Original subtitles

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

Teitel: WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE UNIVERSE

IS A TINY FRACTION OF WHAT'S ACTUALLY OUT THERE.

Narrator: IN THE SEARCH FOR ANSWERS,

IT LAUNCHES ITS SCIENTISTS INTO SPACE,

ITS CRAFT BEYOND THE LIMITS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM.

Lee: WE HAVE NO IDEA WHAT'S OUT THERE.

THERE MIGHT BE DANGERS LURKING IN THE DARKNESS.

WE RUN ACROSS MORE MYSTERIES THAN DISCOVERIES.

WE DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S GONNA THROW AT US NEXT.

[ COUGHING ]

Narrator: AN ASTRONAUT BATTLES A RAGING FIRE...

200 MILES ABOVE THE EARTH.

RIGHT THERE, I SAY, "WE HAVE TO GET THAT FIRE OUT,

OR WE'RE GONNA LOSE OUR LIVES,

AND WE'RE GONNA LOSE THIS SPACE STATION."

Narrator: STRANGE LIGHTS IN THE SKIES ABOVE CHINA.

THIS WAS OBVIOUSLY NOT NATURALLY OCCURRING.

NO ONE REALLY KNEW WHAT WAS GOING ON.

Narrator: AND A CLASSIFIED AIR FORCE PROGRAM

TO PUT SPIES IN SPACE.

IT SOUNDS LIKE A CRAZY CONSPIRACY THEORY.

BUT IT'S REAL.

Narrator: THESE ARE NASA's UNEXPLAINED FILES.

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

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

1995.

FOUR YEARS AFTER THE FALL OF THE U.S.S.R.,

NASA DECIDES TO SEND ITS ASTRONAUTS TO TRAIN

ON RUSSIA'S MIR SPACE STATION.

NASA, OF COURSE, UNDERSTANDS PERFECTLY THAT MIR

IS VERY IMPORTANT AS A FIRST STEP

TOWARD THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.

Narrator: DUE TO THE HISTORY BETWEEN THE TWO COLD WAR RIVALS,

THE MISSIONS ARE UNDER INTENSE PRESSURE.

THE PUBLIC AND THE CONGRESS

ARE VERY SKEPTICAL ABOUT COOPERATION WITH THE RUSSIANS.

COLD WAR, OF COURSE, IS STILL IN THE MEMORY OF MANY PEOPLE.

Narrator: ONE OF THE ASTRONAUTS

CHOSEN TO WORK ON MIR IS JERRY LINENGER.

IN FEBRUARY 1997,

HE IS JOINED BY TWO RUSSIAN COSMONAUTS

AND A GERMAN.

SO, WE'RE ALL JUST SITTING AROUND, EATIN' DINNER.

I GRAB SOME DEHYDRATED BORSCHT, DEPART,

GO TO DO SOME WORK IN A DIFFERENT MODULE.

Narrator: AT 10:35 P.M...[ ALARM BLARES ]

...THE MIR SPACE STATION'S MASTER ALARM SUDDENLY GOES OFF.

MASTER ALARM MEANS YOU'RE HAVIN' A REALLY BAD DAY IN SPACE.

VASILI TSIBLIYEV COMES FLYING FAST AROUND THE CORNER.

I SAID, "IS IT SERIOUS?" AND HE SAID, "YES, VERY.

FIRE."

WE'VE GOT A FLAME COMIN' OUT 3 OR 4 FEET IN LENGTH,

BLOWTORCH-LIKE IN INTENSITY, SPARKS FLYIN' OFF THE END OF IT,

COMIN' OUT OF AN OXYGEN CANISTER.

[ COUGHING ]

Narrator: WITHIN SECONDS,

THE WHOLE MODULE FILLS WITH TOXIC FUMES.

Linenger: I GRAB THE RESPIRATOR OFF THE WALL,

FULL RUBBER MASK OVER MY HEAD,

ACTIVATE THE OXYGEN CANISTER, BREATHE IN.

AND I GET NOTHING.

Narrator: THE RESPIRATOR HAS FAILED.

LINENGER HAS TO SURVIVE

ON THE OXYGEN STORED IN HIS BLOOD

UNTIL HE CAN GET TO ANOTHER.

I THINK TO MYSELF,

"GOT TO GET TO THAT NEXT RESPIRATOR."

AND TO BE HONEST WITH YOU, I WASN'T SURE

WHERE THAT NEXT RESPIRATOR WAS.

Narrator: THE SUPERHEATED FLAME BEGINS TO EAT

INTO THE STRUCTURE OF THE SPACE STATION.

I SEE WHAT LOOKS TO BE A BALL OF WAX BEING SPLATTERED

AGAINST THE FAR BULKHEADS.

REALIZE IT'S NOT BALLS OF WAX. IT IS MOLTEN METAL.

THIS THING IS FIRING MOLTEN METAL ACROSS.

GONNA PIERCE THE HULL.

RIGHT THERE, I SAY, "WE HAVE TO GET THAT FIRE OUT,

OR WE'RE GONNA LOSE OUR LIVES,

AND WE'RE GONNA LOSE THIS SPACE STATION."

THINKIN' ABOUT MY SON, I YELLED OUT, "GOODBYE, JOHN.

YOU KNOW, LOOKS LIKE I'M NOT GONNA BE MAKIN' IT BACK."

SAID GOODBYE TO MY WIFE.

STARTIN' TO FEEL AS IF I'M SORT OF UNDERWATER.

STARTIN' TO GET A LITTLE FUZZY PERIPHERAL VISION

FROM NEEDIN' OXYGEN.

Narrator: BLINDED BY SMOKE, LINENGER HAS TO FEEL HIS WAY

TO A WORKING RESPIRATOR.

[ BREATHING DEEPLY ]

[ INHALES DEEPLY ] BREATHE IN, AND I GET OXYGEN.

HYPERVENTILATE THE NEXT 30, 40 SECONDS.

GET MY BLOOD-OXYGEN LEVEL BACK UP.

AND I JUST SCREAM, "WE'RE GONNA GET THAT FIRE OUT.

GONNA SEE MY BOY AGAIN."

Narrator: LINENGER AND VALERY KORZUN ATTEMPT

TO TACKLE THE BLAZE WITH MIR'S FIRE EXTINGUISHERS.

THAT FLAME HAS INTENSITY.

EXHAUST THREE FIRE EXTINGUISHERS.

I'M FINALLY HEADIN' IN THERE WITH A FOURTH FIRE EXTINGUISHER.

AND THEN VASILI JUST SCREAMS, "JERRY, FIRE'S OUT."

ADRENALINE REALLY FLOWIN'.

BIG SIGH OF RELIEF WHEN THAT FLAME WAS OUT.

Narrator: IT'S THE WORST FIRE TO EVER HAPPEN IN EARTH'S ORBIT.

THE CREW MANAGES TO FILM THE AFTERMATH.

BUT KEY INFORMATION ABOUT THE BLAZE IS WITHHELD FROM NASA.

ALL COMMUNICATION IS VIA MISSION CONTROL, MOSCOW.

THERE WAS NO DIRECT COMMUNICATION

TO ANYONE DOWN AT NASA.

SO WE HAD TO INDIRECTLY KIND OF HINT

AT THE SERIOUSNESS OF WHAT'S GOIN' ON.

Narrator: THE RUSSIAN SPACE AGENCY TELLS NASA

THE FIRE WAS A MINOR INCIDENT,

LASTING JUST 90 SECONDS.

Zak: ON THE RUSSIAN SIDE, THERE IS A TENDENCY

TO MAKE THIS ACCIDENT SOUND

AND LOOK NOT AS DANGEROUS AND TERRIBLE

AS IT REALLY IS.

Narrator: THE FOLLOWING DAY,

THE RUSSIAN VERSION OF EVENTS BEGINS TO UNRAVEL.

WHEN TONY SANG,

THE U.S. OPERATIONS LEADER IN MOSCOW, ARRIVES AT WORK,

HE IS KEPT IN THE DARK FOR A WHILE.

IT'S NOT UNTIL HE OVERHEARS A CONVERSATION IN RUSSIAN

THAT HE REALIZES THE FULL EXTENT OF THE PROBLEM

AND THE FIRE THAT HAS OCCURRED.

Narrator: TO GET THE TRUTH TO EARTH,

LINENGER HAS TO ASK A DEPARTING COSMONAUT

TO SMUGGLE A LETTER TO HIS WIFE.

WE HAD VALERY TAKE ONE OF MY NOTES

AND STUFF IT IN A SPACE SUIT,

AND KIND OF TOLD HER THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE FIRE.

AND IT DESCRIBES THE ENTIRE SITUATION,

INCLUDING THE FACT THAT THE FIRE LASTS 14 MINUTES.

NOT THE SECONDS THAT THE RUSSIANS CLAIM.

Narrator: SINCE 1995, NASA HAS INVESTED $400 MILLION IN MIR.

WHEN THE U.S. GOVERNMENT HEARS ABOUT THE RUSSIAN COVER-UP,

THEY DEMAND A FULL INQUIRY INTO SAFETY LEVELS

ONBOARD THE SPACE STATION.

NASA APPOINTS SPECIAL AGENT JOE GUTHEINZ

TO LEAD THE INVESTIGATION.

CONGRESS WANTS ANSWERS.

THERE'S A LOT OF MONEY INVOLVED IN THE MIR.

AND THERE'S RISK THAT MAY BE UNACCEPTABLE.

Narrator: GUTHEINZ UNCOVERS EVIDENCE

OF SEVERAL PREVIOUS SAFETY BREACHES ON MIR.

THE RUSSIANS WERE NOT BEING HONEST WITH US.

THEY WEREN'T TELLING US ABOUT PRIOR FIRES.

NASA DIDN'T KNOW THAT THERE WAS

A FIRE ON OCTOBER 15, 1994,

INVOLVING THE SAME ISSUE.

Narrator: NASA's FINANCIAL STAKE IN MIR

MEANS IT STORES COPIES OF ALL MISSION SAFETY BRIEFINGS

AT JOHNSON SPACE CENTER.

BUT WHEN GUTHEINZ TRIES TO ACCESS THIS EVIDENCE,

HE IS TOLD IT IS NO LONGER THERE.

ON MARCH 14th, IT WAS DETERMINED

THAT 37 TAPES WERE MISSING.

THESE TAPES WERE A NO-HOLDS-BACK ACCOUNT

ABOUT THE DISHONESTY OF THE RUSSIANS,

THE DANGERS OF THE FIRE.

[ ALARM BLARING ]

Narrator: WITH KEY EVIDENCE MISSING,

GUTHEINZ HAS TO FIND ANOTHER WAY TO GET TO THE TRUTH.

Gutheinz: WHAT I NEED TO DO IS TALK TO THE INDIVIDUALS

AND FIND OUT WHAT WAS SAID.

I WAS ABLE TO RECONSTRUCT THE TAPES --

THE INCONVENIENT TRUTH

ABOUT HOW DANGEROUS THE MIR ACTUALLY WAS.

Narrator: THE EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THE RUSSIAN SPACE AGENCY

HAS BEEN SYSTEMATICALLY COVERING UP SAFETY ISSUES ON MIR.

Gutheinz: THIS WAS THEIR CASH COW.

THE RUSSIANS KNEW THAT,

IF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC KNEW HOW DANGEROUS THE MIR WAS,

THEY COULD NOT ENDORSE OUR CONTINUED PRESENCE ON THE MIR.

Narrator: THE INQUIRY FOLLOWING THE FIRE

TRACES THE INCIDENT TO A FAULTY OXYGEN CANISTER.

Ferreira: A COMPREHENSIVE INVESTIGATION

REVEALS THAT THE FIRE WAS CAUSED BY A PIECE OF LATEX GLOVE

CAUGHT IN THE OXYGEN CANISTER.

HOW IT GOT THERE, NOBODY KNOWS.

Narrator: THE CREW ONLY LIVED

BECAUSE OF QUICK, DECISIVE ACTION BY LINENGER

AND HIS RUSSIAN CREWMATES.

IT'S A MATTER OF SPLIT SECONDS, LIFE AND DEATH.

YOU MAKE A WRONG DECISION,

THAT CAN GET YOU FURTHER DOWN

A SPIRAL YOU DON'T WANT TO GO DOWN.

Narrator: AMERICA'S PARTNERSHIP WITH RUSSIA

SURVIVED THE INCIDENT.

AND MIR WENT ON TO LAY THE FOUNDATIONS

FOR THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.

BUT SOME SAY DISTRUST STILL LINGERS

BETWEEN THE FORMER COLD WAR ENEMIES.

I THINK IT IS A MIRACLE THAT THE CREW SURVIVED.

BUT IT'S AN EVEN BIGGER MIRACLE

THAT THE SPACE STATION DID NOT HAVE TO BE ABANDONED.

Narrator: STILL TO COME, ASTRONOMERS DISCOVER

A STRANGE NEW WORLD CLOSE TO EARTH.

THE SUN WOULD NEVER RISE.

IT WOULD NEVER SET.

HERE IS WHERE ALL THE ACTION WOULD BE.

IN GALACTIC TERMS, THIS PLANET IS VIRTUALLY ON OUR DOORSTEP.

Narrator: NASA DISCOVERS THREE POTENTIALLY HABITABLE PLANETS

TANTALIZINGLY CLOSE TO EARTH.

Oluseyi: WE'VE DISCOVERED POTENTIALLY HABITABLE WORLDS BEFORE,

BUT NEVER ONE THIS CLOSE.

IN GALACTIC TERMS, THIS PLANET IS VIRTUALLY ON OUR DOORSTEP.

Narrator: BUT IF THERE IS LIFE ON THESE WORLDS,

IT WILL TAKE STRANGE, HORRIFYING FORMS.

THE ORGANISMS WOULD BE HIGHLY ADAPTIVE.

THEY'D BE ABLE TO SEE INFRARED SIGNATURES,

ESPECIALLY IF THEY'RE HUNTERS.

Narrator: THE HARPS TELESCOPE AT LA SILLA, CHILE,

SEARCHES THE COSMOS FOR POTENTIALLY HABITABLE PLANETS.

ON DECEMBER 16, 2015, ASTRONOMERS

NOTICE AN UNUSUAL PATTERN IN THE LIGHT COMING FROM A STAR

IN THE OPHIUCHUS CONSTELLATION.

JUST LIKE EVERY ITEM IN A GROCERY STORE

HAS A BAR CODE THAT UNIQUELY IDENTIFIES IT,

STARS HAVE A BAR CODE IN THEIR LIGHT.

THIS BAR CODE CAN ALLOW US TO DISCOVER UNSEEN OBJECTS.

Narrator: ASTRONOMERS SUSPECT THAT THE HARPS TELESCOPE

HAS DISCOVERED A NEW WORLD.

TO VERIFY THE DISCOVERY,

THEY MEASURE TINY MOVEMENTS OF THE STAR,

KNOWN AS THE DOPPLER SHIFT.

WHEN WE TALK ABOUT MEASURING THE DOPPLER SHIFT OF A STAR,

WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT REALLY IS A PLANET

PULLING ON THE STAR AS IT ORBITS,

AND THE STAR MOVES BACK AND FORTH.

BIGGER THE PLANET, THE MORE THAT STAR IS GOING TO MOVE.

Narrator: THE MEASUREMENTS REVEAL SOMETHING INTRIGUING.

THE STAR'S DOPPLER SHIFT SHOWS IT IS BEING PULLED,

NOT BY ONE PLANET, BUT BY THREE.

Aguilar: FINDING ONE PLANET ORBITING A DISTANT STAR IS REMARKABLE.

BUT FINDING THREE?

THAT'S TRULY ASTOUNDING,

BECAUSE NOW YOUR CHANCES OF FINDING LIFE

ARE THREE TIMES GREATER THAN THEY WERE BEFORE.

Narrator: EXCITEMENT BUILDS WHEN THE TEAM DISCOVERS

THAT ONE OF THE PLANETS IS THE RIGHT DISTANCE

FROM THE STAR TO SUPPORT LIFE.

THEY NAME IT WOLF 1061C.

Ballard: IT TURNS OUT THAT ONE OF THESE PLANETS

IS IN THE HABITABLE ZONE, THE GOLDILOCKS ZONE.

AND THAT'S WHAT MAKES THIS PARTICULAR DISCOVERY

SO EXCITING, FROM THE PROSPECT OF FINDING LIFE.

Narrator: THE WORLD BEARS ALL THE HALLMARKS

OF A PLANET CAPABLE OF SUPPORTING LIFE.

BUT THERE IS SOMETHING STRANGE ABOUT IT --

IT DOESN'T SPIN.

Oluseyi: THAT MEANS THAT ONE SIDE OF THE PLANET

WILL GET REALLY HOT --

THE SIDE THAT'S FACING THE STAR.

AND THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PLANET WILL BE REALLY COLD.

[ THUNDER CRASHES ]

YOU'D HAVE VERY STRONG WINDS THAT ARE BLOWING

FROM THE HOTTER TO THE COOLER SIDE.

[ THUNDER CRASHES ]

Aguilar: THERE WOULD BE TORNADOES.

THERE WOULD BE WINDSTORMS WHIPPING AROUND.

AND IT WOULD BE VERY VIOLENT.

[ THUNDER CRASHES ]

Narrator: THE STAR HAS A MASSIVE GRAVITATIONAL FORCE,

WHICH HAS STOPPED THE PLANET FROM SPINNING.

SCIENTISTS CALL THE PHENOMENON TIDAL LOCKING.

Aguilar: TO BE TIDALLY LOCKED,

ONE SIDE OF THE PLANET ALWAYS FACES THE STAR,

AND ONE SIDE ALWAYS FACES AWAY INTO DEEP OUTER SPACE.

SAME SITUATION WITH THE MOON FACING THE EARTH.

Narrator: THE PLANET'S LIGHT SIDE IS TOO HOT

FOR EVEN THE TOUGHEST LIFE-FORMS TO SURVIVE.

THE DARK SIDE IS IMPOSSIBLY COLD.

BUT THERE IS ONE SLIM AREA

OF THIS WORLD WHERE LIFE IS POSSIBLE.

SCIENTISTS CALL IT THE TWILIGHT ZONE.

Oluseyi: IT'S LIKE ALWAYS BEING AT DAWN OR ALWAYS BEING AT DUSK.

SO THERE MIGHT BE TEMPERATURES

THAT ARE SUITABLE FOR LIFE.

THIS TWILIGHT ZONE AREA, THE SKY WOULD BE A PEACHY COLOR.

THE SUN WOULD NEVER RISE. IT WOULD NEVER SET.

AND YET HERE IS WHERE ALL THE ACTION WOULD BE.

YOU COULD IMAGINE THAT LIFE WOULD EVOLVE IN THIS POSITION

OF PERMANENT SUNRISE AND PERMANENT SUNSET.

Narrator: LIFE IN THE TWILIGHT ZONE WOULD HAVE TO ADAPT

TO STRANGE CONDITIONS.

[ CREATURE ROARING ]

Aguilar: CREATURES HERE WOULD ROAM INTO THE DAYLIGHT SIDE.

THEY WOULD ROAM INTO THE NIGHT SIDE.

SO THEY WOULD BE ADAPTED FOR BOTH.

INTO THE NIGHT SIDE, THEY'D PROBABLY BE ABLE

TO PROTECT THEMSELVES FROM THE COLD.

THEY'D BE ABLE TO SEE

INFRARED SIGNATURES OF CREATURES.

AS THESE CREATURES MOVED BACK AND FORTH,

THEY WOULD MEET VIOLENT WEATHER PATTERNS

AS STORMS RIPPED THROUGH THE TWILIGHT ZONE.

[ THUNDER CRASHES ]

BUT THIS WOULD BE THE AREA

THAT WE WOULD LAND A PROBE FIRST

IF WE WERE GOING TO LOOK FOR LIFE.

[ THUNDER CRASHES ]

Narrator: THE PLANET'S POWERFUL GRAVITY

COULD HAVE A DRAMATIC EFFECT ON LIVING CREATURES.

Oluseyi: WOLF 1061C IS MORE THAN FOUR TIMES

MORE MASSIVE THAN THE EARTH.

THAT MEANS THAT THE GRAVITY IS GONNA BE TWICE AS STRONG.

IF THERE ARE CREATURES THAT CAN WALK AROUND,

THEY PROBABLY ARE VERY SHORT

AND HAVE BIG, FAT LEGS TO MOVE AROUND UNDER THAT HIGH GRAVITY.

Narrator: THE TWILIGHT WORLD IS ONLY ONE

OF MANY POTENTIALLY HABITABLE PLANETS

SO FAR DISCOVERED BY NASA TELESCOPES.

BUT THERE IS ONE THING THAT MAKES THIS PLANET STAND OUT --

THE WOLF STAR SYSTEM IS ONE OF THE CLOSEST TO EARTH.

WE'VE DISCOVERED OTHER POTENTIALLY HABITABLE PLANETS BEFORE,

BUT THIS ONE'S REALLY CLOSE.

IT'S PRACTICALLY IN OUR BACKYARD.

IT'S JUST UNDER 14 LIGHT-YEARS AWAY.

TREMENDOUSLY EXCITING TO KNOW THAT, NOT TOO FAR AWAY,

THERE IS A PLANET THAT COULD HAVE LIFE ON IT.

Narrator: THE TWILIGHT ZONE IS REAL.

AND IT'S WAITING FOR US.

Oluseyi: I DON'T KNOW HOW LONG IT'S GONNA TAKE.

BUT I CAN JUST ABOUT GUARANTEE YOU THAT, SOMEDAY,

A MISSION FROM EARTH WILL LAND ON 1061C.

Narrator: STILL TO COME, BIZARRE LIGHTS WITNESSED

BY THOUSANDS IN THE SKIES ABOVE CHINA.

THIS WAS OBVIOUSLY NOT NATURALLY OCCURRING.

IS THERE MORE GOING ON THAN WHAT WE WERE BEING TOLD?

THE CHINESE ARE SECRETIVE, AND THAT ALONE IS SIGNIFICANT.

Man: HEY!

Narrator: STRANGE LIGHTS APPEAR IN THE SKIES ABOVE CHINA.

WAS THERE MORE HERE GOING ON THAN WHAT WE WERE BEING TOLD?

Narrator: DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE OFFICIALS

INVESTIGATE THE MYSTERY SIGHTING.

NEWS OUTLETS ARE REPORTING EVIDENCE

OF EXTRATERRESTRIAL ACTIVITY.

Pope: THIS STRANGE SPIRAL WAS LIKE A LIVING THING.

Narrator: SOUTHERN CHINA.

WITNESSES SEE STRANGE SHAPES AND COLORS

IN THE SICHUAN PROVINCE SKIES.

HUNDREDS, THOUSANDS, POSSIBLY EVEN MILLIONS

OF POTENTIAL WITNESSES SAW THIS THING --

A STRANGE SHAPE

MOVING IN A VERY WEIRD, BIZARRE WAY IN THE SKY.

THIS STRANGE SPIRAL WAS LIKE A LIVING THING.

THIS WAS OBVIOUSLY NOT NATURALLY OCCURRING.

IT WASN'T JUST CLOUDS. IT WAS SOMETHING ELSE.

AND NO ONE REALLY KNEW WHAT WAS GOING ON.

Narrator: WHEN IMAGES OF THE BIZARRE EVENT ARE POSTED ONLINE,

THEY IMMEDIATELY GO VIRAL.

THE INTERNET WAS BUZZING WITH EXCITEMENT ABOUT THIS.

IS THIS UFOs?

Narrator: SOME CHINESE NEWS OUTLETS REPORT THE INCIDENT

AS POSSIBLE EVIDENCE OF EXTRATERRESTRIAL ACTIVITY.

Pope: THE SORTS OF MEDIA OUTLETS COMING OUT WITH THESE STORIES,

IT'S NOT THE CHINESE EQUIVALENT

OF THE WEEKLY WORLD NEWS OR THE NATIONAL ENQUIRER.

THESE ARE REPUTABLE MEDIA OUTLETS.

Oberg: IN CHINA, BELIEF IN ALIEN VISITORS

IS PRACTICALLY MAINSTREAM.

FAR MORE LIKELY THAT THE CHINESE STORIES

OF UFOs ARE A SMOKE SCREEN

DESIGNED TO COVER THE REAL TRUTH HERE.

Narrator: IN RESPONSE TO MOUNTING SPECULATION,

CHINESE OFFICIALS CLAIM THE BIZARRE SHAPES

ARE THE AFTEREFFECTS OF A ROCKET LAUNCH

FOR A WEATHER SATELLITE.

THE CHINESE SPACE AGENCY RELEASES A STATEMENT

SAYING THAT THE ROCKET LAUNCH

WAS JUST PART OF A ROUTINE UPPER-ATMOSPHERIC MISSION.

JUST GONNA SAMPLE THINGS LIKE COSMIC RADIATION,

ULTRAVIOLET LIGHTS.

NOTHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY.

Narrator: U.S. MILITARY OFFICIALS

TRACK AND ANALYZE LAUNCH DATA.

WHAT THEY DISCOVER ALARMS THEM.

THE U.S. GOVERNMENT SAID

THIS PARTICULAR LAUNCH WENT 20,000 MILES

OR PERHAPS EVEN HIGHER.

TO MANY OF US, THAT SEEMED UNUSUAL.

THAT WAS NOT THE KIND OF THING

YOU WOULD EXPECT FOR THIS TYPE OF SCIENTIFIC EXPERIMENT.

Narrator: A CONVENTIONAL WEATHER-SATELLITE LAUNCH REACHES

A MAXIMUM ALTITUDE OF APPROXIMATELY 500 MILES.

THE CHINESE LAUNCH GOES 40 TIMES HIGHER.

IF IT'S NOT A SCIENTIFIC ROCKET LAUNCH,

THEN WHAT CAN IT BE?

Narrator: MILITARY AND SPACE ANALYST BRIAN WEEDEN

INVESTIGATES THE INCIDENT.

MY FIRST LINE OF INQUIRY WAS TO LOOK

FOR SATELLITE IMAGERY OF THE LAUNCH SITE.

AND TO MY SURPRISE, I FOUND NOT A TYPICAL ROCKET

THAT WAS USED TO LAUNCH SATELLITES,

BUT, INSTEAD, I FOUND A MILITARY VEHICLE KNOWN AS A TEL.

IT'S A TRANSPORTER ERECTOR LAUNCHER.

FINDING A TEL AT A SPACE-LAUNCH FACILITY,

TO ME, WAS A REALLY SURPRISING EVENT

BECAUSE IT CLEARLY SIGNALED A MILITARY INVOLVEMENT.

WHAT'S POTENTIALLY MORE WORRISOME

IS, THAT ABILITY IS MOBILE.

Narrator: WEEDEN'S DISCOVERY OF A MOBILE WEAPONS LAUNCHER

CONFIRMS THE U.S. GOVERNMENT'S WORST FEARS.

Oberg: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE ANNOUNCED ITS ANALYSIS

OF THIS LAUNCH

AS BEING INCONSISTENT WITH A SCIENCE MISSION.

IT LOOKS TO THEM LIKE IT WAS A TEST

OF AN ANTISATELLITE WEAPON.

Narrator: IF CHINA HAS DEVELOPED

EFFECTIVE MOBILE ANTI-SPACE WEAPONRY,

IT COULD ALTER THE GLOBAL BALANCE OF POWER.

Pope: THEY ESSENTIALLY SAY CHINA

IS GETTING READY TO FIGHT A SPACE WAR.

THEY LOOK AT THE MISSION PROFILE.

THEY LOOK AT THE TRAJECTORY.

AND THEY SAY THIS IS YET ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF THE CHINESE

DEVELOPING AND TESTING THE CAPABILITY

TO SHOOT DOWN SATELLITES.

QUESTIONS ARE ASKED AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL.

THIS IS RAISED IN THE U.S. SENATE.

Narrator: OBSERVERS WORRY THE 2013 LAUNCH

REPRESENTS A MAJOR STEP FORWARD

IN CHINA'S ANTISATELLITE CAPABILITY.

IT TURNS OUT THAT IT GOES UP TO A HEIGHT OF 18,000 MILES.

NOW, THAT'S EXACTLY WHERE THE CROWN JEWELS

OF AMERICA'S SATELLITE CAPABILITY LIE.

Narrator: AMERICA'S MOST ADVANCED MILITARY

AND INTELLIGENCE SATELLITES

ARE NOW WITHIN THE RANGE OF CHINA'S SPACE WEAPON.

Weeden: IT'S INCREASINGLY THE CASE

THAT SPACE IS THE KEY TO MILITARY POWER.

THE NEXT WORLD WAR MAY WELL BEGIN IN OUTER SPACE.

Narrator: STILL TO COME,

HAS A LONE ASTRONOMER SOLVED ONE

OF THE GREATEST MYSTERIES IN SPACE SCIENCE?

Aguilar: NOBODY REALLY WANTS TO SAY, "HEY.

THIS IS A SIGNAL FROM OUTER SPACE."

THAT'S WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE.

♪♪

Narrator: A MYSTERIOUS RADIO SIGNAL

FROM A DISTANT CONSTELLATION

DEFIES EXPLANATION FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS.

ONE POSSIBILITY IS THAT IT REALLY WAS A SIGNAL

FROM DEEP SPACE COMING FROM SOME OTHER SOCIETY.

IT LOOKED AS IF IT WAS BEING DELIBERATELY SENT.

Narrator: A LONE SCIENTIST'S CHANCE ENCOUNTER

INSPIRES A THEORY WHICH MAY FINALLY SOLVE THE MYSTERY.

AND IF IT'S TRUE, IT WOULD BE THE DISCOVERY OF A LIFETIME.

Narrator: AUGUST 15, 1977.

AT 11:16 P.M.,

AN ASTRONOMER AT OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY

DETECTS A STRANGE SIGNAL

COMING FROM THE CONSTELLATION OF SAGITTARIUS.

WELL, ONE DAY, IN 1977,

THERE WAS SOMETHING SO INTERESTING

THAT HE WROTE "WOW" NEXT TO IT.

THE "WOW!" SIGNAL, AS IT'S NOW CALLED,

IS CONSIDERED TO BE ONE

OF THE BEST POTENTIAL RADIO COMMUNICATIONS

FROM AN ALIEN LIFE-FORM.

Narrator: THE SIGNAL IS ON THE PRECISE FREQUENCY

SCIENTISTS PREDICT EXTRATERRESTRIALS

COULD USE FOR COMMUNICATION.

IT'S CALLED THE HYDROGEN LINE.

THIS FREQUENCY, 1,420 MEGAHERTZ,

THE HYDROGEN LINE, COMES FROM WHEN YOU'VE ZAPPED HYDROGEN,

YOU'VE GIVEN IT ENERGY.

AND THIS IS THE FREQUENCY IT SCREAMS AT.

Narrator: HYDROGEN ACCOUNTS FOR 73%

OF ALL THE MATTER IN THE UNIVERSE.

SCIENTISTS CAN ENERGIZE HYDROGEN ATOMS TO MAKE THEM MOVE.

AND WHEN THEY MOVE, THEY GIVE OFF A FREQUENCY

THAT CAN TRAVEL VAST DISTANCES THROUGH SPACE.

THE SCIENTISTS BELIEVE THAT ALIEN RACES

MIGHT USE THIS PARTICULAR FREQUENCY

BECAUSE IT'S ONE OF THE MOST ABUNDANT EMITTERS

OF RADIO WAVES IN THE UNIVERSE.

SO IF ANYBODY WAS LOOKING,

THEY MIGHT EXPECT TO SEE SIGNALS

EXACTLY ON THE HYDROGEN LINE.

Narrator: FOR YEARS, ASTRONOMERS HAVE SEARCHED

FOR A REPEAT OF THE "WOW!" SIGNAL.

BUT THEY'VE ONLY HEARD SILENCE.

THEY WENT BACK THE NEXT NIGHT AND LISTENED -- NOTHING.

NEXT MONTH -- NOTHING.

YEARS LATER -- NOTHING.

[ BEEPING ]

THAT DOESN'T MEAN IT WASN'T E.T. NECESSARILY.

IT COULD BE THAT THEY JUST SENT US ONE SIGNAL

AND THEN WENT AWAY.

Narrator: FOR FOUR DECADES,

THE ORIGIN OF THE MYSTERY SIGNAL HAS DIVIDED OPINION.

IN JULY 2015, ASTRONOMER ANTONIO PARIS

IS DRIVING HOME FROM WORK

WHEN A REVELATION HITS HIM.

Paris: SO, I'M DRIVING ALONG, LOOKING AT A TRUCK OVERPASSING.

AND I THINK OF A TRUCK AS AN OBJECT IN SPACE.

AND I SAY TO MYSELF,

"I'LL PROBABLY NEVER SEE THAT TRUCK AGAIN."

AND THAT'S SORT OF LIKE THE "WOW!" SIGNAL IS.

Narrator: MOST SCIENTISTS BELIEVED

THE MYSTERY SIGNAL'S DISAPPEARANCE WAS PROOF

THAT IT HAD BEEN A RANDOM EVENT.

THE TRUCK MOVING OVER THE HIGHWAY LEADS PARIS

TO A DIFFERENT THEORY.

THE SIGNAL DIDN'T DISAPPEAR.

IT MOVED.

[ BEEPING ]

[ RADIO STATIC ]

Genge: IT MAY BE THE SIGNAL WASN'T FROM THE DEPTHS OF SPACE,

BUT FROM SOMETHING MUCH CLOSER TO US

THAT JUST PASSED IN FRONT OF THE TELESCOPE,

MADE ITS NOISE, AND THEN MOVED AWAY.

Shostak: AND THAT WOULD EXPLAIN WHY YOU SEE IT ONCE,

AND YOU DON'T SEE IT AGAIN, 'CAUSE, YOU KNOW,

IT JUST PASSED ACROSS YOUR FIELD OF VIEW.

Narrator: PARIS' THEORY EXPLAINS THE SIGNAL'S DISAPPEARANCE,

BUT NOT WHY IT WAS BROADCASTING

ON SUCH A COSMICALLY SIGNIFICANT WAVELENGTH.

THIS IS A VERY SMALL FREQUENCY, AND IT'S PROTECTED.

SO HERE ON EARTH, WE CANNOT USE THAT FREQUENCY.

SO WE HAVE TO DEDUCE THAT THE SOURCE

HAS TO BE EXTRATERRESTRIAL IN NATURE.

Narrator: WHATEVER'S PRODUCING THIS SIGNAL

MUST EITHER HAVE DELIBERATELY CHOSEN

THIS PARTICULAR WAVELENGTH

OR BE PRODUCING LARGE QUANTITIES OF HYDROGEN.

SOME SUGGEST THAT THE MYSTERY SOURCE

COULD SIMPLY BE A COMET.

COMETS HAVE A LOT OF HYDROGEN GAS.

WHEN EXCITED BY SUNLIGHT,

THEY RADIATE ENERGY

IN EXACTLY THE SAME WAVELENGTH

AS THAT RADIO TELESCOPE WAS MONITORING.

Narrator: PARIS SEARCHES NASA COMET DATABASES FROM 1977.

WHEN HE DOES, HE DISCOVERS TWO POSSIBLE SUSPECTS

FOR THE MYSTERY SIGNAL.

I REVISITED WHAT I CALL THE CRIME SCENE.

AND I FOUND TWO COMETS THAT WERE IN THE VERY SAME AREA,

SAME DATE, SAME TIME

THAT THE "WOW!" SIGNAL WAS DETECTED.

Narrator: PARIS' THEORY SEEMS LIKE A SMOKING GUN.

BUT THE DATA SUGGESTS WHATEVER PRODUCED

THE "WOW!" SIGNAL WAS NO ORDINARY COMET.

Ferreira: THE COMET THEORY FIT SOME OF THE FACTS.

BUT WHAT ARE THE ODDS THAT A COMET COULD PRODUCE

A RADIO SIGNAL OF THAT STRENGTH?

NORMALLY, THE HYDROGEN CLOUD

AROUND A COMET NUCLEUS IS VERY FAINT.

SO THERE'S NO NATURAL WAY TO HAVE THIS MUCH HYDROGEN

UNLESS SOMEHOW THERE WAS SOME UNUSUAL ACTIVITY

AT THE SURFACE OF THE COMET.

Narrator: WHAT ACTIVITY COULD CAUSE

A SPIKE IN THE HYDROGEN AROUND A COMET?

SOME SPECULATE IT COULD BE DUE TO MINING THE COMET'S CORE.

WHEN WE TAKE TO SPACE AND BEGIN INDUSTRIALIZING SPACE

AND MINING COMETS,

THAT'S THE KIND OF SIGNAL THAT WE MIGHT EXPECT TO EMIT.

Aguilar: COMETS ARE REALLY A VALUABLE RESOURCE

FOR NATURAL MATERIALS.

ANY ALIEN CIVILIZATION WOULD WANT TO EXPLOIT THEM

AS THEY MOVED FARTHER INTO OUTER SPACE.

Narrator: NASA AND PRIVATE CORPORATIONS

ARE CURRENTLY DEVELOPING THE TECHNOLOGY TO LAND ON

AND MINE COMETS FOR THEIR RESOURCES.

Aguilar: THE IDEA OF LANDING ON A COMET

AND MINING IT IS NOT INCONCEIVABLE.

THE ROSETTA MISSION JUST LANDED ON A COMET.

AND WE KNOW WE HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY

AND THE CAPABILITIES TO DO THIS.

Narrator: TO DATE, SCIENTISTS AND ASTRONOMERS

HAVE OBSERVED MORE THAN 3,000 COMETS.

NOT ONE HAS EMITTED ANYTHING CLOSE TO THE "WOW!" SIGNAL.

IF IT'S NOT A COMET, WE'RE BACK TO SQUARE ONE.

WHAT WAS THE CAUSE OF THE "WOW!" SIGNAL?

Aguilar: NOBODY REALLY WANTS TO SAY, "HEY.

THIS IS A SIGNAL FROM OUTER SPACE."

BUT ODDLY ENOUGH, THAT'S WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE.

Narrator: STILL TO COME,

A MYSTERIOUS SPACE SUIT LEADS

TO EVIDENCE OF A SECRET SPY STATION IN SPACE.

SPIES IN ORBIT WHERE THEY CAN'T BE TOUCHED.

SO, WHAT IS THIS -- A JAMES BOND SPACE SUIT?

♪♪

Narrator: A NASA SPECIAL AGENT DISCOVERS A SECRET ROOM

AT THE CAPE CANAVERAL LAUNCH COMPLEX.

EVERYTHING IN THIS ROOM IS DESTROYED

EXCEPT FOR TWO BLUE SPACE SUITS THAT ARE IN PRISTINE CONDITION.

Narrator: THE DISCOVERY LEADS TO EVIDENCE

OF A SECRET PENTAGON PROGRAM TO PUT SPIES IN SPACE.

SPIES IN ORBIT WHERE THEY CAN'T BE TOUCHED.

IT SOUNDS LIKE A CRAZY CONSPIRACY THEORY.

BUT IT'S REAL.

Narrator: DECEMBER 2004.

NASA SPECIAL AGENT DAN OAKLAND

AND SECURITY MANAGER HENRY BUTLER

EXPLORE A REMOTE CORNER OF A LAUNCH COMPLEX

AT CAPE CANAVERAL.

YOU MIGHT THINK THAT A NASA LAUNCH FACILITY

IS PERFECTLY ORGANIZED WITH EVERYTHING IN ITS PLACE.

BUT THERE ARE MILES AND MILES OF CORRIDORS.

YOU COULD LOSE AN ARMY INSIDE THERE.

NOBODY KNOWS WHAT GOES ON BEHIND THOSE CLOSED DOORS.

Narrator: DOWN ONE CORRIDOR,

THEY DISCOVER AN UNKNOWN LOCKED ROOM.

A LOCKED ROOM THAT NOBODY KNOWS ABOUT

IN THE MIDDLE OF ONE

OF NASA's MOST IMPORTANT LAUNCH COMPLEXES --

THAT'S KIND OF STRANGE.

Narrator: THE LOCK IS SO OLD THAT OAKLAND

AND BUTLER HAVE TO USE A MASTER KEY TO OPEN IT.

Nichols: THEY FINALLY FIND A WAY INTO THIS ROOM.

AND IT'S EMPTY, DARK. RATS, DUST.

BUT THERE IS ONE BOX.

AND IT CONTAINS TWO PRISTINE-CONDITION SPACE SUITS.

Narrator: THE SUITS' DESIGN IS SIMILAR TO THOSE WORN

BY ASTRONAUTS DURING THE 1960s.

BUT KEY DETAILS DIFFER.

THEY'RE BLUE, WHICH WAS NOT ACTUALLY USED

IN THE U.S. SPACE PROGRAM.

Orwoll: THEY'RE NOT FROM MERCURY.

THEY'RE NOT FROM GEMINI.

AND THEY'RE DEFINITELY NOT FROM APOLLO.

Narrator: THE SUITS' NUMBERING

ALSO DOES NOT MATCH WITH ANY KNOWN NASA PROGRAM.

THESE SPACE SUITS ONLY HAVE TWO CODES

ON THEM -- 007 AND 008.

SO, WHAT IS THIS -- A JAMES BOND SPACE SUIT?

Narrator: THE DISCOVERY COMES TO THE ATTENTION

OF INTELLIGENCE JOURNALIST JAMES BAMFORD.

HE SUSPECTS THE SUITS ARE EVIDENCE

OF A SECRET SPACE MISSION.

SUIT 008 GIVES HIM A POTENTIAL LEAD.

ONE OF THEM HAD A NUMBER 008

ON THE CHEST, ALONG WITH THE NAME "LAWYER."

Narrator: BAMFORD DISCOVERS THAT LAWYER IS RICHARD E. LAWYER.

BUT HE IS NOT AN ASTRONAUT.

HE'S ACTUALLY AN AIR FORCE PILOT.

WHAT'S AN AIR FORCE PILOT DOING HAVING A BLUE SPACE SUIT

IN A SECRET ROOM THAT NOBODY KNOWS EXISTS?

WHAT'S GOING ON?

Narrator: PENTAGON DOCUMENTS REVEAL TO BAMFORD

THE TRUE PURPOSE OF LAWYER'S MYSTERIOUS BLUE SUIT.

Teitel: BAMFORD FINDS THAT RICHARD E. LAWYER

WAS ONE OF 17 AIR FORCE PILOTS EARMARKED TO FLY IN SPACE

UNDER THE SECRET U.S. AIR FORCE SPACE PROGRAM.

Narrator: DECLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS REVEAL

THE FIRST MILITARY SPACE PROGRAM

WAS A SATELLITE PROJECT CODE-NAMED CORONA.

DESIGNED TO SUPERCEDE U-2 SPY PLANES,

THE CLASSIFIED PROGRAM USED 144 SATELLITES TO SPY

ON AMERICA'S ENEMIES.

Friedman: CORONA PROGRAM IS RUN BY THE INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES --

NSA, CIA.

OVER 100 OF THEM WERE LAUNCHED.

AND THE FIRST ONE GOT MORE DATA ON SOVIET MILITARY INSTALLATIONS

THAN ALL THE U-2 FLIGHTS THAT PRECEDED IT.

Narrator: DESPITE SOME INITIAL SUCCESSES,

CORONA'S LIMITED CAMERA TECHNOLOGY

MEANS IT IS ULTIMATELY VIEWED AS A FAILURE.

Teitel: THE RESOLUTION OF THESE IMAGES WEREN'T GREAT.

AND, ALSO, THE FILM HAD TO BE RECOVERED FROM ORBIT REMOTELY.

BUT IF YOU MISSED RECOVERING IT DURING ITS RE-ENTRY,

IT WAS LOST.

Nichols: SO, THE AIR FORCE THINKS

THAT WHAT IT REALLY NEEDS TO DO IS TO PUT SOME PEOPLE UP THERE

TO GET THE JOB DONE RIGHT.

Narrator: BAMFORD BELIEVES THE SUITS

WERE USED IN A PROGRAM AIMED AT REPLACING CORONA

CALLED THE MANNED ORBITING LABORATORY, OR MAL.

LIKE SOMETHING FROM THE JAMES BOND FILM "MOONRAKER,"

MAL WAS AN ORBITING CRAFT

WHICH WOULD DEPLOY SPIES IN SPACE.

IT WAS THE NEXT STEP, HAVING LIVE SPIES IN ORBIT

WHERE THEY CAN'T BE TOUCHED

TAKING THE BEST POSSIBLE PHOTOGRAPHS.

[ CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING ]

IT SOUNDS LIKE A CRAZY CONSPIRACY THEORY.

BUT IT'S REAL.

Narrator: SPIES ON BOARD THE $3 BILLION WATCHTOWER

WOULD INTERCEPT SOVIET SATELLITES

AND TAKE HIGH-RESOLUTION IMAGES OF ENEMY INSTALLATIONS.

Orwoll: THE MAL HOUSED A CAMERA SYSTEM

THAT WAS ACTUALLY BIGGER THAN A CAR

AND HAD BETTER RESOLUTION

THAN ANY SATELLITE CAMERA SYSTEM

THAT WAS OUT THERE AT THAT TIME.

Narrator: ON NOVEMBER 3, 1966,

NASA LAUNCHES A PROTOTYPE UNMANNED SPY STATION

ON BEHALF OF THE AIR FORCE.

AFTER ONE TEST, THE MAL PROGRAM

IS SHUT DOWN AS ADVANCES

IN SATELLITE TECHNOLOGY MAKE SPACE SPIES REDUNDANT.

AS THE MAL PROGRAM IS BEING SHUT DOWN,

I THINK A DEAL WAS MADE IN WASHINGTON

THAT SOME OF THE TEST PILOTS WOULD COME TO NASA.

Narrator: AMONGST THE PILOTS WHO RETURN TO NASA,

ONE NAME STANDS OUT -- RICHARD H. TRULEY.

MOST OF THEM WENT OVER TO THE PEACEFUL SPACE PROGRAM,

TO NASA.

MR. TRULEY BECAME THE NASA CHIEF DOG, IF YOU WILL.

Narrator: IN 1989, THE FORMER SPACE SPY

BECOMES THE EIGHTH ADMINISTRATOR OF NASA.

THE IDENTITY OF THE ORIGINAL WEARER

OF SUIT 007 REMAINS UNKNOWN.

Nichols: AS IT TURNS OUT, THIS MYSTERY SPACE SUIT

WITH THE CODE NUMBER 007

REALLY WAS MADE FOR A SPY.

Narrator: STILL TO COME,

APOLLO ASTRONAUTS BRING BACK

WHAT COULD BE EVIDENCE OF LIFE FROM THE LUNAR SURFACE.

WE HAVE MULTIPLE SAMPLES

FROM SEPARATE LOCATIONS ON DIFFERENT MISSIONS.

THESE ARE THE BUILDING BLOCKS FOR LIFE ON EARTH.

Narrator: NASA SCIENTISTS FIND PRECURSORS OF LIFE ON THE MOON.

Schultz: HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?

THESE ARE THE BUILDING BLOCKS FOR LIFE ON EARTH.

Narrator: A SHOCKING THEORY CLAIMS

OUR PLANET HAS BEEN SPREADING LIFE

THROUGHOUT THE UNIVERSE FOR MILLIONS OF YEARS.

THIS KIND OF A DISCOVERY CHANGES

WHAT IS POSSIBLE FOR LIFE-FORMS.

Narrator: FROM 1969 TO 1972...Man: OKAY.

...NASA LANDS 12 ASTRONAUTS ON THE MOON.

YOU KNOW WHY WE SEND PEOPLE TO THE SURFACE OF THE MOON.

IT'S TO COLLECT ROCKS.

THAT IS THEIR BIGGEST AND MOST IMPORTANT TASK.

-THIS ONE RIGHT HERE? -THAT'S IT.

WE GOT IT RIGHT THERE.

Schultz: THIS IS THE FIRST TIME

THAT WE'RE BRINGING BACK MATERIAL FROM ANOTHER WORLD.

Narrator: IN TOTAL, THE SIX APOLLO MISSIONS

COLLECT MORE THAN 2,000 SAMPLES OF MOON ROCK.

IN THESE SAMPLES,

NASA DISCOVERS SOMETHING THAT STUNS

THE SCIENTIFIC WORLD -- AMINO ACIDS.

THESE AMINO ACIDS ARE REALLY SPECIAL.

THIS IS HOW LIFE STARTED.

THESE ARE SPECIAL ORGANIC COMPOUNDS.

Narrator: AMINO ACIDS ARE COMPOUNDS

WHICH FORM THE PROTEINS NEEDED FOR LIFE TO EXIST.

THEIR PRESENCE ON THE MOON BAFFLES OBSERVERS.

Orwoll: WE HAVE MULTIPLE SAMPLES

FROM SEPARATE LOCATIONS ON DIFFERENT MISSIONS

ALL CONTAINING AMINO ACIDS THAT SHOULD NOT BE PRESENT.

Man: WE GOT THE SOIL. NOW WE NEED TO SAMPLE THE ROCK.

HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?

DOES THIS MEAN THAT THERE WAS SOMEHOW LIFE ON THE MOON?

Narrator: THE ONLY EXPLANATION

IS THAT SOMETHING IS PRODUCING THEM.

ON THE EARTH, VIRTUALLY ALL THE AMINO ACIDS

THAT WE SEE ARE FORMED BY BIOLOGY.

PLANTS TAKING CARBON AND WATER PRODUCE AMINO ACIDS.

ANIMALS CAN PRODUCE AMINO ACID.

Narrator: SCIENTISTS STRUGGLE TO EXPLAIN

THE PRESENCE OF THE PROTEINS.

ONE OBVIOUS POSSIBILITY IS CONTAMINATION

FROM HUMAN CONTACT.

WHEN THEY FOUND AMINO ACIDS IN LUNAR SOIL,

I'M SURE THE FIRST QUESTION THEY ASKED IS,

CAN WE RULE OUT CONTAMINATION?

Genge: DID THEY GET THERE NATURALLY?

OR ARE THEY CONTAMINANTS

THAT WERE BROUGHT THERE BY THE SPACE MISSION?

Narrator: NASA SCIENTISTS AND ASTRONOMERS

AGREE -- CONTAMINATION IS HIGHLY UNLIKELY.

I ABSOLUTELY BELIEVE WE DID NOT TAKE

ANY CONTAMINATION TO THE MOON.

SPACECRAFT WERE ALL ASSEMBLED IN A CLEAN ROOM.

THEY'RE KEPT IN A CLEAN CONDITION.

ABSOLUTELY PRISTINE, ABSOLUTELY CLEAN.

Narrator: BACK ON EARTH, THE MOON ROCKS

ARE METICULOUSLY ISOLATED FROM ANY CONTAMINATING SOURCE.

Bean: WHEN WE CAME BACK FROM THE MOON,

OUR ROCKS HAD TO GO INTO QUARANTINE

BECAUSE WE COULDN'T TAKE A CHANCE

OF BRINGING BACK ANY BACTERIA

IF THERE HAD BEEN LIFE-FORMS ON THE MOON.

Narrator: SCIENTISTS INVESTIGATE OTHER SOURCES

FOR THE ORGANIC MOLECULES.

THE APOLLO LANDER MAY HAVE CREATED THE PROTEINS

BY BLASTING MOON ROCK WITH ITS ROCKET EXHAUST.

TO MAKE AMINO ACIDS, YOU NEED HEAT,

SOME SORT OF ENERGY SOURCE.

SO ONE THEORY THAT WAS PROPOSED

WAS THAT MAYBE THE LUNAR MODULE'S DESCENT ENGINES

PROVIDED THAT HEAT SOURCE ON THE SURFACE.

MAYBE THE LUNAR MODULE,

WITH THE GASES RELEASED AS IT LANDS,

IT HAS ORGANIC COMPOUNDS IN THEM.

MAYBE THEY SOMEHOW RECOMBINED.

Narrator: BUT THE LOCATIONS OF THE AMINO ACID DEPOSITS

DON'T FIT THE ROCKET EXHAUST THEORY.

IF THAT'S WHAT WAS HAPPENING,

YOU'D EXPECT THE LARGEST CONCENTRATION OF AMINO ACIDS

TO BE IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT TO THE LUNAR LANDING SITES.

BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT WE FOUND.

THE LUNAR MODULE'S DESCENT ENGINES

CAN'T BE RESPONSIBLE.

Narrator: IN OCTOBER 2015,

NASA REANALYZES SEVEN OF THE ORIGINAL APOLLO SAMPLES.

THE RESEARCH SUGGESTS THAT THE AMINO ACIDS

MAY WELL HAVE BEEN CARRIED FROM THE EARTH

DURING THE APOLLO MISSIONS.

MAN: Okay. We're movin' forward, Joe.

ROGER.

BUT A REMARKABLE THEORY CLAIMS THAT,

WHILE THE CONTAMINATION CAME FROM EARTH,

MANKIND WAS NOT RESPONSIBLE.

ONE WAY THAT THE MATERIAL

COULD GET NATURALLY FROM THE EARTH

TO THE MOON IS THROUGH IMPACTS.

WE KNOW THAT, 65 MILLION YEARS AGO,

THE EARTH WAS HIT BY PROBABLY AN ASTEROID.

AND THE DEBRIS THROWN UP FROM THAT MASSIVE IMPACT

WOULD HAVE DEPOSITED MATERIAL ONTO THE MOON.

Narrator: THE K-T EVENT,

THE GIANT ASTEROID THAT KILLED THE DINOSAURS,

THREW MILLIONS OF TONS

OF ORGANIC MATERIAL INTO EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE.

SOME OF IT TRAVELED TO THE MOON AND BEYOND.

Worden: THERE IS A POSSIBILITY

THAT SOMETHING COULD HIT THE EARTH.

AND IT WAS POWERFUL ENOUGH

THAT IT ACTUALLY THREW STUFF BACK.

WE HAVE PEOPLE WHO GO TO ANTARCTICA ALL THE TIME

TO FIND METEORS THAT COME FROM MARS.

SO WE KNOW THAT THAT IS A PHENOMENA THAT IS POSSIBLE.

Narrator: WHILE COSMIC RADIATION BREAKS DOWN

THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF LIFE,

THEY CAN SURVIVE WHEN PROTECTED INSIDE CHUNKS

OF ROCK OR METEORITES.

McKay: THERE'S A BIGGER STORY HERE.

METEORITES DELIVER ORGANIC MATERIAL

TO ALL THE WORLDS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM.

AMINO ACIDS SHOULD BE EVERYWHERE.

NATURE PRODUCES THEM NATURALLY AND DISTRIBUTES THEM FREELY.

Narrator: IF THAT'S TRUE, IT MEANS THE BUILDING BLOCKS

OF LIFE CAN FLOAT FREELY BETWEEN WORLDS.

WHERE IT MIGHT GO

AND WHAT FORM IT MIGHT TAKE ARE INFINITE.