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 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.