NUCLEAR EXPLOSION --
NO RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS

AND OTHER TYPES OF A DEBRIS
YOU MIGHT SEE, TYPICAL THING.

SO IT'S A MYSTERY WHAT THAT,
WAS WHAT THE LIGHT FLASH WAS.

Narrator:
THE PRESIDENT ASSEMBLES
AN EMERGENCY PANEL OF SCIENTISTS

TO INVESTIGATE THE CAUSE
OF THE DOUBLE FLASH.

Orwoll: THE PANEL CONSIDERS
MULTIPLE POTENTIAL CAUSES

FOR THE SOUTH ATLANTIC FLASH

THAT COULD RANGE ANYWHERE
FROM AN ANOMALOUS SIGNAL

TO THE FAILURE OF THE DETECTOR

TO A MICROMETEORITE HIT
ON THE SATELLITE ITSELF.

Narrator: THE INVESTIGATION
LASTS FOR EIGHT MONTHS,

AND THE PANEL'S INCREDIBLE
CONCLUSION IS THAT THE CAUSE

OF THIS INCIDENT
IS EXTRATERRESTRIAL.

THEIR THEORY IS THAT SOME SMALL
METEORITE HIT THE SATELLITE,

AND THAT'S
WHAT CAUSED THE ANOMALY.

Baines: HITTING A SPACECRAFT
WITH A MICROMETEORITE

WOULD DISLODGE SOME DUST
PARTICLES

AND YOU'D GET FLASHES OF LIGHT.

THEY SAY THE CHANCES OF THAT ARE
LESS THAN 1 IN 100 BILLION.

SO, WHAT THE HELL DIDHAPPEN?

Narrator:
SOME OBSERVERS INSIST THAT VELA
REALLY DID DETECT A NUKE.

DELIBERATELY IGNORING
A TREATY VIOLATION

WOULD PREVENT A DANGEROUS
FACE-OFF BETWEEN SUPERPOWERS.

IF IT WAS A NUCLEAR TEST,
WHO COULD BE RESPONSIBLE?

Nichols: THERE WERE
TWO OBVIOUS CANDIDATES

BESIDES THE SOVIET UNION --

ISRAEL AND SOUTH AFRICA.

DURING THIS TIME FRAME,
BOTH THE SOUTH AFRICANS

AND THE ISRAELIS ARE DEVELOPING
THEIR NUCLEAR WEAPONS PROGRAMS.

Narrator:
BOTH NATIONS FACE THE PROBLEM

OF WHERE TO TEST
THEIR NUCLEAR WEAPONS IN SECRET.

BOTH ISRAEL AND SOUTH AFRICA
WERE UNDECLARED NUCLEAR POWERS,

AND SO THEY HAD NOWHERE
TO TEST THE NUCLEAR WEAPON.

THEY DIDN'T HAVE
ANY TEST RANGES,

SO THE OCEAN
WAS A PERFECT ALTERNATIVE.

Orwoll:
BUT THIS REMAINS SPECULATION.

THE SOUTH AFRICANS
AND THE ISRAELIS HAVE BOTH

DENIED HAVING ANY INVOLVEMENT
WITH THIS AT ALL.

Narrator:
TO DATE, NO GOVERNMENT

HAS ADMITTED TO ANY ASSOCIATION
WITH THE VELA INCIDENT.

WITH PARTS OF THE CARTER
ADMINISTRATION'S INVESTIGATION

REMAINING CLASSIFIED,
THE EVENT IS STILL UNEXPLAINED.

UP NEXT, NASA PREPARES
FOR THE COMET OF THE CENTURY.

BUT THERE ARE SIGNS THAT
THIS INTERPLANETARY TRAVELER

IS NOT WHAT IT SEEMS.

IT HAD A SHAPE THAT DIDN'T
MAKE ANY SENSE TO US.

SOMETHING LOOKED VERY
ARTIFICIAL.

Narrator: THE WORLD WAITS
FOR A ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME

ASTRONOMICAL EVENT.

THIS WAS SUPPOSED
TO BE THE COMET OF THE CENTURY.

AND IT'S COMING RIGHT
BY OUR DOORSTEP.

Narrator: BUT AN IMAGE
FROM THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE

REVEALS THIS DEEP-SPACE INTRUDER
IS NOT WHAT EVERYONE EXPECTS.

Capps: WHEN WE LOOKED AT ISON
MORE CLOSELY,

IT HAD
A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT SHAPE --

A CENTER, TWO WINGS,
ALMOST LOOKED LIKE A SPACESHIP.

Narrator: ANCIENT CULTURES
ALL AROUND THE WORLD

VIEWED COMETS
AS HARBINGERS OF DOOM.

BUT WITH THE ADVANCE
OF SCIENCE CAME UNDERSTANDING,

AND THE TERROR RECEDED.

IN 2013,
WHEN THE EYES OF THE WORLD

TURNED TO THE SKIES
FOR THE ARRIVAL OF COMET ISON,

THEY DO SO WITHOUT FEAR.

AT LEAST AT FIRST.

COMET ISON WAS PROMOTED TO BE
THE BIGGEST, BRIGHTEST COMET

IN A LONG TIME.

AND SO EVERYBODY
WAS LOOKING FOR COMET ISON.

PEOPLE HAD HIGH EXPECTATIONS
FOR IT IN TERMS

OF WHAT IT WOULD LOOK LIKE
AND WHAT SCIENTIFIC VALUE

IT WOULD HAVE.

Narrator: SINCE THE COMET'S
DISCOVERY IN SEPTEMBER 2012,

NASA HAS TRACKED THE CHUNK
OF ICE AND DUST ALL THE WAY

FROM AN OUTLYING REGION

OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM
KNOWN AS THE OORT CLOUD.

THE OORT CLOUD IS A COLLECTION
OF COMETS ORBITING THE SUN

ABOUT 10,000 TIMES

AS FAR FROM THE SUN
AS THE EARTH IS.

Narrator:
OUT OF THE MILLIONS OF COMETS
STUCK IN DISTANT ORBITS,

SOMETHING REPELS ISON
ON IT'S MULTIMILLION YEAR TRIP

INTO THE SUN.

AND OUR PLANET
IS RIGHT IN THE FIRING LINE.

WE DON'T HAVE TOO MANY OF THESE
THAT WE SEE THAT GET THAT CLOSE

TO THE SUN.

AND SO IT'S VERY INTRIGUING
TO WATCH THIS.

Narrator: NASA GOES
TO EXTRAORDINARY LENGTHS

TO CAPTURE IMAGES
OF THE INTERPLANETARY WANDERER,

INCLUDING BUILDING A SPECIAL
BALLOON-MOUNTED TELESCOPE

FOR THE EVENT.

BUT IT IS AN IMAGE
FROM THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE

THAT CREATES SHOCK WAVES
ON EARTH.

Capps: WHEN WE STARTED
LOOKING MORE CLOSELY,

IT HAD A SHAPE THAT DIDN'T
MAKE ANY SENSE TO US.

IT WAS
ALMOST A TRIANGULAR SHAPE,

SOMETHING
LOOKED VERY ARTIFICIAL.

Oluseyi: SO, YOU SEE THIS SORT
OF GLOWING V-SHAPED OBJECT.

AND TO THE UNTRAINED EYE,
IT CAN BE A VERY SCI-FI,

"BATTLESTAR GALACTICA"
LOOKING EVENT.

LOOKING AT THE PHOTOGRAPH,
IT'S EASY TO UNDERSTAND WHY

SOMEBODY MIGHT THINK
THAT'S AN ALIEN SPACECRAFT.

IT LOOKS LIKE SOMETHING STRAIGHT
OUT OF "CLOSE ENCOUNTERS."

Capps:
IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT, A COMET

IS ACTUALLY A PERFECT SORT
OF ONE-SHOT DISGUISE

FOR A SPACESHIP
FLYING PAST THE EARTH.

Narrator: ANTICIPATION BUILDS
AS IT HEADS TOWARDS THE SUN.

BUT AFTER THE EARLY
INTRIGUING IMAGES,

THE SO CALLED COMET
OF THE CENTURY

FAILS TO RE-EMERGE
FROM BEHIND THE STAR.

Oluseyi: SUDDENLY, IT'S GONE.

IT'S AS IF THIS MASSIVE THING
JUST VANISHED.

Narrator:
DESPERATE FOR AN EXPLANATION,

NASA SEARCHES THE COMET'S
PROJECTED PATH WITH TELESCOPES

ON LAND AND IN SPACE.

WE THINK WE'VE LOST IT.
AND THEN, SUDDENLY -- BOOM!

THERE IT IS.

Narrator: BUT THE INTRUDER
FROM THE OUTER SOLAR SYSTEM

SEEMS TO HAVE SUFFERED
DURING IT'S BRUSH WITH THE SUN.

Genge:
THE OBJECT PASSES SO CLOSE
AROUND THE BACK OF THE SUN,

THAT IT GETS INTENSELY HEATED
AND COMPLETELY DESTROYED.

ALL THAT WAS LEFT
IS DUST AND GAS.

Narrator:
ISON'S DESTRUCTION LEAVES
SCIENTISTS WITH VERY LITTLE DATA

ABOUT THE COMET.

MARK D'ANTONIO HAS BEEN
INVESTIGATING THE HUBBLE IMAGES.

D'Antonio: SO THIS IMAGE IS NOT
AS IT APPEARS

BECAUSE THE HUBBLE
SPACE TELESCOPE TAKES IMAGES

AT DIFFERENT POINTS
IN IT'S ORBIT AROUND THE EARTH.

AS THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE
COMES IN TO VIEW OF THE COMET,

IT TAKES ONE PICTURE
FOR EIGHT LONG MINUTES.

AND THAT'S ONE OF THESE STREAKS
RIGHT HERE.

Narrator: IT IS THE COMBINATION
OF THREE STREAKS OF LIGHT

INTO A DISTINCT SHAPE THAT MADE
ISON LOOK LIKE SOMETHING

MORE THAN AN ORDINARY COMET.

BUT D'ANTONIO BELIEVES
THIS IS ONE PHENOMENON

THAT CAN BE EXPLAINED
BY IMAGE MANIPULATION.

IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE,

THREE PARTICULAR IMAGES
WERE THEN COMBINED AS ONE.

Narrator: THREE HUBBLE IMAGES

OF ISON TAKEN
AT THREE DIFFERENT MOMENTS,

13 MINUTES APART,

EACH CREATE A SINGLE STREAK
OF LIGHT.

IN ISOLATION,
EACH OF THEM IS UNREMARKABLE,

BUT THE COMBINATION
IS OUT OF THIS WORLD.

ALTHOUGH THIS INTRUDER FROM THE
OUTER SOLAR SYSTEM WAS HARMLESS,

THE ANCIENT FEARS
OF POWERFUL DESTRUCTIVE FORCES

FROM BEYOND THE STARS
WILL ALWAYS REMAIN.

STILL TO COME, A SPACE ROCK

SMASHES INTO OUR PLANET
CARRYING A DEADLY SECRET INSIDE.

ONE COULD LOOK AT IT
AS AN INVASION.

Narrator:
WHEN A ROCK FROM OUTER SPACE
SMASHES INTO EARTH,

SCIENTISTS
FACE A FRIGHTENING POSSIBILITY.

ONE COULD LOOK AT IT
AS AN INVASION.

Lee: BACTERIA BEING ABLE
TO SURVIVE A RIDE THROUGH SPACE

IS NOT AS FAR-FETCHED
AS ONE WOULD THINK.

Narrator:
COULD THE INTERSTELLAR TRAVELERS
THAT BROUGHT LIFE TO OUR PLANET

ALSO BRING US DEATH?

Shostak:
SOME PEOPLE HAVE SPECULATED
THAT MANY OF THE DISEASES

THAT WE FIGHT WITH EVERY DAY
ARE ACTUALLY ALIEN DISEASES.

Narrator:
FOR DECADES, SCIENTISTS

HAVE STRUGGLED TO FIND
THE ORIGIN OF LIFE ON EARTH.

MANY SPECULATE THAT LIFE
ITSELF ACTS LIKE A VIRUS,

CARRIED FROM PLANET TO PLANET
BY ROCKS AND COMETS.

BUT IN 1969,

A METEORITE SMASHING
INTO EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE

ABOVE SOUTH AUSTRALIA FORCES
NASA TO FACE A GRIMMER QUESTION.

WHEN PROFESSOR RICHARD HOOVER
CRACKS OPEN A SAMPLE,

HE SEES THE TRACES OF DEATH.

Hoover: I BROKE IT, UH,
FRACTURED IT WITH STERILE TOOLS

AND PUT IT ON A SCANNING
ELECTRON MICROSCOPE STUB

AND PUT IT IN THE MICROSCOPE.

AND ALL OF THE SUDDEN

I SAW A FILAMENT
EMBEDDED IN THE ROCK MATRIX.

YOU COULD SEE THE IMPRINT

WHERE THE CELLS
HAD ATTACHED TO EACH OTHER.

SO THAT MADE IT POSSIBLE

FOR ME TO DO
A VERY PRECISE IDENTIFICATION.

Narrator: INSIDE WHAT SHOULD BE
A STERILE SPACE ROCK,

HOOVER FINDS WHAT HE RECOGNIZES
AS FOSSILIZED FILAMENTS

OF A KIND OF BACTERIA.

WHILE SOME SCIENTISTS DISAGREE
WITH THIS HIS CONCLUSIONS,

THERE IS EVIDENCE THAT SUGGESTS
POTENTIALLY DEADLY ORGANISMS

LIVING ON EARTH RIGHT NOW COULD
BE DESCENDED FROM THESE KILLERS.

THIS IDEA OF BACTERIA BEING ABLE
TO SURVIVE A RIDE THROUGH SPACE

IS NOT AS FAR-FETCHED
AS ONE WOULD THINK.

THERE'S A SMALL FORM OF LIFE
CALLED DEINOCOCCUS RADIODURANS.

DEINOCOCCUS RADIODURANS

DOESN'T HAVE JUST ONE SET OF DNA
BUT FOUR SETS OF DNA.

IT'S THE PERFECT THING IF YOU
ARE CONTEMPLATING SPACE TRAVEL

BECAUSE, WHEN YOU ARE IN SPACE,

YOU ARE EXPOSED
TO SPACE RADIATION

THAT CAN ZAP DNA CODING.

BUT THE THREE OTHERS
THAT ARE UNZAPPED

ARE READY TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU
ARE GOING TO REPAIR YOURSELF.

AND ONE IS LEFT WONDERING,
WHY WOULD NATURE ON EARTH

COME UP WITH THIS ONE
VERY BIZARRE ADAPTATION?

Narrator:
THE POTENTIAL IMPACT OF THESE
TINY INVADING EXTRATERRESTRIALS

IS DEVASTATING.

SOME PEOPLE HAVE SPECULATED
THAT ACTUALLY MICROBES

ARE RAINING DOWN ON THE PLANET

ALL THE TIME CAUSING ILLNESS
AND MANY OF THE DISEASES

THAT WE FIGHT WITH EVERYDAY.

Narrator: THE IDEA
OF EXTRATERRESTRIAL INFILTRATORS

DESTROYING HUMANITY
FROM WITHIN

SPREAD FROM SCIENCE
TO SCIENCE FICTION

WITH THE 1950s CULT CLASSIC

"INVASION
OF THE BODY SNATCHERS."

Man: CAN'T YOU SEE?
EVERYONE!

THEY'RE HERE ALREADY!
YOU'RE NEXT!

Brin: ONE COULD LOOK AT IT
AS AN INVASION.

I'M SURE THERE HAVE BEEN MANY,
MANY WARS OVER OUR BODIES

THAT WE'RE JUST
NOT EVEN AWARE OF.

Narrator:
PERHAPS THE MOST FRIGHTENING
IDEA IS THAT THESE BOMBARDMENTS

OF POTENTIALLY HARMFUL PATHOGENS
FROM BEYOND THE STARS

MIGHT BE NO ACCIDENT.

THE IDEA THAT SOME ALIENS

ARE DELIBERATELY
ENGINEERING SOME BIOLOGY

TO INFECT THE EARTH MEANS
THAT THEY KNOW AN AWFUL LOT

ABOUT EARTHLY BIOLOGY.

THEY COULDN'T DO IT
ANY OTHER WAY, RIGHT?

IT'S IMPOSSIBLE
TO RULE OUT THE IDEA

THAT SOME OF IT MAY HAVE
BEEN EXTRATERRESTRIAL IN ORIGIN.

THE EARTH HAS BEEN INVADED BY
METEORITES FOR 4 BILLION YEARS.

AND ONE OF THE THINGS
THAT OUR IMMUNE SYSTEM

DOES IS, SOMETIMES,
IT PUTS OUT THE WELCOME MAT.

Narrator:
FAR FROM BEING HARMFUL,
ASTROBIOLOGIST RICHARD HOOVER

HAS SUGGESTED THAT THE SPACE
BACTERIA IN THESE METEORITES

MAY HAVE BEEN INSTRUMENTAL
IN SEEDING LIFE ON EARTH.

2.7 BILLION YEARS AGO,

CYANOBACTERIA STARTED GROWING
IN TREMENDOUS NUMBERS.

AND THEY CHANGED THE ENTIRE
ATMOSPHERE OF THE PLANET EARTH

FROM A REDUCING ATMOSPHERE
TO AN OXYGENATING ATMOSPHERE

BECAUSE CYANOBACTERIA
ARE PHOTOSYNTHETIC.

SO IF IT HAD NOT BEEN
FOR CYANOBACTERIA,

OUR PLANET WOULDN'T HAVE
UNDERGONE THIS TREMENDOUS CHANGE

THAT MADE IT POSSIBLE

FOR ALL THE LIFE-FORMS
TO COME INTO EXISTENCE.

Narrator: COMING UP, NASA
SCIENTISTS WATCH IN AMAZEMENT

AS AN UNKNOWN FORCE TEARS
APART A POTENTIAL PLANET KILLER.

WE TRACK HUNDREDS
OF THOUSANDS OF ASTEROIDS,

BUT TO SEE ONE BREAKING UP
IS A REALLY UNIQUE EVENT.

Genge: WHAT'S FORCING
THIS ASTEROID TO BREAK UP

IS A COMPLETE MYSTERY.

Narrator:
WHEN ASTRONOMERS SEARCHING
FOR NEAR-EARTH ASTEROIDS

DISCOVER A POTENTIAL PLANET
KILLER...

IF SOMETHING BIG HITS THE EARTH,
WE'RE IN TROUBLE.

I MEAN, LOOK WHAT HAPPENED
TO THE DINOSAURS.

Narrator: ...THE LAST THING
SCIENTISTS EXPECT TO SEE

IS THE OBJECT FALLING APART.

COULD SOME EXTREMELY POWERFUL

FORCE BE CAUSING THIS ASTEROID
TO BREAK UP?

WHAT'S FORCING THIS TO BREAK UP
IS A COMPLETE MYSTERY.

Narrator: NASA DOES MORE
THAN EXPLORE SPACE.

ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PARTS
OF THE AGENCY'S MISSION

IS TO WARN US
OF EXTRATERRESTRIAL THREATS.

THE CATALINA SKY SURVEY
IN ARIZONA HAS ALREADY

DISCOVERED MORE THAN 5,000
NEAR-EARTH OBJECTS

IN IT'S SEARCH
FOR POTENTIAL PLANET KILLERS.

Garvie: THERE ARE MILLIONS
OF ASTEROIDS OUT THERE,

AND WE'RE TRACKING APPROXIMATELY
10% OF THE REALLY LARGE ONES.

THESE ARE THE ONES
THAT HAVE THE POTENTIAL

TO ALTER LIFE ON EARTH.

Narrator:
ON SEPTEMBER 15, 2013,

THE TEAM DETECTS
A POTENTIAL-THREAT OBJECT

TRAVELING
BETWEEN MARS AND JUPITER.

THEY GIVE IT THE CODE NAME R3.

INITIALLY IT APPEARS TO BE
SOME WEIRD HYBRID

OF COMET AND ASTEROID.

THE DISTURBING FIND
PROMPTS ASTRONOMERS AT HAWAII'S

KECK OBSERVATORY
TO TRACK THE HUGE ASTEROID.

ASTEROIDS OF THIS SIZE,
IF IT WAS REALLY TOUGH MATERIAL,

WOULD COME STRAIGHT
THROUGH THE ATMOSPHERE

DEVASTATING
ALMOST AN ENTIRE CONTINENT.

Narrator:
WHEN THEY ZOOM IN, THEY DISCOVER
THAT IT IS TRAVELING IN A CLOUD

OF DEBRIS ALMOST AS WIDE
AS THE EARTH.

WHEN THE WORLD'S MOST POWERFUL
OPTICAL TELESCOPE LOOKS AT R3,

THE IMAGES IT CAPTURES SHOCK
THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY.

Genge: THE ASTEROID SPLITS INTO
THREE FOR NO APPARENT REASON.

WE'VE NEVER SEEN THIS BEFORE.

WE TRACK HUNDREDS
OF THOUSANDS OF ASTEROIDS,

BUT TO SEE ONE BREAKING UP
IS A REALLY UNIQUE EVENT.

Narrator:
R3'S BEHAVIOR IS STRANGE ENOUGH
TO WARRANT FURTHER INVESTIGATION

FROM NASA's
HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE.

THE HIGH-RESOLUTION IMAGES
SUGGEST A MYSTERIOUS ENERGY

IS DESTROYING THE ASTEROID
AS IT MOVES THROUGH THE COSMOS.

Genge: ASTRONOMERS SEE
THAT IT'S NOW 10 PIECES.

WHAT'S FORCING
THIS ASTEROID TO BREAK UP

IS A COMPLETE MYSTERY.

Narrator: NO PREVIOUSLY OBSERVED
NATURAL PHENOMENON

HAS EVERY PRODUCED THIS EFFECT.

AS THE ROGUE ASTEROID
CONTINUES TO DISINTEGRATE,

SCIENTISTS SCRAMBLE FOR ANSWERS.

Garvie: THE FIRST THING
WE THINK ABOUT --

"WELL, MAYBE IT WAS IMPACTED
BY ANOTHER ASTEROID,

YOU KNOW, SMASHING IT APART."

Scotti:
THERE ARE MILLIONS OF ASTEROIDS
IN ORBIT AROUND OUR SUN.

THERE'S SO MANY
OF THEM OUT THERE

THAT COLLISIONS ARE INEVITABLE.

Narrator:
ASTEROID COLLISIONS RESULT
IN CHUNKS OF ROCK EXPLODING

INTO THE COSMOS AT SPEEDS
OF UP TO 30,000 MILES PER HOUR.

BUT NONE OF THE CHUNKS OF R3 ARE
MOVING AT CLOSE TO THAT SPEED.

THEY'RE MOVING APART REALLY
SLOWLY, SO IT'S VERY UNLIKELY

THAT IT WAS AN IMPACT
WITH ANOTHER ASTEROID

THAT CAUSED THE BREAK UP
OF THE ORIGINAL BODY.

Genge: THIS ISN'T
AN ASTEROID COLLISION.

SOMETHING ELSE IS GOING ON HERE.

Garvie:
IF WE DISCOUNT COLLISION,

THERE MUST BE ANOTHER FORCE
AT WORK.

Narrator:
WHATEVER THIS FORCE IS,

IT'S POWERFUL ENOUGH
TO SPLIT AN ASTEROID

WEIGHING 200,000 TONS
INTO CHUNKS UP TO 600 FEET WIDE.

THE ASTRONOMICAL
EVENT'S UNIQUENESS SPARKS

SPECULATION THAT IT
IS NOT A NATURAL PHENOMENON.

THE ONE THING I THINK OF WHEN
I SEE SPACE ROCKS FALLING APART

IS THE 1980s ARCADE GAME
"ASTEROIDS."

Narrator:
IN THE 1980s ARCADE CLASSIC,

A SPACESHIP BLASTS APART
ASTEROIDS USING A LASER BEAM.

DEFENDING THE EARTH FROM KILLER
ASTEROIDS WITH LASER BEAMS

SOUNDS LIKE A SCI-FI IDEA,

BUT NASA HAS DEVOTED
20 YEARS OF RESEARCH

INTO TURNING THIS CONCEPT
INTO REALITY.

IN THE 1990s, NASA ACTUALLY

EXPLORED THE POSSIBILITY
OF USING GROUND-BASED LASERS

TO TRY AND FORCE SPACE DEBRIS
OUT OF THE SKY.

THEY NICKNAMED THIS
THE LASER BROOM.

Narrator:
NASA's OFFICIAL POSITION

ON THE LASER BROOM IS THAT
IT NEVER BECAME OPERATIONAL.

WHILE SUCH A DEVICE

SEEMS TO BE BEYOND HUMANITY'S
CURRENT CAPABILITY,

IT WOULD BE RELATIVELY
STRAIGHTFORWARD

FOR ANY ADVANCED SPACEFARING
CIVILIZATION.

SO, COULD SOME OTHER
EXTREMELY POWERFUL FORCE BE

CAUSING THIS ASTEROID
TO BREAK UP?

Narrator:
SO FAR, THE BEST EXPLANATION

NASA SCIENTISTS
HAVE BEEN ABLE TO COME UP WITH

FOR THE MYSTERY FORCE
THAT BROKE UP R3 IS

A LITTLE KNOWN SPACE PHENOMENON
CALLED THE YORP EFFECT.

IT'S A VERY STRANGE EFFECT

WHERE SUNLIGHT
ILLUMINATES THE ASTEROID.

AND CERTAIN SURFACES
OF THE ASTEROID,

BECAUSE THEY'RE RELEASING HEAT,

THAT HEAT TRIES TO MAKE THE
ASTEROID SPIN LIKE A WINDMILL.

AND THE FASTER THE SPIN,

THE MORE THE ASTEROID
IS BEING PULLED APART.

Narrator: THE DEBRIS
FROM R3'S DISINTEGRATION

WILL NEVER HIT EARTH,

BUT WE MAY NOT BE SO LUCKY
NEXT TIME.

THE MORE DEBRIS, THE MORE LIKELY
OUR PLANET WILL GET HIT.

Garvie:
HUNDREDS, IF NOT THOUSANDS,

OF METEORS
THAT PEPPER THE EARTH --

THE CONSEQUENCES
COULD BE FAR MORE DEVASTATING.

Narrator: COMING UP,
WHEN THE APOLLO 15 MISSION

PHOTOGRAPHS THE DARK SIDE
OF THE MOON,

IT DISCOVERS SOMETHING
LURKING IN THE SHADOWS.

I KNEW WHAT I WAS GOING TO SEE,
BUT I WASN'T PREPARED FOR IT.

IT'S JUST SOMETHING
TOTALLY, TOTALLY AWESOME.

HOW MUCH HAS NASA LEARNED
THAT THEY WOULD NEVER TELL US?

Narrator:
WHEN THE APOLLO 15 MISSION

PHOTOGRAPHS THE LUNAR SURFACE
IN UNPRECEDENTED DETAIL,

THE PICTURES REVEAL A SINISTER,
SHADOWY SHAPE.

THAT SHAPE DOESN'T LOOK
LIKE IT'S A NATURAL FORMATION.

WHEN YOU LOOK AT THAT IMAGE,
YOU CAN ONLY THINK ONE THING.

WHAT IS THAT?

Narrator:
FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS,

NASA RELEASES NO INFORMATION
ABOUT THE BAFFLING STRUCTURE.

BUT RECENT IMAGES
SUGGEST THE APOLLO 15 SIGHTING

MAY NOT BE THE END OF THE STORY.

HOW MUCH HAS NASA LEARNED
THAT THEY WOULD NEVER TELL US?

Narrator: JULY 26, 1971.

THE MIGHTY SATURN V ROCKET

CARRIES THE APOLLO 15 SPACECRAFT
OUT OF EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE

ON THE FIRST LEG
OF A JOURNEY TO THE MOON.

FOR COMMAND MODULE PILOT

AL WORDEN, THE EXPERIENCE
IS DIFFICULT TO TAKE IN.

Worden: WE WERE GOING BACKWARDS
WHEN WE APPROACHED THE MOON.

THEN, ALL THE SUDDEN,
WE TURN AROUND.

AND WE'RE LOOKING
AT THE MOON'S SURFACE.

OH, MY GOD!

What a fantastic sight.

Oh, this is really profound.

I'll tell you.

This is absolutely mind
boggling.

I KNEW WHAT I WAS GOING TO SEE,
BUT I WASN'T PREPARED FOR IT.

IT'S JUST SOMETHING
TOTALLY, TOTALLY AWESOME.

Narrator:
AS FELLOW ASTRONAUTS DAVID SCOTT

AND JAMES IRWIN
DESCEND TO THE LUNAR SURFACE,

WORDEN IS LEFT TO ORBIT THE MOON
ALONE FOR THREE DAYS.

Worden:
I PROBABLY AVERAGED FOUR HOURS

SLEEP A NIGHT WHILE THEY WERE
ON THE LUNAR SURFACE NOT --

NOT BECAUSE I WAS CONCERNED
OR NERVOUS OR ANYTHING ELSE,

BUT BECAUSE I HAD SO MUCH TO DO.

Narrator:
ONE OF WORDEN'S PRIMARY TASKS

IS TO PHOTOGRAPH AND MAP
UNEXPLORED AREAS OF THE MOON.

Worden: I PHOTOGRAPHED ABOUT
25% OF THE MOON'S SURFACE

WITH BOTH A HIGH-RESOLUTION
CAMERA AND A MAPPING CAMERA.

ONE OF MY FAVORITE THINGS
ON THE FLIGHT

WAS TO TAKE PICTURES OF THE MOON

JUST AS THE SUN
WAS GOING DOWN BEHIND ME.

AND THE SHADOW PATTERNS GOT
LONGER AND LONGER AND LONGER.

YOU SEE SOME VERY STRANGE
FEATURES ON THE MOON.

Narrator: WORKING IN TOTAL
ISOLATION FOR THREE DAYS,

WORDEN TAKES HUNDREDS OF IMAGES.

IT TAKES MORE THAN THREE MONTHS

FOR THE SPECIAL PHOTOGRAPHIC LAB
AT JOHNSON SPACE CENTER

TO DEVELOP THEM ALL.

THE SURPRISE COMES WHEN NASA
RELEASES AN IMAGE

OF AN AREA
CALLED THE DELPORTE CRATER.

A MYSTERIOUS OBJECT SEEMS
TO LURK IN THE CRATER'S SHADOWS.

Rutkowski:
WHEN YOU TAKE A VERY CLOSE LOOK,

THIS DOES SEEM TO BE COMPLETELY
OUT OF PLACE, SOMETHING UNUSUAL.

THE OBJECT
APPEARS LIKE A LONG CIGAR.

Birnes:
IT LOOKS LIKE A SPACECRAFT.

A CIGAR-SHAPED CRAFT,
WHICH IS SO INTERESTING

BECAUSE CIGAR-SHAPED
SPACECRAFT HAVE WHAT'S BEEN SEEN

IN EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE FLOATING
ABOVE POPULATION CENTERS

AND EVEN OUT IN THE DESERT
FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS.

Narrator: ANALYSIS OF THE IMAGE

REVEALS THE SHADOWY OBJECT'S
ASTONISHING SCALE.

THE CIGAR-SHAPED OBJECT
IS ABOUT THREE MILES LONG,

CERTAINLY BIGGER THAN ANYTHING

THAT ANY HUMAN
HAS SENT TO THE MOON.

Narrator:
THE UNIDENTIFIED OBJECT
PROVOKES INTENSE SPECULATION

DESPITE SCIENTIST'S CLAIMS
THAT IT IS NOTHING

MORE THAN A RIDGE
EXAGGERATED BY THE LIGHT.

WHAT YOU'RE SEEING
IS ESSENTIALLY A LUNAR SURFACE

FEATURE, A HILL
THAT'S CASTING A SHADOW.

Narrator:
FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS,

WORDEN'S SOLITARY PHOTOGRAPH
IS THE ONLY EVIDENCE

THAT THERE COULD BE SOMETHING
HIDDEN IN THE DELPORTE CRATER.

BUT DECADES LATER,
VIDEOS EMERGE ON THE INTERNET

WHICH CLAIM TO CONTAIN
CLOSE-UP IMAGES

OF THE ANOMALY FIRST SPOTTED
DURING THE APOLLO 15 MISSION.

THE POSTER OF THE VIDEO

CALLS HIMSELF
COMMANDER WILLIAM RUTLEDGE,

WHO IS NOW A 76-YEAR-OLD
FORMER NASA ENGINEER.

Narrator: RUTLEDGE CLAIMS TO BE
THE COMMANDER

OF A LATER APOLLO MISSION
CONDUCTED IN SECRET

BY NASA AS LATE AS 1976.

Birnes: THE STANDARD WRAP

ON THE APOLLO MISSIONS IS THAT
WE STOPPED GOING TO THE MOON.

BUT APOLLO 19
AND 20 WERE BOOKED.

THEY WERE PAID FOR.

WE HAD CREWS.
WE KNEW WHO WAS GOING TO GO.

Narrator:
NASA DENIES THAT THE APOLLO 19

AND 20 MISSIONS EVER TOOK PLACE.

BUT THEORIES
OF THE SECRET APOLLO MISSIONS

EXISTED LONG BEFORE ANY VIDEOS
EMERGED.

THERE WAS A THEORY

THAT AFTER WE DISCOVERED
STRANGE, ANOMALOUS OBJECTS

ON THE MOON, WE ACTUALLY

WENT BACK TO THE MOON
FOR THOSE TWO MISSIONS.

WE FOUND THE SPACECRAFT,

AND THAT WAS WHY YOU WILL NEVER
HEAR THE TRUE STORY,

IF IT'S TRUE,
OF APOLLO 19 AND APOLLO 20.

Narrator: BUT WITH THE VIDEO'S
AUTHENTICITY IN DOUBT,

THEIR VALUE AS EVIDENCE FOR
THE APOLLO 20 CONSPIRACY THEORY

IS LIMITED.

FOR THE MEN WHO HAVE BUILT
THEIR CAREERS ON THEIR VOYAGE

TO THE MOON,

THE IDEA THAT THERE COULD HAVE
BEEN SECRET FOLLOW-UP MISSIONS

IS HARD TO SWALLOW.

Worden:
DID NASA GO BACK AFTER 17?

NO. NO.

NASA DIDN'T GO BACK.

I DON'T KNOW WHO RUTLEDGE IS,

BUT I KNOW THERE'S NO APOLLO 20,

AND I KNOW THERE'S NOBODY
THAT VISITED THERE.

WE WERE WIDE OPEN,
NEVER HAD SECRETS.

Narrator:
NASA's STILL MAKING DISCOVERIES

THAT CHALLENGE
OUR MOST FUNDAMENTAL ASSUMPTIONS

ABOUT HOW THE UNIVERSE WORKS.

AND MANY OF THE MYSTERIES
FROM DECADES OF EXPLORATION

ARE STILL UNEXPLAINED.

AS THE SPACE AGENCY
FACES AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE,

IT REMAINS OUR BEST HOPE

OF DETECTING THREATS
FROM BEYOND THE STARS.

WE CAN ONLY HOPE WE ARE READY.