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.

HEY, WHAT IS THAT?

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.

Narrator: THE U.S. MILITARY INTERCEPTS MAN-MADE SIGNALS

COMING FROM THE COSMOS

OVER A DECADE BEFORE THE LAUNCH OF THE FIRST SPACECRAFT.

THEY'RE COMING FROM THE MOON.

WHO OR WHAT IS SENDING THEM?

I REALLY WONDER IF THE GERMANS COULD HAVE GOTTEN TO THE MOON.

ACTUALLY, I THINK THEY COULD HAVE.

Narrator: A PROBE CAPTURES AN IMAGE

OF AN EERILY FAMILIAR STRUCTURE ON THE RED PLANET.

I WOULD SAY I'M LOOKING AT A AERIAL SATELLITE IMAGE

OF STONEHENGE.

YOU HAVE TO ASK YOURSELF, "IS THIS EVIDENCE

OF CIVILIZATION ON MARS?"

Narrator: AND AN EXPLORER ENCOUNTERS AN ANCIENT TRIBE

WITH ADVANCED KNOWLEDGE OF A DISTANT STAR SYSTEM.

IT SOUNDS LIKE SOMETHING STRAIGHT OUT OF A SCI-FI MOVIE,

BUT IN FACT, THERE MAY BE SOME TRUTH TO IT.

Narrator: THESE ARE "NASA's UNEXPLAINED FILES."

AN APOLLO ASTRONAUT SUDDENLY BECOMES SICK WHILE ON THE MOON.

JACK SCHMITT'S SYMPTOMS ARE VERY CONCERNING.

HIS NASAL PASSAGES GET INFLAMED.

HE STARTS COUGHING. HE'S NOT IN GOOD SHAPE.

Narrator: NASA STRUGGLES TO IDENTIFY

THE CAUSE OF THE MYSTERY ILLNESS.

Schultz: WE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT WAS ON THE SURFACE.

COULD WE BRING BACK BUGS

THAT WOULD CONTAMINATE THE WORLD?

IT COULD WIPE OUT EVERYBODY ON EARTH.

Narrator: DECEMBER 11, 1972.

THE CREW OF APOLLO 17

ARE ABOUT TO BECOME THE LAST HUMANS

TO LAND ON ANOTHER WORLD.

HARRISON "JACK" SCHMITT IS TASKED

WITH GUIDING THE MODULE DOWN TO THE LUNAR SURFACE.

YOU'RE MONITORING THE HEALTH OF THE SPACECRAFT.

IT MEANT THAT YOU WERE CONTINUALLY READY

FOR ANY KIND OF A SITUATION THAT MIGHT DEVELOP.

Narrator: SCHMITT AND MISSION COMMANDER EUGENE CERNAN'S

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE

IS TO COLLECT ROCK SAMPLES FOR ANALYSIS BACK ON EARTH.

NOT ONLY IS THE CLOCK TICKING AWAY,

BUT YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO BE AROUND THE NEXT ROCK

OR IN THE BOTTOM OF THE NEXT CRATER

OR AT THE BASE OF THE NEXT HIGH MOUNTAIN.

Narrator: AT 7:00 A.M. ON DECEMBER 12,

THE TWO ASTRONAUTS COMPLETE THEIR FIRST MOONWALK

AND RETURN TO THE LUNAR MODULE,

BUT THEN SCHMITT STARTS ACTING STRANGELY.

SO AS THEY'RE TAKING OFF THEIR SUITS,

JACK SCHMITT STARTS HAVING A REACTION.

THEY'RE UNLOADING THE SAMPLES AND THE ROCKS

THAT THEY'D COLLECTED ON THE LUNAR SURFACE,

AND SUDDENLY, SCHMITT STARTS TO FEEL UNWELL.

Narrator: SCHMITT IS DISPLAYING STRANGE FLU-LIKE SYMPTOMS

AND FINDING IT INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT TO BREATHE.

IT'S COME ON PRETTY FAST JUST SINCE I CAME BACK.

HIS NASAL PASSAGES GET INFLAMED. HE STARTS COUGHING.

I MEAN, HE'S REALLY UNCOMFORTABLE.

HE'S NOT IN GOOD SHAPE.

JACK SCHMITT'S SYMPTOMS ARE VERY CONCERNING.

THEY COME ON SUDDENLY. THEY'RE VERY SEVERE.

Narrator: MISSION CONTROL RACES TO IDENTIFY

THE CAUSE OF THE MYSTERY ILLNESS.

Linenger: YOU CANNOT GET SICK IN SPACE.

IT CAN BE A CRITICAL SITUATION.

Narrator: BEFORE LOOKING AT THE POSSIBILITY

OF AN EXTRATERRESTRIAL DISEASE, NASA MUST FIRST CONSIDER

WHETHER SCHMITT IS SIMPLY HAVING A REACTION

TO A TERRESTRIAL VIRUS OR BACTERIUM,

BUT APOLLO SCIENTISTS AND ASTRONAUTS BELIEVE

THIS IS HIGHLY UNLIKELY.

Schultz: EVEN BEFORE THEY LEAVE THE EARTH TO GO TO THE MOON,

THEY'RE KEPT IN QUARANTINE.

THEY'RE KEPT OUT OF CONTACT WITH ANY BUGS.

THEY JUST DON'T WANT TO HAVE THEM SICK

WHEN THEY GO TO THE MOON.

THE INTERIOR OF THE SPACECRAFT

WAS PROBABLY AS CLEAN AS AN OPERATING ROOM.

THEY MADE SURE THAT EVERYTHING WAS ABSOLUTELY STERILE.

Narrator: IF THE CAUSE OF SCHMITT'S STRANGE SPACE ILLNESS

HASN'T COME FROM EARTH,

IT MUST COME FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE.

HE WAS FINE OUT ROAMING AROUND THE MOON,

BUT NOW HE'S REACTING.

IT'S GOT TO BE SOMETHING HE BROUGHT BACK INTO THE CAPSULE.

IT WOULD HAVE HAD TO BEEN SOMETHING

THAT WOULD'VE BEEN REALLY BAD

IF IT HAD OCCURRED THAT QUICKLY AFTER HIS LUNAR EXPOSURE.

Narrator: THE POSSIBILITY THAT SCHMITT

HAS CAUGHT A DISEASE ON THE MOON

ECHOES ONE OF NASA'S GREATEST FEARS ABOUT THE APOLLO MISSIONS.

WE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT WAS ON THE SURFACE.

COULD WE BRING BACK BUGS THAT WOULD CONTAMINATE THE WORLD?

WHO KNOWS WHAT'S THERE?

AND MAYBE WE COULD MAKE A LOT OF PEOPLE ON THE PLANET SICK.

Narrator: FOR DECADES, SCIENTISTS BELIEVED

IT WASN'T POSSIBLE FOR BACTERIA TO EXIST ON THE MOON,

BUT 3 YEARS BEFORE THE APOLLO 17 MISSION,

ANALYSIS OF A NASA CAMERA LEFT ON THE MOON

SEEMED TO INDICATE

THAT BACTERIA HAD SURVIVED INSIDE IT

FOR OVER 2 1/2 YEARS.

THE DISCOVERY SUGGESTED THAT DEADLY ORGANISMS

COULD INDEED SURVIVE ON THE MOON

AND TRAVEL TO EARTH.

THE POSSIBILITY THAT MICROORGANISMS

COULD REMAIN ALIVE ON THE SURFACE OF THE MOON

FOR 2 1/2 YEARS

IS TREMENDOUSLY IMPORTANT TO SCIENCE.

IF THESE MICROORGANISMS LIVED ON THE MOON

FOR 2 1/2 YEARS,

THAT SUPPORTS THIS IDEA

OF HOW LIFE COULD TRAVEL

FROM ONE BODY TO ANOTHER IN SPACE.

Narrator: HISTORY OFFERS FEARSOME EXAMPLES

OF WHAT CAN HAPPEN

WHEN ALIEN BUGS ARE CARRIED TO NEW WORLDS.

DURING THE 15th AND 16th CENTURIES,

EUROPEAN EXPLORERS INTRODUCED VIRULENT DISEASES

TO THE AMERICAS,

KILLING COUNTLESS INDIGENOUS PEOPLE.

A NIGHTMARE SCENARIO WOULD BE THE SAME THING HAPPENING

WHEN JACK SCHMITT RETURNS TO EARTH.

THE FEAR OF BRINGING BACK AN EXTRATERRESTRIAL BUG

BACK TO EARTH IS THAT OUR IMMUNE SYSTEMS

WOULD NOT BE SET UP TO DEAL WITH IT.

IT COULD WIPE OUT EVERYBODY ON EARTH.

WHATEVER IS WRONG WITH SCHMITT,

NASA DOESN'T WANT IT SPREADING.

Narrator: A CLUE TO THE CAUSE OF SCHMITT'S MYSTERIOUS ILLNESS

COMES FROM AUDIO RECORDINGS OF THE APOLLO 17 MISSION.

Orwoll: SHORTLY BEFORE SCHMITT STARTS FEELING UNWELL,

HE REPORTS SMELLING SOMETHING LIKE GUNPOWDER.

Narrator: THE STRANGE GUNPOWDER ODOR

HAS ALSO BEEN DETECTED BY ASTRONAUTS

ON TWO PRIOR NASA MISSIONS.

WE KNOW WHAT THE GUNPOWDER SMELL IS.

OTHER APOLLO MISSIONS HAVE REPORTED IT, TOO.

IT'S MOON DUST.

SO THE CONNECTION HAD TO BE THE LUNAR DUST

THAT CREATED A PROBLEM FOR JACK.

LUNAR DUST IS JAGGED. IT'S GOT STATIC.

IT CLINGS TO EVERYTHING.

Narrator: AS SCHMITT EXPLORED THE LUNAR SURFACE,

DUST COVERED HIS SUIT AND EQUIPMENT.

Schmitt: I'VE STIRRED IT UP WITH MY FEET.

Narrator: IT APPEARS HE THEN INHALED A LUNGFUL

OF THE SHARP, ULTRA-DRY SHARDS.

Schultz: IF IT GETS INTO THE BLOODSTREAM,

IT COULD SCAVENGE THE OXYGEN OUT OF THE BLOOD

AND MAKE IT MUCH WORSE THAN JUST A SNIFFLE.

IT ACTUALLY COULD KILL YOU.

Narrator: A FEW HOURS LATER,

SCHMITT'S SYMPTOMS BEGIN TO EASE,

BUT HE MUST WAIT UNTIL HE RETURNS TO EARTH

TO DISCOVER HOW MUCH DAMAGE

THE TOXIC DUST HAS DONE TO HIS AIRWAYS.

YOU JUST HAVE TO TOUGH IT OUT. THERE'S NOT A THING YOU CAN DO.

YOU'RE STUCK TO A FLIGHT PLAN THAT'S IN CONCRETE.

Narrator: AT 10:54 P.M. ON DECEMBER 14,

SCHMITT AND HIS FELLOW ASTRONAUTS

BEGIN THEIR PERILOUS JOURNEY BACK HOME.

FOUR DAYS LATER,

THE APOLLO 17 MODULE SPLASHES DOWN

IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC OCEAN.

NASA MEDICS WHO INSPECT THE CREW

FIND NO EVIDENCE OF BACTERIAL CONTAMINATION

AND CONCLUDE THAT SCHMITT

SUFFERED SOME KIND OF ALLERGIC REACTION

TO THE LUNAR DUST...

A REACTION THAT HAS POTENTIALLY DISASTROUS IMPLICATIONS

FOR ANY FUTURE HUMAN ACTIVITY ON THE MOON.

Schultz: IF WE'RE GOING TO GO BACK TO THE MOON FOR A LONG TIME,

WE NEED TO GET A HANDLE ON THIS DUST ISSUE.

MAYBE MILLIONS OF PEOPLE ARE ALLERGIC TO LUNAR DUST.

WE JUST DON'T KNOW.

Narrator: COMING UP, A REMOTE TRIBE

CLAIMS THEIR ADVANCED KNOWLEDGE OF THE COSMOS

WAS GIVEN TO THEM BY CELESTIAL VISITORS.

IT SOUNDS LIKE SOMETHING STRAIGHT OF A SCI-FI MOVIE,

BUT IN FACT, THERE MAY BE SOME TRUTH TO IT.

Narrator: AN EXPLORER ENCOUNTERS AN ANCIENT TRIBE

WITH ADVANCED KNOWLEDGE OF THE COSMOS.

Oberg: THE LEGENDS APPEAR TO CONTAIN

DETAILED ASTRONOMICAL INFORMATION

THEY COULD NOT HAVE DISCOVERED BY THEMSELVES.

HOW COULD THEY KNOW THAT?

Narrator: THE TRIBE CLAIM THEIR KNOWLEDGE IS A GIFT

FROM CELESTIAL VISITORS HUNDREDS OF YEARS AGO.

Oluseyi: IT SOUNDS LIKE SOMETHING STRAIGHT OUT OF A SCI-FI MOVIE,

BUT IN FACT, THERE MAY BE SOME TRUTH TO IT.

Narrator: 1931.

AFTER TREKKING FOR HUNDREDS OF MILES

THROUGH THE JUNGLES OF SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA,

FRENCH ANTHROPOLOGIST MARCEL GRIAULE

REACHES THE COUNTRY OF MALI.

THERE, HE AND HIS TEAM MEET

WITH LOCAL TRIBESPEOPLE KNOWN AS THE DOGON.

THESE ANTHROPOLOGISTS LIVED WITH THE DOGON,

PARTICIPATED IN THEIR RITES, LEARNED THEIR CULTURE.

Shostak: HE GAINS THEIR TRUST, THEIR CONFIDENCE,

AND THEY START TELLING HIM THEIR MOST SACRED MYTHOLOGY.

Narrator: AS HE TALKS TO THE DOGON ELDERS,

GRIAULE LEARNS THAT THE REMOTE TRIBE'S MYTHOLOGIES

CONTAIN ADVANCED KNOWLEDGE OF THE COSMOS.

Oberg: THEY TALK ABOUT JUPITER AS HAVING FOUR MOONS.

THEY TALK ABOUT SATURN AS HAVING A RING.

THEY SEEM TO CONTAIN DETAILED ASTRONOMICAL INFORMATION

THEY COULD NOT HAVE DISCOVERED BY THEMSELVES.

Narrator: THE MOST INTRIGUING STORIES CONCERN A STAR

IN THE CONSTELLATION CANIS MAJOR.

THESE MYTHOLOGIES INVOLVE WHAT LOOKS LIKE

THE BRIGHTEST STAR IN THE SKY, SIRIUS.

GRIAULE FOUND THAT THE DOGON ELDERS

HAD INFORMATION ABOUT THE STAR SIRIUS

THAT NO ONE COULD EXPLAIN HOW THEY FOUND THAT OUT.

Narrator: THE DOGON TELL GRIAULE

THAT SIRIUS HAS AN INVISIBLE COMPANION STAR

ORBITING AROUND IT.

WHEN GRIAULE RETURNS TO FRANCE,

HE LEARNS FROM ASTRONOMERS

THAT THIS COMPANION STAR DOES EXIST,

BUT IS ONLY VISIBLE USING TELESCOPES...

...TELESCOPES THE DOGON DO NOT POSSESS.

Oluseyi: THE DOGON GAVE DETAILS ABOUT SIRIUS

THAT WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE TO KNOW

WITHOUT CURRENT ASTRONOMICAL EQUIPMENT.

THIS STRIKES THE FRENCH ANTHROPOLOGIST

AS INCREDIBLY REMARKABLE.

THE DOGON TRIBE DID NOT HAVE TELESCOPES,

SO HOW DID THEY KNOW ABOUT

SIRIUS' LITTLE STELLAR COMPANION?

Narrator: THE EXISTENCE OF THE COMPANION STAR,

CALLED SIRIUS B,

HAD BEEN ESTABLISHED BY ASTRONOMERS SEVERAL DECADES

BEFORE GRIAULE'S ARRIVAL.

THIS LEADS SOME TO SUGGEST THAT PERHAPS OTHER TRADERS

OR VISITORS HAD REVEALED THIS EXISTENCE TO THE DOGON.

Oberg: THE SIMPLEST EXPLANATION WOULD BE THAT THE DOGON

PICKED UP THIS INFORMATION IN RECENT TIMES,

PERHAPS EVEN JUST SLIGHTLY BEFORE

GRIAULE WAS THERE IN THE 1930s.

Narrator: IT'S A PLAUSIBLE THEORY, BUT IT HAS A MAJOR FLAW.

THE REALLY STRANGE THING ABOUT THE DOGON TRADITION

IS THAT IT DATES BACK TO BEFORE THE ERA

OF ASTRONOMICAL INSTRUMENTS.

THE KNOWLEDGE EXISTED FOR MANY CENTURIES

BEFORE SIRIUS B WAS EVEN KNOWN.

Narrator: DURING HIS TIME WITH THE DOGON,

GRIAULE OBSERVES THEM CONDUCTING STRANGE RITUALS

TO MARK THE PASSAGE OF THE INVISIBLE STAR.

EVEN THOUGH THEY CANNOT SEE IT,

THEY SEEM TO BE ABLE TO PREDICT ITS MOVEMENT.

SO THEY ALSO GOT THE ORBITAL PERIOD CORRECT -- 50 YEARS.

SO HOW COULD THEY KNOW THAT?

IF YOU WERE TO LOOK AT A MODERN DRAWING

OF THE ORBITS OF SIRIUS AND SIRIUS B

AND COMPARE THAT TO THE ANCIENT DOGON DRAWING,

YOU'LL SEE THEY MATCH UP ALMOST IDENTICALLY.

Narrator: THE REMOTE TRIBE APPEARED TO UNDERSTAND

THE ORBITAL MECHANISMS OF A STAR

ALMOST 9 LIGHT-YEARS FROM EARTH.

SOME DISMISS THIS AS PURE COINCIDENCE.

Shostak: SIRIUS IS THE BRIGHTEST STAR IN THE SKY,

AND YOU MAKE UP STORIES ABOUT IT,

AND MAYBE IT'S NOT SO SURPRISING THAT,

OCCASIONALLY, THOSE STORIES TURN OUT TO BE RIGHT.

Narrator: DUMB LUCK MIGHT EXPLAIN

TWO CORRECT ASTRONOMICAL PREDICTIONS,

BUT THE DOGON LEGEND ALSO REVEAL

A THIRD PROPHECY ABOUT SIRIUS B.

THEY CLAIM THAT IT IS WHITE

AND MADE FROM THE HEAVIEST METAL IN THE UNIVERSE.

ONE THING THEY SAID ABOUT SIRIUS B

IS THAT IT'S MADE UP OF VERY, VERY HEAVY, VERY DENSE MATERIAL.

Narrator: FOR 7 DECADES, SCIENTISTS CAN ONLY SPECULATE

AS TO HOW MUCH OF THE DOGON'S ASTRONOMICAL KNOWLEDGE IS TRUE.

IN 2005, NASA BEGINS DEEP SPACE OBSERVATIONS

OF SIRIUS B USING THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE.

THE STATE-OF-THE-ART SATELLITE DATA SHOWS THAT,

INCREDIBLY, THE DOGON WERE RIGHT ONCE AGAIN.

NASA'S HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE

FINALLY GETS US THE INFORMATION WE NEED.

SIRIUS B IS A WHITE DWARF STAR.

IT'S A DEAD STAR THAT'S INCREDIBLY DENSE.

ONE TEASPOON WOULD WEIGH OVER 1 TON.

Narrator: THE NASA DISCOVERY SEEMS TO CONFIRM

THAT THE ANCIENT TRIBESPEOPLE

HAVE SOMEHOW ACQUIRED DETAILED INFORMATION

ABOUT A STAR THAT IS INVISIBLE TO THEM.

SO HOW DID THEY COME TO THIS KNOWLEDGE,

WHICH WE OBSERVE TO BE TRUE IN LARGE PART?

THE DOGON CLAIM THAT THEY RECEIVED

THE INFORMATION ABOUT SIRIUS B

DIRECTLY FROM BEINGS WHO LIVED IN THAT STAR SYSTEM.

Narrator: THE DOGON TELL GRIAULE THAT THESE CELESTIAL BEINGS

VISITED THEIR ANCESTORS MANY GENERATIONS AGO.

THEY HONOR THEM WITH RITUALISTIC MASS DANCES.

THEY CALL THEM THE TEACHERS.

Shostak: THE TEACHERS HAVE COME TO EARTH

SOME TIME IN THE PAST TO TEACH THEM THINGS

THAT THEY WOULD OTHERWISE NOT KNOW.

Narrator: ACCORDING TO THE DOGON,

THE TEACHERS LIVE ON A THIRD STAR NEAR SIRIUS B.

THIS THIRD STAR HAS YET TO BE DISCOVERED,

BUT GRAVITATIONAL STUDIES OF THE STAR SYSTEM

SUGGESTS THAT IT MIGHT EXIST.

Oluseyi: WE CAN ACTUALLY SCIENTIFICALLY EXAMINE THE IDEA

THAT THERE'S THIS THIRD STAR IN THE SIRIUS SYSTEM,

AND A PAPER WAS PUBLISHED IN 1995

THAT SHOWED THAT PERHAPS THERE IS A THIRD COMPANION STAR,

AND IT HAS AN ORBIT OF ABOUT 6 YEARS.

Narrator: THE EXISTENCE OF THE THIRD STAR

REMAINS UNCONFIRMED.

THE SEARCH FOR THE ORIGIN

OF THE DOGON'S MYSTERIOUS ASTRONOMICAL KNOWLEDGE

CONTINUES.

IT SOUNDS LIKE SOMETHING STRAIGHT OUT A SCI-FI MOVIE,

BUT IN FACT, THERE MAY BE SOME TRUTH TO IT.

Narrator: COMING UP,

THE U.S. MILITARY INTERCEPTS MAN-MADE SIGNALS

COMING FROM THE MOON

TWO DECADES BEFORE THE FIRST LUNAR LANDINGS.

GERMAN ROCKET TECHNOLOGY IN THE SECOND HALF,

IN PARTICULAR, OF WORLD WAR II WAS SHOCKINGLY ADVANCED.

I REALLY WONDER IF THE GERMANS COULD'VE GOTTEN TO THE MOON.

ACTUALLY, I THINK THEY COULD HAVE.

Narrator: COLD WAR SCIENTISTS DETECT

MYSTERIOUS RADIO SIGNALS FROM OUTER SPACE.

THEY'RE COMING FROM THE MOON.

WHO OR WHAT IS SENDING THEM?

Narrator: THE SIGNALS APPEAR MORE THAN 2 DECADES

BEFORE THE FIRST RECORDED MOON LANDING.

WHEN WE LOOK A BIT CLOSER,

THESE SIGNALS DON'T LOOK LIKE NATURAL COSMIC EMISSIONS.

Narrator: THE U.S. ARMY INVESTIGATES THE SOURCE

OF THE MYSTERIOUS TRANSMISSION.

I HAVE HEARD THAT THE GERMANS DEVELOPED A MOON ROCKET

BEFORE THEY WERE DEFEATED IN 1945.

Narrator: JANUARY, 1946.

AT THE DAWN OF THE COLD WAR,

A FRAGILE PEACE HOLDS BETWEEN THE SUPERPOWERS.

THE SOVIET UNION HAS TAKEN OVER

VIRTUALLY EVERY COUNTRY IN EASTERN EUROPE,

AND THE U.S. IS ON HIGH ALERT.

Narrator: A NEW INVISIBLE WAR RAGES ACROSS THE AIRWAVES.

THE COLD WAR IS A PERIOD OF TECHNOLOGICAL CAT-AND-MOUSE

BETWEEN THE SUPERPOWERS.

Baker: THERE'S THIS VERY SOLID UNDERSTANDING

ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF RADAR

TO NATIONAL SECURITY, NATIONAL DEFENSE.

Narrator: AT 11:58 A.M. ON JANUARY 10,

A UNITED STATES ARMY SIGNAL CORPS RADAR STATION

IN WALL TOWNSHIP, NEW JERSEY,

INTERCEPTS A SERIES OF STRANGE SIGNALS.

Baker: THE U.S. PICKS UP SIGNALS.

SOUNDS REALLY ODD,

BUT IT SEEMS AS IF THEY'RE COMING FROM OUTER SPACE.

Narrator: ANALYSIS OF THE DATA REVEALS

THAT THE SIGNALS ARE COMING FROM ONE PARTICULAR POINT --

THE MOON.

Ferreira: IT'S 1946.

THE MOON IS STILL SUCH AN ENIGMA,

SO THAT'S WHY IT'S SO SURPRISING

THERE ARE ARTIFICIAL RADIO SIGNALS

THAT APPEAR TO BE COMING FROM IT.

McMillan: WHEN WE LOOK A BIT CLOSER,

THESE SIGNALS DON'T LOOK LIKE NATURAL COSMIC EMISSIONS.

IN FACT, THEY LOOK A LOT LIKE RADAR SIGNALS.

WHO OR WHAT CAN BE BROADCASTING FROM OUR NATURAL SATELLITE

OVER 230,000 MILES AWAY?

Narrator: NEITHER U.S. NOR SOVIET PROBES

WILL REACH THE MOON FOR ANOTHER 2 DECADES.

THE TRANSMISSIONS RAISE THE TERRIFYING POSSIBILITY

ANOTHER NATION HAS BEATEN THE REST OF THE WORLD TO THE PUNCH.

I HAVE HEARD THAT THE GERMANS DEVELOPED A MOON ROCKET

BEFORE THEY WERE DEFEATED IN 1945.

GERMAN ROCKET TECHNOLOGY IN THE SECOND HALF,

IN PARTICULAR, OF WORLD WAR II WAS SHOCKINGLY ADVANCED.

Narrator: ON OCTOBER 3, 1942, THE GERMAN V-2 ROCKET

BECAME THE FIRST MAN-MADE OBJECT TO ENTER SPACE.

AT THE END OF WORLD WAR II, ITS INVENTOR, WERNHER von BRAUN,

SURRENDERED TO ALLIED FORCES

AND WENT ON TO THE DESIGN THE ROCKET

THAT LAUNCHED AMERICA'S FIRST SPACE SATELLITE.

WE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO LAND ON THE MOON

IF IT HADN'T BEEN FOR THE GERMANS.

WERNHER von BRAUN WAS A GENIUS.

MAY HAVE BEEN A NAZI, BUT HE WAS A GENIUS.

I REALLY WONDER IF THE GERMANS COULD'VE GOTTEN TO THE MOON.

ACTUALLY, I THINK THEY COULD HAVE.

Narrator: NAZI ROCKET TECHNOLOGY

MAY HAVE THEORETICALLY BEEN CAPABLE OF REACHING THE MOON,

BUT THERE IS NO EVIDENCE

THAT GERMANS PLACED RADAR EQUIPMENT ON THE LUNAR SURFACE.

U.S. ARMY ENGINEERS IDENTIFIED

THE MYSTERIOUS SIGNAL AS THEIR OWN,

BUT WEAKENED BY A FACTOR OF SEVERAL BILLION.

SOME OF THEIR OWN RADAR SIGNALS THAT ARE ESCAPING FROM THE EARTH

AND THEN ARE RETURNING, HAVING BOUNCED OFF THE MOON.

Narrator: THE MOON SEEMS TO BE ACTING

LIKE A GIANT REFLECTOR DISH,

BOUNCING TRANSMITTED RADAR SIGNALS BACK TO THE EARTH.

FOR THE INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY,

THE DISCOVERY PRESENTS AN INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITY.

THE U.S. IMMEDIATELY SEES THE POTENTIAL

BECAUSE IT REALIZES

IF IT CAN DETECT ITS OWN SIGNALS

BOUNCING OFF THE MOON,

IT CAN ALSO POTENTIALLY INTERCEPT RUSSIAN SIGNALS

DOING THE SAME THING.

IF IT WORKS, IT COULD GIVE THE UNITED STATES

A VITAL ADVANTAGE OVER THEIR COLD WAR ENEMY.

Narrator: IN 1948, THE U.S. GOVERNMENT

AUTHORIZES THE NAVY TO BEGIN INTERCEPTING

AND ANALYZING RADAR MESSAGES FROM THE MOON.

HE CALLS THE PROJECT "OPERATION MOON BOUNCE."

THE GREAT THING ABOUT OPERATION MOON BOUNCE

IS THE RUSSIANS WILL NEVER KNOW YOU'RE LISTENING IN

TO THEIR RADAR SIGNALS.

Narrator: REFINING THIS TECHNOLOGY

TAKES MORE THAN 15 YEARS,

BUT IN JANUARY 1964,

OPERATION MOON BOUNCE HAS ITS FIRST MAJOR SUCCESS.

THE NAVY'S CHESAPEAKE BAY FACILITY

INTERCEPTS RADAR SIGNALS

FROM A MILITARY COMPLEX INSIDE THE SOVIET UNION.

THE SIGNAL ITSELF ORIGINATES

FROM A NEW CLASS OF SOVIET BALLISTIC WARNING SYSTEMS

CALLED THE HEN HOUSE RADARS.

Narrator: AN ANALYSIS OF THE SIGNALS

REVEALS SOMETHING DISTURBING.

McMillan: IT'S NOT QUITE LIKE RADAR SIGNALS

THEY'VE SEEN BEFORE.

THE DETAILS OF THIS TYPE OF RADAR

TELL THEM THE SOVIETS

HAVE A NEW BALLISTIC MISSILE DETECTION SYSTEM.

Narrator: THE SOVIET RADAR OPERATES ON A WAVELENGTH

PERFECT FOR DETECTING FAST-MOVING OBJECTS

OUTSIDE OF EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE.

IN THEORY, THE RUSSIANS

WILL BE ABLE TO DETECT ANY U.S. MISSILE

WITHIN MINUTES OF LAUNCH.

THE DISCOVERY OF THIS TECHNOLOGY

HOLDS HUGE VALUE TO AMERICAN INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES.

Ferreira: THE C.I.A. ARE NOW ABLE TO WORK OUT

THE CAPABILITIES OF THE ENEMY RADAR SYSTEM,

WHICH MEANS THE MILITARY CAN START TO OUTWIT IT.

Narrator: OPERATION MOON BOUNCE IS A SUCCESS,

AND AMERICA WINS A DECISIVE BATTLE

IN THE FIELD OF COLD WAR ESPIONAGE,

THANKS TO A 4.5-BILLION-YEAR-OLD NATURAL SATELLITE IN SPACE.

SPYING ON THE SOVIETS VIA THE MOON

HAS GIVEN THE U.S. SIGNIFICANT TRACTION

IN ITS QUEST FOR COLD WAR ENEMY INTELLIGENCE.

Narrator: COMING UP, NASA DISCOVERS A BIZARRE STRUCTURE

ON THE SURFACE OF MARS.

THIS IS REALLY WEIRD.

WE'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS BEFORE.

D'Antonio: THIS REMINDS ME VERY MUCH OF SOMETHING

WE HAVE RIGHT HERE ON EARTH,

AND THAT SOMETHING IS STONEHENGE.

Narrator: A NASA PROBE CAPTURES AN IMAGE

OF A WEIRDLY FAMILIAR STRUCTURE

ON THE SURFACE OF MARS.

I WOULD SAY I'M LOOKING AT AN AERIAL SATELLITE IMAGE

OF STONEHENGE.

IT LOOKS SORT OF INTENTIONAL, DOESN'T IT?

Narrator: WHO OR WHAT MADE MARSHENGE?

YOU HAVE TO ASK YOURSELF,

IS THIS EVIDENCE OF CIVILIZATION ON MARS?

Narrator: SEPTEMBER 25, 2012.

NASA's $720-MILLION MARS RECONNAISSANCE ORBITER

CIRCLES 170 MILES ABOVE THE RED PLANET.

ITS STATE-OF-THE-ART HiRISE CAMERA

CAPTURES A REMARKABLE IMAGE.

THIS IMAGE FROM HiRISE SHOWS A CLUSTER OF ROCKS.

THEY SEEM TO BE ORIENTED

IN A GENERAL SET OF CONCENTRIC CIRCLES.

THE SYMMETRY IS STRANGE.

WHAT'S EVEN MORE INTRIGUING

IS THAT THEY ARE SITTING ON A MOUND

THAT JUST SEEMS TO BE SIZED PERFECTLY.

Narrator: LIKE MANY TERRESTRIAL MONUMENTS,

THE ROCKS FORM A CIRCLE

AROUND AN INNER GROUPING OF LARGER STONES.

D'Antonio: THIS REMINDS ME VERY MUCH OF SOMETHING

WE HAVE RIGHT HERE ON EARTH,

AND THAT SOMETHING IS STONEHENGE.

IF I WASN'T MISTAKEN, I WOULD SAY I'M LOOKING

AT A AERIAL SATELLITE IMAGE OF STONEHENGE.

THEY BOTH HAVE CONCENTRIC CIRCLES

WITH A SQUARE OR A RECTANGLE IN THE MIDDLE.

THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I'M LOOKING AT HERE.

Narrator: THE FAMOUS CIRCLE AT STONEHENGE

IS MORE THAN 5,000 YEARS OLD

AND HAS MYSTIFIED ARCHAEOLOGISTS FOR CENTURIES.

AT THIS SACRED PLACE,

PAGAN PRIESTS OF ANCIENT DRUID CULTS

COMMUNED WITH THE STARS.

Major: ITS PURPOSE STILL ISN'T KNOWN FOR SURE,

BUT IT SEEMS TO BE ALIGNED TOWARDS ASTRONOMICAL EVENTS

LIKE WINTER AND SUMMER SOLSTICES.

Narrator: THE VISUAL SIMILARITIES PROVOKE SPECULATION

THE WEIRD MARTIAN FORMATION COULD SERVE A SIMILAR PURPOSE.

ARE WE LOOKING AT SOMETHING THAT MIGHT BE THE EQUIVALENT

OF STONEHENGE ON MARS, A MARSHENGE?

YOU HAVE TO ASK YOURSELF,

IS THIS EVIDENCE OF CIVILIZATION ON MARS?

Narrator: TO DATE, THERE IS NO EVIDENCE

TO SUPPORT THE EXISTENCE

OF MONUMENT BUILDINGS ON MARS.

SOME PLANETARY SCIENTISTS HAVE A MORE NATURAL EXPLANATION

FOR MARSHENGE.

ON EARTH, WHENEVER WE SEE UNUSUAL ROCK FORMATIONS,

GEOLOGISTS WILL CONSIDER THAT MAYBE THEY'VE BEEN SHAPED

OR INFLUENCED BY SEISMIC ACTIVITY.

Narrator: THEORETICALLY, VIOLENT SEISMIC SHAKING

COULD PUSH THE MARSHENGE ROCKS UP THROUGH THE MARTIAN DIRT

AND DEPOSIT THEM ON THE SURFACE.

IT'S LIKE TAKING A BOX OF CEREAL THAT HAS FRUIT IN IT,

AND YOU SHAKE THE BOX AND THE FRUIT ALL COMES TO THE TOP.

SAME MECHANISM.

Narrator: BUT THERE'S A BIG PROBLEM WITH THE MARSQUAKE THEORY.

WE DON'T KNOW IF MARS HAS MARSQUAKES.

WE'VE NEVER MADE THE MEASUREMENT, YOU KNOW.

WE DON'T KNOW IF THE INTERIOR OF MARS

IS ACTIVE LIKE THE INTERIOR OF THE EARTH.

Narrator: ANOTHER POSSIBLE CLUE TO THE ORIGIN OF MARSHENGE

COULD COME FROM A STRANGE PHENOMENON

ON OUR OWN PLANET IN DEATH VALLEY, CALIFORNIA.

HERE ON EARTH IN DEATH VALLEY, FOR INSTANCE,

THERE ARE ROCKS THAT JUST SEEM TO MOVE ON THEIR OWN,

AND WE KNOW WHAT THAT'S FROM --

THERE'S ICE UNDERNEATH THE ROCKS

AND WINDS PROPEL THEM VERY SLOWLY ACROSS THE DESERT,

LEAVING LITTLE TRAILS.

SO THE QUESTION IS, COULD THIS BE HAPPENING ON MARS?

Narrator: ASTRONOMERS HAVE FOUND EVIDENCE

THAT ICE CAN FORM ON MARS,

BUT CLOSE ANALYSIS OF THE IMAGE SUGGESTS

THAT IT CANNOT ACCOUNT FOR THE ARRANGEMENT

OF THE MARSHENGE BOULDERS.

THESE ROCKS ARE SITTING UP ON TOP OF A PEAK,

AND IT WOULD TAKE A LOT OF WIND TO MOVE A ROCK ON A LOT OF ICE

TO GET IT UP ON TOP OF A PEAK LIKE THIS.

AND ON MARS, WE DON'T HAVE AIR THAT'S DENSE ENOUGH

TO MAKE THAT MUCH OF A FORCEFUL WIND

THAT COULD DRIVE A GIANT BOULDER.

Narrator: THE GIANT BOULDERS WERE NOT, IT SEEMS,

PUSHED THERE BY MARTIAN WINDS.

A DIFFERENT THEORY SUGGESTS

THE ROCKS MIGHT NOT BE FROM MARS AT ALL.

MARS IS CONSTANTLY BEING BOMBARDED BY METEORITES.

THERE ARE IMPACT CRATERS ALL ACROSS ITS SURFACE.

IS IT POSSIBLE THAT THIS STRUCTURE

IS THE RESULT OF A CRATERING EVENT?

Narrator: IMAGE ANALYSIS SEEMS TO SUPPORT THIS IDEA.

IF YOU ZOOM OUT A LITTLE MORE,

WE SEE THERE'S ACTUALLY A LARGER CIRCULAR PATTERN.

NOW, WHAT IS THAT?

MAYBE THIS IS A SEDIMENT-FILLED CRATER.

Narrator: NASA CALCULATES THAT AROUND 200 ASTEROIDS

SMASH INTO THE RED PLANET EVERY YEAR.

COULD ONE OF THESE IMPACTS HAVE CREATED MARSHENGE?

IT'S UNLIKELY THAT A LARGE IMPACT

WOULD LEAVE A COLLECTION OF LARGE BOULDERS

AT THE BOTTOM OF THE CRATER.

IF IT WAS A LARGE ENOUGH ASTEROID TO MAKE A CRATER,

THAT ASTEROID WOULD ACTUALLY BREAK UP

INTO SMALLER AND SMALLER PIECES,

AND YOU WOULD SEE THE EJECT OUTSIDE THE CRATER,

AND THAT'S NOT WHAT WE SEE IN THIS CASE.

Narrator: IN 2020, NASA WILL SEND A NEXT-GENERATION ROVER

TO EXPLORE THE MARTIAN SURFACE.

ONE OF ITS OBJECTIVES IS TO INVESTIGATE

THE GEOLOGICAL PROCESSES

THAT CREATED THE RED PLANET'S STRANGE LANDSCAPE.

UNTIL THEN, THE ORIGIN OF THE MYSTERIOUS MARSHENGE

WILL REMAIN UNEXPLAINED.

THIS IS ONE OF THOSE CASES

WHERE WE PROBABLY WON'T KNOW THE ANSWER

TO HOW THIS ROCK FORMATION FORMED

UNTIL WE GET ON THE GROUND AT THAT LOCATION.

Narrator: COMING UP, DOES NASA DATA SHOW

OUR PLANET'S MAGNETIC FORCE FIELD IS COLLAPSING?

Teitel: IF EARTH LOSES ITS MAGNETIC FIELD,

WE'RE ON A PATHWAY TO BECOME A DEAD, COLD WORLD,

JUST LIKE MARS.

WILL WE SURVIVE IT? WE DON'T KNOW.

Narrator: NASA DATA SEEMS TO SHOW

THAT THE EARTH'S MAGNETIC FIELD HAS COLLAPSED.

Teitel: IF THE DATA IS ACCURATE,

THEN WE'RE ALL IN SERIOUS TROUBLE.

WITHOUT OUR MAGNETIC FIELD, WE'D BE TOAST.

Narrator: COULD THIS BE THE APOCALYPTIC EVENT

SCIENTISTS HAVE BEEN WARNING US ABOUT FOR YEARS?

SOME PEOPLE THINK THAT MAGNETIC POLE COLLAPSE

HAS LED TO MASS EXTINCTIONS IN THE PAST.

WILL WE SURVIVE IT? WE DON'T KNOW.

Narrator: APRIL 23, 2016.

A NEWS WEBSITE REPORTS THAT, AT 5:37 A.M.,

THE EARTH'S MAGNETIC FIELD

SUFFERED A SUDDEN AND TOTAL COLLAPSE.

EARTH'S MAGNETIC FIELD IS GENERATED

BY ITS OUTER CORE OF MOLTEN IRON.

THIS FIELD EXTENDS FAR OUT INTO SPACE

AND PROTECTS US FROM SOLAR RADIATION

AND HARMFUL COSMIC RAYS.

Narrator: IMAGES THE WEBSITE CLAIMS

ARE FROM NASA'S SPACE WEATHER ANALYSIS SYSTEM

SEEM TO CONFIRM AN IMMINENT GLOBAL CATASTROPHE.

YOU CAN CLEARLY SEE THIS BARRIER PROTECTING THE EARTH

FROM AN ONSLAUGHT OF SOLAR PARTICLES AND SOLAR WIND,

AND THEN, YOU CAN SUDDENLY SEE IT'S GONE.

IF THE EARTH'S MAGNETIC FIELD WERE TURNED OFF,

THAT WOULD BE COMPLETELY DISASTROUS.

Narrator: IF THE REPORT IS CORRECT,

EARTH IS NOW AT THE MERCY

OF A RELENTLESS RADIOACTIVE ASSAULT

OF CHARGED PARTICLES FROM DEEP SPACE.

PERHAPS MOST CATASTROPHICALLY,

THE SOLAR WIND WOULD ERODE AWAY EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE.

THIS IS EFFECTIVELY WHAT HAPPENED TO MARS

BILLIONS OF YEARS AGO,

SO IF EARTH LOSES ITS MAGNETIC FIELD,

WE'RE ON A PATHWAY TO BECOME A DEAD, COLD WORLD,

JUST LIKE MARS.

Narrator: EARTH'S MAGNETOSPHERE HAS EXISTED

FOR MORE THAN 3 BILLION YEARS.

ITS APPARENT, SUDDEN COLLAPSE SHOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE.

SOMETHING LIKE THAT DOESN'T JUST STOP.

IT DOESN'T JUST TURN OFF.

SO WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?

IS THERE SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE ARE DOING ON EARTH

THAT COULD CREATE SOMETHING

THAT WOULD TURN OFF THESE MAGNETIC FIELD?

Narrator: SOME ONLINE REACTIONS TO THE REPORT

FOCUS ON THE WORLD'S MOST POWERFUL MAGNET

AS A POTENTIAL SUSPECT

FOR THE MAGNETOSPHERE'S FAILURE.

THE CERN LABORATORIES LARGE HADRON COLLIDER

USES A 17-MILE-LONG MAGNETICALLY POWERED PARTICLE ACCELERATOR

TO FIRE PROTONS AT EACH OTHER

AT ALMOST THE SPEED OF LIGHT

IN THE SEARCH FOR MYSTERIOUS SUBATOMIC GOD PARTICLES.

IT IS THE LARGEST MACHINE EVER BUILT BY MANKIND.

A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE STARTING TO WONDER

WHETHER CERN MIGHT BE HAVING AN EFFECT

ON THE EARTH'S MAGNETIC FIELD

AND COULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR SHUTTING IT DOWN.

Narrator: THE EXPERIMENTS PRODUCE

600 MILLION SUBATOMIC COLLISIONS EVERY SECOND,

GENERATING TEMPERATURES 100,000 TIMES HOTTER

THAN THE CENTER OF THE SUN.

THE MAGNETIC FIELD CREATED INSIDE THE LARGE HADRON COLLIDER

ARE MORE THAN 100,000 TIMES EARTH'S OWN MAGNETIC FIELD.

Narrator: COULD THE FORCES UNLEASHED AT CERN

INTERFERE WITH EARTH'S MAGNETIC FIELD?

THE ANSWER IS NO. IT DEFINITELY CANNOT.

CERN'S MAGNETIC FIELD

IS ALWAYS INSIDE OF THE COLLIDER ITSELF.

IT DOESN'T PERMEATE OUTWARDS

ANYWHERE ELSE TO INTERFERE WITH THE EARTH.

Narrator: WHEN NASA HEARS ABOUT THE WEBSITE'S CLAIM,

IT LAUNCHES AN INVESTIGATION.

THE SPACE AGENCY DISCOVERS THAT THE ALARMING CLAIM

WAS BASED ON READINGS TAKEN DURING A 2-HOUR GLITCH

IN ITS SPACE WEATHER MODELING SOFTWARE.

THESE PEOPLE THAT RUN THIS WEBSITE

LOOKED AT THE NO DATA

AND INTERPRETED THAT AS NO MAGNETIC FIELD.

WHEN FACED WITH SOMETHING THAT SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE,

THE FIRST THING YOU HAVE TO DO IS CHECK YOUR DATA.

Narrator: INVESTIGATORS ALSO DISCOVER

THAT THE WEBSITE HAS BEEN ACCUSED

OF RUNNING FAKE NEWS STORIES

AND OF DOCTORING SOURCE MATERIAL.

THE REPORTED COLLAPSE NEVER HAPPENED,

BUT FOR SCIENTISTS,

THE FEAR THAT THE EARTH

COULD LOSE ITS MAGNETIC FORCE FIELD IS VERY REAL.

Major: EARTH'S MAGNETIC FIELD IS GETTING WEAKER,

AND THE RATE AT WHICH IT'S WEAKENING IS ACCELERATING.

Narrator: RECENT RESEARCH INDICATES THIS WEAKENING IS A PRECURSOR

TO A POTENTIALLY APOCALYPTIC EVENT

KNOWN AS A GEOMAGNETIC REVERSAL.

Teitel: THE EARTH'S MAGNETIC FIELD WEAKENS

BECAUSE OF A REALIGNMENT OF THE IRON ATOMS

INSIDE THE LIQUID OUTER CORE.

THIS WILL EVENTUALLY LEAD TO A FLIPPING OF THE POLES.

Major: WHILE THE GEOGRAPHIC POLES

ALWAYS POINT IN GENERALLY THE SAME DIRECTION,

THE MAGNETIC POLES CAN AND DO MOVE

AND SOMETIMES EVEN FLIP AROUND ENTIRELY.

Narrator: WHEN THE POLES FLIP,

THE MAGNETIC FIELD AROUND EARTH SHRINKS,

LEAVING OUR PLANET DANGEROUSLY EXPOSED

FOR UP TO 200 YEARS.

IF A REVERSAL DOES HAPPEN, THIS IS BAD NEWS FOR US.

THIS MEANS THAT OUR SATELLITES

WILL BE DAMAGED BY SPACE RADIATION

AND THIS MEANS THAT LIFE ON EARTH

WILL BE DAMAGED BY SPACE RADIATION,

AND EVEN OUR ENTIRE ATMOSPHERE MAY LOSE MASS

DUE TO EARTH'S LACK OF A MAGNETIC FIELD.

Narrator: SOME SCIENTISTS HAVE SUGGESTED

THAT GEOMAGNETIC FLIPS

HAVE LED TO MASS EXTINCTIONS IN THE PAST.

THE LATEST RESEARCH INDICATES

THAT THE NEXT ONE COULD STRIKE WITHIN DECADES.

Oluseyi: HOW ARE WE GOING TO PROTECT OURSELVES?

WILL WE SURVIVE IT? WE DON'T KNOW.

Narrator: COMING UP,

NASA DISCOVERS A MYSTERIOUS CHASM

IN ONE OF SATURN'S RINGS.

IT'S LIKE SOMETHING JUST PUNCHED CLEAN THROUGH

AND LEFT A HOLE BEHIND.

THERE'S NO KNOWN SPACECRAFT

THAT COULD'VE MADE A HOLE THIS BIG.

Narrator: A NASA PROBE STUDYING SATURN CAPTURES AN INTRIGUING IMAGE.

THERE'S A HUGE HOLE IN ONE OF SATURN'S RINGS.

IT'S LIKE SOMETHING PUNCHED RIGHT THROUGH IT.

Narrator: THE CAUSE OF THE GIANT CHASM

BAFFLES PLANETARY SCIENTISTS.

SOMETHING BIG, REALLY BIG, CREATED THIS HOLE,

BUT WE CAN'T FIND IT.

Narrator: 2016.

NASA's CASSINI SPACECRAFT IS 12 YEARS INTO ITS MISSION

TO STUDY SATURN,

THE SECOND LARGEST PLANET IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.

ON APRIL 8, CASSINI IS TASKED

WITH IMAGING THE PLANET'S OUTER RING,

A BAND OF ICY DEBRIS KNOWN AS THE "F" RING.

Aguilar: THE "F" RING IS A THIN, LITTLE RING

THAT ALMOST LOOKS LIKE BRAIDED WIRE

THAT GOES AROUND THE BIG, MAJOR, FAT RINGS OF SATURN.

MATERIAL IN THE "F" RING IS SO FINE

THAT IT'S ALMOST LIKE FROZEN SMOKE.

Narrator: WHEN THE CASSINI TEAM

AT NASA's JET PROPULSION LABORATORY

STUDIED THE IMAGES,

THEY DISCOVER SOMETHING UNEXPECTED.

IT'S LIKE SOMETHING JUST PUNCHED CLEAN THROUGH

AND LEFT A HOLE BEHIND.

IT LOOKS REALLY WEIRD.

IT LOOKS LIKE MAYBE THERE'S BEEN AN EXPLOSION

IN THE "F" RING.

Narrator: A MYSTERIOUS FORCE OR OBJECT APPEARS TO HAVE BLASTED

A 30,000-SQUARE-MILE HOLE OUT OF THE ICY RING.

Major: THIS HOLE IS SO LARGE,

YOU COULD FIT LAKE ERIE INTO IT.

Narrator: ASTRONOMERS DISMISS THE IDEA

THAT ONE OF NASA's CRAFT

COULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE STRANGE EVENT.

THERE'S NO KNOWN SPACECRAFT

THAT COULD'VE MADE A HOLE THIS BIG.

Narrator: A CLUE TO THE ORIGIN OF THE MYSTERY

COULD COME FROM THE TWO MOONS THAT FLANK THE "F" RING --

PROMETHEUS AND PANDORA.

THESE TWO POTATO-SHAPED BALLS OF ICE POLICE THE RING

AS THEY ORBIT ON EITHER SIDE OF IT.

WELL, THESE TWO MOONS, PROMETHEUS AND PANDORA,

ACT SORT OF LIKE BODYGUARDS.

THEY KIND OF KEEP THE WANDERING PARTICLES IN TRACK.

IF ONE OF THE MOONS WERE NOT THERE,

THE RING WOULD JUST SPREAD

BECAUSE EACH MOON IS PUSHING FROM EACH SIDE

AND KEEPING IT FROM SPREADING.

Narrator: PROMETHEUS, THE LARGEST OF THE TWO MOONS,

ORBITS CLOSEST TO SATURN

AND HAS A HISTORY OF CAUSING DISTURBANCES

IN THE "F" RING.

THE OBVIOUS SUSPECT, BECAUSE IT REGULARLY COMES CLOSE

TO THE "F" RING AND PULLS OUT LITTLE BITS.

IT DISTURBS IT AS IT COMES CLOSE TO IT.

PROMETHEUS IS KIND OF A COSMIC VANDAL.

Narrator: BUT WHEN THE CASSINI TEAM

ANALYZE PROMETHEUS' POSITION

AT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT,

THE THEORY FALLS DOWN.

IN THIS CASE, PROMETHEUS HAS AN AIRTIGHT ALIBI --

IT WAS CLEAR ON THE OTHER SIDE OF SATURN

WHEN THE HOLE APPEARED.

Narrator: CLOSER ANALYSIS OF THE IMAGES

SUGGESTS PROMETHEUS' SISTER MOON IS A MORE LIKELY SUSPECT.

IN THESE IMAGES, PART OF THE MATERIAL

THAT'S BEING PULLED OUT FROM THE RINGS

LOOKS LIKE IT'S POINTING TOWARD PANDORA,

SO IT MIGHT BE PANDORA BEING MISCHIEVOUS

AND CAUSING THIS DISTURBANCE.

Narrator: THE IMAGES SEEM TO PROVIDE STRONG EVIDENCE

THAT PANDORA'S GRAVITATIONAL PULL

HAS DRAGGED MATERIAL OUT OF THE "F" RING,

BUT SCIENTISTS CALCULATE

THAT THE 70-MILE-LONG MOON

COULD NOT BE RESPONSIBLE

FOR THE MASSIVE DISTURBANCE.

Baines: WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE MATH,

WE FIND OUT THAT PANDORA WAS JUST TOO SMALL.

ITS GRAVITY IS JUST NOT BIG ENOUGH

TO CAUSE THIS KIND OF INTERRUPTION,

SO HERE, IT SEEMS TO JUST BE AN INNOCENT BYSTANDER.

IT'S ACTUALLY OFF THE HOOK.

Narrator: THE CASSINI IMAGES PROVIDE NO FURTHER CLUES

TO THE ORIGIN OF THE GIANT CHASM.

IT SEEMS A MYSTERY OBJECT

TRAVELED THROUGH THIS REGION OF SPACE

AND THEN DISAPPEARED.

WHATEVER CAUSED THIS SIMPLY ISN'T CAPTURED ON CAMERA.

IT'S GONE BEFORE CASSINI CAN SPOT IT.

SOMETHING BIG, REALLY BIG,

CREATED THIS HOLE, BUT WE CAN'T FIND IT.

Narrator: SINCE THE HOLE WAS DISCOVERED,

CASSINI HAS PERFORMED SEVERAL MORE FLY-BYS

OF THE MYSTERIOUS "F" RING.

THE EXACT CAUSE OF THE STRANGE CHASM REMAINS UNEXPLAINED.

Woman: WE STILL DON'T KNOW FOR SURE WHAT CAUSED THIS DISTURBANCE.

THE MORE WE LEARN ABOUT SATURN, THE MORE QUESTIONS WE HAVE.

WE'RE JUST SCRATCHING THE SURFACE.

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

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS