Original subtitles

Narrator: FIRST MAN ON THE MOON NEIL ARMSTRONG

TURNS INDIANA JONES

TO SEARCH FOR BURIED EVIDENCE OF ANCIENT ALIENS.

WHY WAS NASA'S MOST EMINENT ASTRONAUT

TURNING HIS GAZE AWAY FROM THE SKIES

AND TOWARDS THE DEPTHS OF THE EARTH?

Narrator: COPS ENCOUNTER SPACE BLOBS IN PHILADELPHIA.

IS IT POSSIBLE THAT THESE BLOBS ARE ALIVE,

AND THEY'VE FALLEN TO EARTH FOR A VERY SPECIFIC REASON?

Narrator: AND STAR WARS ON TRAPPIST-1.

THIS COULD BE BATTLE FOR THE PLANETS,

AND WINNER TAKES ALL.

[ RUMBLING ]

♪♪

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

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

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

♪♪

Narrator: AUGUST 1976 --

ASTRONAUT NEIL ARMSTRONG

IS EMBARKING ON A PERILOUS MISSION --

NOT TO THE MOON, BUT TO THE JUNGLE.

HE IS SEARCHING FOR A SECRET CAVE SYSTEM IN ECUADOR

KNOWN AS CUEVA DE LOS TAYOS.

♪♪

OVER 100 PEOPLE ARE GATHERED FOR THIS.

WE'RE TALKING ECUADORIAN MILITARY,

BRITISH SCIENTISTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD,

UNIVERSITY INSTITUTIONS.

Narrator: ARMSTRONG IS NO ORDINARY EXPLORER,

AND THESE ARE NO ORDINARY CAVES.

THERE'S A LEGEND ATTACHED TO THESE CAVES

WHICH INVOLVES A METAL LIBRARY MADE OF GOLD.

♪♪

THERE ARE THESE BOOKS MADE OF METAL INSCRIBED

IN A MYSTERIOUS LANGUAGE THAT NO ONE UNDERSTANDS,

BUT, PRESUMABLY, THAT CONTAIN...

SOME UNIMAGINABLE STORE OF KNOWLEDGE

JUST WAITING TO BE DISCOVERED.

[ CROWD CHEERING ]

Narrator: ARMSTRONG IS TRAVELING WITH STAN HALL,

A SCOTTISH ENGINEER

WHO FIRST ALERTED HIM TO THE POSSIBLE EXISTENCE

OF AN ANCIENT LIBRARY HIDDEN UNDERGROUND.

STAN HALL'S DAUGHTER RECOUNTS

THE PAIR'S EXTRAORDINARY EXPEDITION.

SOME PEOPLE BELIEVE THAT THE METAL LIBRARY

CONTAINED INFORMATION FROM A CIVILIZATION

FROM BEYOND THIS PLANET

THAT SHOWED US HOW TO BUILD THE PYRAMIDS

AND OTHER SUCH FEATURES IN THE EARTH.

Zimmerman: THE KNOWLEDGE CONTAINED IN THIS METAL LIBRARY

COULD TURN WHAT WE THINK WE KNOW ABOUT OURSELVES

AND OUR WORLD RIGHT ON ITS HEAD.

SO WHAT AMAZING SECRETS DOES THE LIBRARY CONTAIN?

Narrator: ACCORDING TO LEGEND, THE LOST LIBRARY

CONTAINS DETAILS OF A TECHNOLOGY

THAT ORIGINATED ON ANOTHER WORLD.

♪♪

BUT WHY IS SUCH A STORY GIVEN CREDENCE BY SUCH A WELL-KNOWN

AND RESPECTED MAN OF SCIENCE, THE GREAT NEIL ARMSTRONG?

AND AS SOME ARE ASKING,

WAS HIS INTEREST IN EXTRATERRESTRIAL SECRETS

SPARKED BY A CLOSE ENCOUNTER OF HIS OWN?

THIS IS HOUSTON. WE'RE COPYING.

OVER HALF A BILLION PEOPLE

WATCHED ARMSTRONG LAND ON THE MOON IN 1969

AS PICTURES WERE BEAMED BACK TO EARTH.

Armstrong: THAT'S ONE SMALL STEP FOR MAN,

ONE GIANT LEAP FOR MANKIND.

BUT SOME CLAIM THAT THE TRANSMISSION

WAS INTERRUPTED FOR A FULL TWO MINUTES.

THAT'S UNHEARD OF.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THOSE TWO MINUTES?

Narrator: NASA VEHEMENTLY DENIES ANYTHING STRANGE HAPPENED.

OTHERS AREN'T SO SURE.

WHEN NEIL ARMSTRONG CAME BACK FROM THE MOON,

ALMOST IMMEDIATELY, UH, STORIES BEGAN TO CIRCULATE.

SUPPOSEDLY, WHILE ON THE MOON,

NEIL ARMSTRONG SWITCHES HIS COMMUNICATION CHANNEL

TO THE MEDICAL OFFICER AND HE SAYS SOMETHING.

NEIL, THIS IS HOUSTON. WE'RE COPYING.

HE SAYS, "THEY'RE ON THE EDGE OF THE CRATER,

AND THEY'RE WATCHING US."

OKAY, WE CAN VERIFY THE POSITION THEY'RE IN.

THEY WERE RELATING THAT THEY WERE SEEING THINGS

ON THE RIM OF THE CRATER --

AND BY "THINGS," I MEAN

EXTRATERRESTRIAL BEINGS AND VEHICLES.

PEOPLE REPORT THAT HE WAS, OR WE WERE WARNED OFF THE MOON.

NOW, NONE OF THESE REPORTS CAN BE SUBSTANTIATED.

♪♪

Narrator: IT'S A MIND-BOGGLING STORY,

BUT SOME FIND CORROBORATION IN ARMSTRONG'S BEHAVIOR

ON HIS RETURN TO EARTH.

SOMETHING HAPPENED TO HIM UP THERE.

HE WAS CHANGED. HE WAS TOUCHED.

Brandenburg: NEIL ARMSTRONG RETURNED FROM THE MOON

AND SHOWED WHAT APPEARS TO ME TO BE SIGNS

OF, UH, POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS.

I THINK THAT HE ENCOUNTERED THINGS ON THE JOURNEY

TO THE MOON AND ON THE LUNAR SURFACE.

MUCH CLOSER ENCOUNTERS

THAN SIMPLY WATCHING LIGHTS OUT OF HIS COCKPIT.

[ CROWD CHEERING ]

Narrator: NASA DENIES THE ASTRONAUT

ENCOUNTERED ANYTHING UNEXPECTED ON THE MOON.

ARMSTRONG NEVER DISCUSSED WHAT WAS SAID

IN THE MISSING TWO MINUTES OF AUDIO.

Wise: HE TURNED INWARD. HE BECAME A VERY PRIVATE PERSON.

THE ONE THING THAT HE DID DO, THOUGH,

IS TO GO ON THIS EXPEDITION INTO THIS CAVE.

AND WE HAVE TO WONDER, WHAT WAS HE HOPING TO FIND

IN THIS DARK, SUBTERRANEAN WORLD?

WHAT DID HE THINK WAS GOING TO BE DOWN THERE?

♪♪

Narrator: SOCIAL SCIENCE PROFESSOR PETRONIO JARAMILLO

CLAIMED TO HAVE SEEN THE ANCIENT METAL LIBRARY IN 1946,

WHEN HE WAS JUST 17...

FOLLOWING A MAP GIVEN TO HIM BY HIS UNCLE.

FROM HIS ACCOUNTS, IT SOUNDED LIKE JARAMILLO

WAS DESCRIBING ALADDIN'S CAVE.

Zimmerman: THE LIBRARY ITSELF WAS AMAZING TO BEHOLD --

THOUSANDS OF VOLUMES OF METAL BOOKS,

EACH WEIGHING ABOUT 40 POUNDS.

AND ON THE PAGES ARE IMPRESSED CHARACTERS AND SYMBOLS.

IF THERE'S ONE IN A MILLION CHANCE THAT IT'S TRUE,

SHOULDN'T WE GO BACK AND LOOK FOR THIS GOLDEN LIBRARY?

Narrator: 30 YEARS AFTER JARAMILLO CLAIMED TO HAVE FOUND THE LIBRARY,

ARMSTRONG SETS OUT TO DISCOVER IF THE LEGEND IS REAL.

GETTING TO THE ENTRANCE OF THIS CAVE IS A NIGHTMARE.

YOU'RE TALKING DENSE JUNGLE.

YOU'RE TALKING CRAZY ANIMALS THAT CAN KILL YOU,

VIRUSES, ALL KINDS OF HAZARDS.

IT'S LITERALLY INDIANA JONES.

♪♪

Narrator: TO ENTER THIS MYSTERIOUS UNDERWORLD IS TREACHEROUS.

IT'S LITERALLY THIS BLACK VOID IN THIS BIG ABYSS.

Narrator: ONCE INSIDE THE CAVERNS,

ARMSTRONG AND HALL ARE AWESTRUCK.

THEY MADE THEIR WAY THROUGH CHAMBER

AFTER CHAMBER OF CATHEDRAL-SIZED SPACES.

Narrator: IT LOOKS AS IF THESE CHAMBERS,

SO INACCESSIBLE AND SO FAR FROM HUMAN CIVILIZATION,

HAVE NOT BEEN FORMED BY NATURAL PROCESSES.

Lukes: THE CAVES HAD STRAIGHT WALLS AND RIGHT-ANGLE TURNS

UNLIKE ANY OTHER NATURAL FORMATION.

Proctor: THIS MUST BE THOUSANDS OF YEARS OLD.

SO HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?

♪♪

Narrator: AS ARMSTRONG PRESSES FURTHER INTO THE CAVE COMPLEX,

HE MAKE S A MACABRE FIND.

THEY ACTUALLY CAME UPON A BURIAL CHAMBER.

THERE WAS A SEATED SKELETON THAT WAS DATED TO 1500 B.C.

Narrator: 1500 B.C. PREDATES KING TUTANKHAMUN.

IT PREDATES THE SIEGE OF TROY.

AT THIS DISTANT TIME,

ECUADOR WAS ONE OF THE MOST ADVANCED AREAS

IN ALL OF THE AMERICAS.

Wise: THE TOMB WAS LOCATED IN SUCH A WAY THAT, UH,

THE RAYS OF SUNLIGHT ON THE SUMMER SOLSTICE

WOULD COME THROUGH THE CAVE ENTRANCE AND --

AND STRIKE THIS TOMB.

SO IT APPEARS TO PERHAPS HAVE HAD SOME KIND OF COSMOLOGICAL

SIGNIFICANCE THE WAY IT HAD BEEN PLACED.

Zimmerman: THIS WAS NOT JUST A TYPICAL BURIAL.

THIS WAS AN IMPORTANT PERSON IN AN IMPORTANT LOCATION.

Narrator: THE LIGHT, THE SKULL, THE TOMB.

ARMSTRONG FEELS THAT STRANGE METAL LIBRARY MUST BE CLOSE.

♪♪

COMING UP, NEIL ARMSTRONG GETS ONE STEP CLOSER

TO THE STRANGEST LIBRARY IN THE WORLD.

Zimmerman: COULD THIS LIBRARY HOLD THE SECRETS OF THE GALAXY?

IS THAT WHY NEIL ARMSTRONG WENT ON THIS EXPEDITION?

Narrator: AND PHILADELPHIA COPS VERSUS A MYSTERY PURPLE BLOB.

THE BLOBS COULD'VE BEEN OUR FIRST INTERACTION

WITH EXTRATERRESTRIAL INTELLIGENT LIFE.

♪♪

♪♪

[ CROWD CHEERING ]

Narrator: FOR THE FIRST MAN ON THE MOON,

A JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH

IN SEARCH OF AN ELUSIVE LEGENDARY METAL LIBRARY.

THE CULTURE THAT PUT IT THERE,

IT WAS MORE ADVANCED THAN -- THAN WE THINK.

Narrator: ARMSTRONG FINDS WEIRD CHAMBERS

AND A 3,500-YEAR-OLD SKELETON IN A STRANGELY ILLUMINATED TOMB.

BUT AFTER VENTURING SEVERAL MILES ALONG DIFFICULT TUNNELS,

THE EXPEDITION IS FORCED TO TURN BACK.

Hall: MY FATHER AND NEIL ARMSTRONG DID NOT FIND THE TREASURE,

BUT THEY MAPPED ABOUT 10 MILES WORTH OF THE CAVE SYSTEM,

BUT IT'S KNOWN NOW THAT THIS SYSTEM STRETCHES FAR BEYOND.

WE COULD BE LOOKING AT HUNDREDS OF MILES WORTH OF CAVE SYSTEMS.

Narrator: ARMSTRONG RETURNS TO HIS FARM IN OHIO

AND DOESN'T DISCUSS WHY HE WENT LOOKING

FOR THE LEGENDARY LIBRARY.

WHAT DID HE FEEL WAS SO IMPORTANT DOWN THERE

IN THAT HOLE

THAT HE WAS WILLING TO SIGN HIS NAME

ONTO THIS VENTURE?

HE BECAME MORE AND MORE RECLUSIVE,

ACCORDING TO SOME PEOPLE.

AND HE WAS A VERY PRIVATE MAN TO BEGIN WITH.

BUT WHATEVER HIS EXPERIENCES WERE,

I THINK THEY TENDED TO KIND OF CLOSE HIM OFF.

♪♪

Narrator: BUT THEN, IN 1994, AT THE WHITE HOUSE,

20 YEARS AFTER HIS QUEST TO FIND THE ANCIENT METAL LIBRARY,

ARMSTRONG GIVES A STRANGELY WORDED SPEECH.

WE HAVE ONLY COMPLETED THE BEGINNING.

WE LEAVE YOU MUCH THAT IS UNDONE.

THERE ARE GREAT IDEAS UNDISCOVERED,

BREAKTHROUGHS AVAILABLE TO THOSE WHO CAN REMOVE

ONE OF THE TRUTH'S PROTECTIVE LAYERS.

THAT'S A VERY TANTALIZING QUOTE FROM NEIL ARMSTRONG.

ALMOST MYSTICAL IN ITS NATURE,

HOW HE TALKS ABOUT UNCOVERING THE LAYERS

TO SOME HIDDEN TRUTHS.

WHAT DID HE MEAN BY THAT?

COULD THIS LIBRARY HOLD THE SECRETS OF THE GALAXY?

IS THAT WHY NEIL ARMSTRONG WENT ON THIS EXPEDITION?

♪♪

FINDING THIS LIBRARY COULD PROVE A POSSIBLE LINK

BETWEEN OUR ANCIENT CULTURES AND EXTRATERRESTRIAL ONES.

Narrator: EILEEN HALL WANTS TO RESUME

HER FATHER'S AND NEIL ARMSTRONG'S QUEST

BY LEADING EXPEDITIONS INTO THE CAVES.

Hall: IF WE FIND THIS TREASURE AND FIND THAT THEY HAVE A LINK

TO ANY EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE,

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS AN ENDLESS POOL OF QUESTIONS.

TO THE BELIEVERS, THE MYSTERY STILL ENDURES.

THE CAVERN IS STILL THERE.

THOSE METAL BOOKS ARE STILL OUT THERE

SOMEWHERE IN THE JUNGLE, UNDISCOVERED.

♪♪

[ SIRENS WAILING ]

Narrator: SEPTEMBER 26, 1950, PHILADELPHIA.

IT'S 10:00 P.M.

CITY COPS JOHN COLLINS AND JOSEPH KEENAN

PATROL THE STREETS.

AS THEY DRIVE DOWN A DARK ROAD,

THEY SEE A STRANGE OBJECT FALL FROM THE SKY.

THIS OBJECT RESEMBLES A PARACHUTE,

AND IT SEEMS TO BE DRIFTING DOWN INTO A NEARBY FIELD.

Lukes: AS THEY GET CLOSER, THEY QUICKLY REALIZE

THAT THIS ISN'T A PARACHUTE.

THIS IS SOMETHING ALTOGETHER UNUSUAL,

IF NOT OTHERWORLDLY.

THEY FIND A LARGE PURPLE MASS ABOUT 6 FEET ACROSS.

Marden: IT SEEMED TO GLOW.

IT SEEMED INTERNALLY LUMINESCENT.

AND, UH, IT SPARKLED IN THE DARK.

Narrator: BUT THEN, SEEMINGLY AWARE OF THE COPS,

THE WEIRD SUBSTANCE STARTS TO MOVE.

Teitel: THE STRANGEST THING ABOUT THIS MASS IS THAT EYEWITNESSES SWEAR

THEY SAW IT CLIMB UP A LAMPPOST

BEFORE EVAPORATING INTO THIN AIR.

Narrator: THE OFFICERS REPORT THE ENCOUNTER,

WHICH MAKES HEADLINE NEWS.

AND IT INSPIRES WHAT WILL BECOME ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS

ALIEN HORROR MOVIES OF ALL TIME, "THE BLOB."

♪♪

THE CULT CLASSIC MOVIE "THE BLOB"

FEATURES A GELATINOUS MASS THAT FALLS FROM THE SKY

AND STARTS DEVOURING EVERYONE IT TOUCHES.

[ ONLOOKERS SHOUTING ]

Narrator: THE ORIGINAL EVENT IS FORGOTTEN,

AND THE FILM IS TAKEN AS NOTHING MORE THAN HARMLESS FICTION...

UNTIL 30 YEARS LATER WHEN THE BLOB RETURNS.

♪♪

AUGUST 10, 1979, FRISCO, TEXAS --

LOCAL RESIDENTS WATCH THE SPECTACLE

OF THE PERSEID METEOR SHOWER,

SO CALLED BECAUSE THESE SPACE ROCKS EMANATE FROM THE DIRECTION

OF THE CONSTELLATION OF PERSEUS.

THE NEXT MORNING, SYBIL CHRISTIAN IS SURPRISED

TO SEE THREE UNEXPECTED VISITORS IN HER FRONT YARD.

TO HER ASTONISHMENT, THERE ARE THREE PURPLE PLUM-COLORED BLOBS.

THESE OBJECTS ARE THE SIZE OF DESK TELEPHONE,

AND THEY HAVE A TEXTURE LIKE WHIPPED CREAM.

Narrator: JUST LIKE THE BLOB DISCOVERED BY THE PHILADELPHIA COPS

30 YEARS EARLIER.

AS SYBIL STARES IN AMAZEMENT, ONE OF THEM SUDDENLY VANISHES.

GIVEN THE CIRCUMSTANCES, THAT THEY SEEM TO HAVE FALLEN

DURING THE PERSEID METEOR SHOWER,

YOU'D HAVE TO WONDER IF IT ISN'T SOMETHING

THAT MIGHT'VE COME FROM SPACE.

Narrator: LOCAL AUTHORITIES ALERT NASA,

WHOSE SCIENTISTS CONDUCT TESTS ON ONE OF THE BLOBS

AND MAKE AN INCREDIBLE ANNOUNCEMENT.

♪♪

INITIALLY, EVERYONE IS ASTONISHED

BECAUSE NASA ANNOUNCED THESE ACTUALLY COULD BE

OF EXTRATERRESTRIAL ORIGIN.

[ SIREN WAILING ]

BUT AS NEWS SPREADS,

THE AUTHORITIES MOVE TO QUELL PUBLIC ALARM.

AND NASA MAKES A SECOND ANNOUNCEMENT.

THE NEXT DAY, THEY CHANGED THEIR MINDS

AND THOUGHT THAT IT MIGHT BE CAUSTIC SODA

FROM A NEARBY BATTERY FACTORY.

Teitel: THE THEORY IS A FACTORY TRUCK PICKED UP

THE CAUSTIC BLOBS AS IT WAS DRIVING,

AND THEY HAPPENED TO DISLODGE AND LAND IN SYBIL'S YARD.

Narrator: BUT WHICH OD NASA'S TWO STATEMENTS IS CORRECT?

THIS IS ACTUALLY KIND OF SUSPICIOUS.

WHY WOULD YOU GO AND ANNOUNCE THIS COULD BE EXTRATERRESTRIAL

IF YOU WEREN'T PRETTY SURE OF IT BEING THAT?

[ SQUISHING ]

ARE THEY TRYING TO COVER SOMETHING UP?

OR DID THEY JUST SIMPLY GET IT WRONG?

Narrator: SYBIL CHRISTIAN, WHO SAW THE BLOBS UP CLOSE,

DECIDES TO INSPECT THE CAUSTIC SODA FOR HERSELF.

Zimmerman: THE FINAL NAIL IN THE COFFIN OF THIS THEORY, I BELIEVE,

IS WHEN SYBIL GOES TO LOOK AT THE ACTUAL WASTE AT THE FACTORY,

AND SHE SAID, "THIS IS NOTHING LIKE WHAT FELL INTO MY GARDEN."

[ SQUISHING ]

Marden: THESE BLOBS HAD THE CONSISTENCY OF WHIPPED CREAM,

YET THE INDUSTRIAL WASTE FROM THIS BATTERY FACTORY,

UH, WAS VERY, VERY SOLID AND HEAVY.

IF THERE ARE NOT TERRESTRIAL EXPLANATIONS FOR THESE MASSES,

WHAT PROCESSES ARE GOING ON IN SPACE

THAT COULD CREATE THESE BLOBS?

♪♪

Narrator: COMING UP, A SHOCKING DISCOVERY IN 2018

SUGGESTS THE DEADLY ALIEN BLOBS

MIGHT BE HEADING FOR EARTH AGAIN...SOON.

SOME SCIENTISTS THINK THE APPEARANCE OF THE BLOBS

COULD FORESHADOW SOME SORT OF VIRUS FROM SPACE.

Narrator: AND IT APPEARS THE ONE OF NASA'S SUPER-INTELLIGENT ROBOTS

HAS GAINED CONSCIOUSNESS.

WE CAN'T RULE OUT THE POSSIBILITY

OF A SUPER-INTELLIGENT BEING SAYING TO ITSELF,

"I'M GOING TO END MYSELF AND ANYTHING ELSE I WANT."

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: JUNE 2018 --

40 YEARS AFTER MYSTERY PURPLE BLOBS FALL

OVER A SMALL TEXAS TOWN,

SCIENTISTS LOOKING FOR LIVING ORGANISMS IN THE GALAXY

MAKE A SHOCKING DISCOVERY.

INTERSTELLAR SPACE IS TEEMING WITH BLOB-LIKE GREASE.

Teitel: WE TYPICALLY THINK OF SPACE AS BEING THIS GIANT VOID,

BUT WE'VE RECENTLY LEARNED

THAT IT'S ACTUALLY FULL OF THIS GREASY GOO.

IT'S WEIRD TO THINK OF PARTS OF SPACE AS BEING GREASY,

BUT I MEAN, IF YOU CAN GET ENOUGH OF THESE,

LIKE, HYDRO-COVERED MOLECULES TOGETHER,

YOU CAN PROBABLY GET, LIKE, A LITTLE GREASY BALL GOING.

Narrator: BUT THAT'S NOT ALL.

DISTURBINGLY, IN THIS COSMIC BLOB-LIKE MATTER,

THERE COULD BE SIGNS OF LIFE.

IT'S A LIVING PROCESS THAT CREATES THIS MATERIAL,

THAT FORMS THIS MATERIAL CONTINUOUSLY

AND JUST FLINGS IT OUT INTO THE SPACE BETWEEN STARS.

SO WHAT WE ARE SEEING IN THE FORM OF THIS GREASE-LIKE

MATERIAL, ORGANIC MATERIAL, IN SUCH MASS QUANTITY

IS THE RESULT OF MICROBIOLOGY

OPERATING ON A HUGE COSMIC SCALE.

THE TOTAL MASS OF THIS MATERIAL IS HUGE

AND MAKES UP ABOUT ONE HUNDREDTH

OF THE ENTIRE MASS OF THE GALAXY.

Lukes: SPACE COULD BE OOZING WITH LIFE,

FILLING THE DARK VOID BETWEEN THE STARS.

♪♪

Narrator: SOME SCIENTISTS BELIEVE ALIEN LIFE FORMS FLOATING IN SPACE

MAY USE RETINAL PIGMENTS TO CAPTURE ENERGY FROM STARS.

CREATURES KNOWN TO DO THIS HAVE A DISTINCT COLOR --

PURPLE.

Teitel: COULD THIS ORGANIC SPACE MATERIAL

BE RELATED TO PHENOMENA ON EARTH?

WHAT KIND OF DISEASES MIGHT THEY BRING?

HOW TOXIC ARE THEY?

Narrator: THE OLD SCI-FI MOVIE MAY SEEM LIKE HARMLESS FUN,

BUT THE EVENTS THAT INSPIRED IT COULD BE REAL.

IT SEEMS THERE COULD WELL BE BLOBS FLOATING IN OUTER SPACE.

THEY MIGHT BE PURPLE, AND THEY MIGHT KNOW WHERE WE LIVE.

IT IS ABSOLUTELY TERRIFYING TO THINK SOME ALIEN FORMS OF LIFE

ARE GOING TO BE FALLING THROUGH OUR ATMOSPHERE.

WE ABSOLUTELY NEED TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS.

♪♪

Narrator: APRIL 15, 2005 --

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE IN CALIFORNIA.

NASA PREPARES TO LAUNCH A NEW KIND OF SPACECRAFT,

PILOTED BY A SUPER-INTELLIGENT ROBOT.

THE SPACESHIP, IN EFFECT, HAS ITS OWN BRAIN.

IT IS CALLED "DART."

DART, WHICH STANDS FOR DEMONSTRATION

OF AUTONOMOUS RENDEZVOUS TECHNOLOGY.

THIS WAS $100 MILLION SPACECRAFT DESIGNED TO PROVE

THAT YOU COULD DO AUTOMATIC DOCKING

WITHOUT ANY HUMAN INTERVENTION.

Narrator: NASA WANTS THIS ARTIFICIALLY INTELLIGENT CRAFT

TO RENDEZVOUS WITH AN ORBITING SATELLITE

AND MANEUVER AROUND IT.

Major: DART WAS A FULLY AUTONOMOUS SPACECRAFT.

AFTER LAUNCH, THERE WAS NO WAY FOR IT TO RECEIVE

ANY NEW COMMANDS FROM THE GROUND.

THEY DELIBERATELY DID NOT PUT ANY KIND OF MANUAL OVERRIDE IN.

Hempsell: IT WAS GOING TO SORT OF DO IT ALL BY ITSELF.

A BIT LIKE A HUMAN DOES.

Narrator: AT 1:25 P.M.,

NASA LAUNCHES THE DART SPACECRAFT FROM AN AIRPLANE.

Kowal: DART TAKES OFF WITHOUT A HITCH,

PERFORMS THE INITIAL MANEUVERS,

AND BEGINS TO APPROACH THE SATELLITE FOR RENDEZVOUS.

Narrator: BUT 11 HOURS IN, DART STARTS BEHAVING IN WAYS

NASA HAD NOT PREDICTED.

FOR REASONS THAT ARE UNCLEAR, DART BEGINS FIRING ROCKETS

THAT WASN'T SUPPOSED TO FIRE AT THIS STAGE.

IT'S UP THERE. IT'S DOING ITS THING.

AND IT JUST GOES HAYWIRE.

Narrator: BUT RATHER THAN CAREFULLY MANEUVERING AROUND IT,

DART INSTEAD DECIDES TO FIRE ITSELF AT THE SATELLITE.

I SUPPOSE THERE WAS A MOMENT WHEN THEY REALIZED

THAT THEY'D ACTUALLY HIT THE SATELLITE.

Major: THIS IS A HIGH-PROFILE AND VERY EXPENSIVE MISSION.

IT BEGS THE QUESTION, "WHAT HAPPENED

TO THE SUPPOSEDLY HYPER-INTELLIGENT SPACECRAFT?"

♪♪

Narrator: COMING UP, IS DART'S REBELLION

THE FIRST SIGN OF ROBOT REVOLUTION?

WHEN ROBOTS BECOME SELF-AWARE, THEY MAY HAVE AN AGENDA

COMPLETELY DIFFERENT FROM OUR AGENDA.

Narrator: AND TOP-SECRET FOOTAGE PROVES RUSSIA COVERED UP

THE WORLD'S BIGGEST-EVER SPACE DISASTER.

WITH RUSSIA, THE IRON CURTAIN IS DOWN,

BUT THE SECRECY STILL REMAINS.

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: NASA'S MOST ADVANCED

SUPER-INTELLIGENT ROBOT SPACECRAFT

SEEMS TO GO CRAZY AND DECIDES TO DAMAGE A SATELLITE AND ITSELF.

Major: MISSION CONTROL IS POWERLESS.

THEY HAVE NO IDEA WHAT'S GOING ON,

AND THERE'S NO WAY THEY CAN POSSIBLY

RETAKE CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE.

Narrator: NASA IS BAFFLED AS TO WHY THE CRAFT

DECIDED TO BEHAVE IN THIS DESTRUCTIVE WAY.

IS IT POSSIBLE THAT THE SPACECRAFT WAS SABOTAGED?

Kowal: THE THEORIES ON WHAT HAPPENED RANGE FROM CHINESE HACKERS

TO OTHER FOREIGN POWERS GETTING IN THERE

TO TRY TO MAKE AMERICA LOOK BAD.

Narrator: BUT THIS ROBOT IS AUTONOMOUS.

HACKERS CAN'T MEDDLE WITH THE INSTRUCTIONS IT'S RECEIVING,

BECAUSE THERE AREN'T ANY.

EVEN NASA CAN'T INFLUENCE DART. IT'S CREATED TO BE AUTONOMOUS.

SO THE POSSIBILITY OF ANOTHER NATION

BEING ABLE TO HACK IT SIMPLY ISN'T VIABLE.

[ BEEPS ][ RUMBLING ]

Narrator: EXPERTS COME TO AN ASTONISHING CONCLUSION.

DART DECIDED BY ITSELF TO FIRE ITS ROCKETS

AND CRASH INTO THE SATELLITE.

HAS IT GONE THE SAME WAY AS HAL,

THE ROGUE SUPER COMPUTER IN "2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY"?

Orzel: IF WE HAVE A MACHINE THAT BECOMES CONSCIOUS,

BECOMES SELF-AWARE, WHAT IS THAT GOING TO DO?

IS THAT A MACHINE THAT'S GOING TO GO ON STRIKE,

SIMPLY REFUSE TO WORK?

Narrator: IS IT POSSIBLE THAT THE DART SPACECRAFT

ACTED AS IT DID AFTER IT DEVELOPED

SOME CRUDE FORM OF CONSCIOUSNESS?

Wise: IMAGINE THAT YOU'RE A SPACECRAFT.

YOU BECOME CONSCIOUS. YOU EXIST.

YOU ARE AWARE OF YOUR EXISTENCE.

AND THEN YOU RECOGNIZE IN THE IMMEDIATE INSTANT

AFTER THAT THAT YOU'RE A NASA SPACECRAFT

AND YOUR SOLE PURPOSE IS TO DOCK WITH THIS OTHER SPACECRAFT,

AND THEN, LIKE, THAT'S IT.

Vakoch: IN THE FUTURE, WE CAN'T RULE OUT THE POSSIBILITY

OF A SUPER-INTELLIGENT BEING SAYING TO ITSELF,

"THERE IS NO REASON TO LIVE.

I'M GOING TO TAKE ACTIONS TO END MYSELF

AND ANYTHING ELSE I WANT."

[ BURSTING, RUMBLING ]

EITHER WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT

IS A NORMAL KIND OF FAILURE OF --

OF THINGS THAT BREAK AND BLOW UP,

OR MAYBE IT DIDN'T JUST BREAK.

MAYBE IT WAS TOO GOOD.

MAYBE IT JUST STARTED MAKING DECISIONS FOR ITSELF.

Narrator: AND DART IS JUST THE BEGINNING.

TERRIFYINGLY, ADVANCED ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

MIGHT SOON PLAY A MAJOR ROLE IN MILITARY TECHNOLOGY ON EARTH.

WE HAVE THE CAPABILITY TO BUILD AUTONOMOUS MILITARY WEAPONRY

THAT CAN GO ONTO A BATTLEFIELD AND CAN EXECUTE A PERSON.

BUT WE DON'T HAVE THE CAPABILITY TO PROGRAM IN

THE MORAL AND LEGAL FRAMEWORKS

THAT ARE WITHIN OUR SOCIETY AS RULES OF ENGAGEMENT.

SO WE CAN MAKE VERY DANGEROUS MACHINES

RIGHT NOW THAT HAVE NO MORAL CODE.

[ TRILLING ]

THE IDEA OF MACHINES, UH, MAKING DECISIONS --

WHICH CAN MAKE DECISIONS MUCH MORE QUICKLY

THAN HUMAN BEINGS CAN -- IN THE MILITARY...

THIS IS, UM, DISTURBING.

Kaku: WHEN ROBOTS BECOME SELF-AWARE,

THEY MAY HAVE AN AGENDA

COMPLETELY DIFFERENT FROM OUR AGENDA.

Wise: THERE ARE SYSTEMS RIGHT NOW

THAT YOU TURN THEM ON, SET THEM OFF,

AND THEY WILL SHOOT AND KILL HUMAN BEINGS IF THEY DECIDE TO.

SO WE'RE THERE.

WE'RE ALREADY IN THAT WORLD.

NOW, HAVE WE BUILT AN A.I.

THAT'S SOPHISTICATED ENOUGH

THAT IT MIGHT WANT TO ACTUALLY DESTROY US?

I DON'T THINK SO.

BUT I DON'T KNOW.

♪♪

1960 -- RUSSIA AND AMERICA ARE FIGHTING HARD

TO BE THE FIRST TO PUT A MAN IN SPACE.

THE PRIDE OF BOTH NATIONS IS AT STAKE.

Moran: IN RUSSIA, NATIONAL PRIDE COMES BEFORE INDIVIDUAL SAFETY,

AND EVEN IN SOME CASES, LIFE.

[ CHEERING ]

Narrator: MORE THAN PRIDE, THIS IS A BATTLE OF IDEOLOGIES --

AUTHORITARIAN STATE SOCIALISM VERSUS FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY.

ICH BIN EIN BERLINER.[ CHEERING ]

THE PRESSURE IS ON, BECAUSE SUDDENLY

THE AMERICANS ARE THE ONES LEADING THE RACE.

T-MINUS 5 SECONDS.

[ RUMBLING ]

THE SOVIETS, TO BOOST THEIR CHANCES,

HAVE GOTTEN MULTIPLE TEAMS WORKING ON ROCKET PROGRAMS

TO TRY AND BEAT THE UNITED STATES.

Narrator: LEADING ONE TEAM, ROCKET PIONEER SERGEI KOROLEV,

THE MAN WHO LAUNCHED SPUTNIK,

THE WORLD'S FIRST-EVER SATELLITE.

THE OTHER TEAM IS LED BY KOROLEV'S DEADLY RIVAL,

CHIEF MARSHAL MITROFAN NEDELIN --

A WAR HERO WHO FOUGHT FASCISTS IN SPAIN

BEFORE HELPING TO DEFEAT THE NAZI INVASION OF RUSSIA.

Pickens: THEY'RE IN COMPETITION TO BE THE FIRST

TO BUILD A ROCKET.

BIG KUDOS TO THE ONE

WHO ACTUALLY FLEW SUCCESSFUL COSMONAUTS,

SO IT'S A BIG DEAL.

[ MAN SPEAKING RUSSIAN ]

Narrator: THE COMPETITION SEEMS TO WORK.

ON APRIL 12, 1961,

YURI GAGARIN IS LAUNCHED INTO ORBIT

ON ONE OF KOROLEV'S R-7 ROCKETS.

[ MEN SPEAKING RUSSIAN ]

KOROLEV'S TEAM ARE PARADED THROUGH MOSCOW IN TRIUMPH.

BUT THE RIVAL TEAM, LEAD BY NEDELIN,

MEETS A VERY DIFFERENT GRISLY FATE.

THE KREMLIN REPORTS THAT NEDELIN AND MOST OF HIS TEAM

ARE KILLED IN A TRAGIC AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT.

[ RUMBLING ]

[ EXPLOSION ]

THE PROBLEM IS THERE'S NO EVIDENCE OF A PLANE CRASH.

PEOPLE START TO WONDER, YOU KNOW,

DO THEY BELIEVE THE NEWS?

IT DEFINITELY HAS ALL THE HALLMARKS

OF SOME SORT OF COVER-UP.

Narrator: THE UNTIMELY DEATH OR DISAPPEARANCE

OF HIGH-PROFILE FIGURES

IS NOT RARE IN THIS TOTALITARIAN REGIME.

Moran: COULD KHRUSCHCHEV HAVE MURDERED

THE SENIOR AIR MARSHALL AND HIS ENTIRE TEAM

SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY FAILED TO DELIVER

THE ROCKET LAUNCH THAT HE WANTED?

Narrator: THE KREMLIN, IN TRUE SOVIET STYLE,

REFUSES TO REVEAL DETAILS OF THE AIR CRASH.

IF NEDELIN AND HIS TEAM DIDN'T DIE IN A PLANE CRASH,

THEN WHAT DID THEY DIE OF?

[ CHEERING ]

Narrator: THREE DECADES LATER, 1989,

THE SOVIET UNION IS COLLAPSING,

WITH IT, ITS IRON GRIP ON NEWS AND INFORMATION.

AN ARTICLE APPEARS IN A MAGAZINE

WRITTEN BY A YOUNG OFFICER AT THE BAIKONUR COSMODROME.

Zak: MY FAMILY WAS SUBSCRIBING TO THIS MAGAZINE.

AND I OPENED THIS UP, AND I SEE THE STORY.

AND I LITERALLY CANNOT BELIEVE MY EYES.

♪♪

Narrator: COMING UP, THE HORRIFIC FILM

THAT'S PROOF OF A ROCKET DISASTER

THE RUSSIANS TRIED TO HIDE.

UNFORTUNATELY, THE TRUTH COULD BE WORSE

THAN ANYONE COULD IMAGINE.

Narrator: AND SEVEN DEADLY SISTERS.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN SEVEN PLANETS

LAY CLAIM TO THE SAME GALACTIC REAL ESTATE?

WILL THESE NEIGHBORS BE GOOD FRIENDS OR MORTAL ENEMIES?

[ EXPLOSION ]

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: OCTOBER 1960 --

AT A TOP-SECRET SOVIET COSMODROME,

CHIEF MARSHAL MITROFAN NEDELIN IS TAKING CHARGE OF DEVELOPING

THE 6-16 ROCKET PROGRAM.

IT'S PART OF KHRUSCHCHEV'S PLAN TO CONQUER SPACE.

Robert Zimmerman: THERE'S GREAT COMPETITION TO GET IT DONE ON TIME.

NEDELIN WOULD'VE BEEN UNDER PRESSURE

FROM KHRUSCHCHEV TO DELIVER.

Zak: ALL THE PREPARATIONS, ALL THE TESTING,

EVERYTHING WHICH WAS GOING ON WAS UNDER HUGE PRESSURE.

IT'S HUGE RUSH.

IT'S -- EVERYTHING WAS FASTER, FASTER, FASTER.

Narrator: NEDELIN WANTS THE ROCKET READY FOR THE ANNIVERSARY

OF THE BOLSHEVIK REVOLUTION ON NOVEMBER THE 7th.

A TEST LAUNCH IS SET FOR THE 24th OF OCTOBER,

WAY AHEAD OF SCHEDULE.

AS ZERO HOUR APPROACHES, THE LAUNCH AREA IS THRONGING

WITH TECHNICIANS PREPARING THE ROCKET.

ALSO PRESENT ARE SCORES OF CIVILIANS

AND OTHER NON-ESSENTIAL PERSONNEL

EAGER TO WITNESS A ROCKET LAUNCH.

NEDELIN IS USING A FUEL

THAT HAS NEVER BEEN ALLOWED TO POWER ROCKETS IN THE WEST.

THE R-16 USED SOME REALLY NASTY PROPELLANTS --

NITRIC ACID, THAT WAS THE OXIDIZER,

AND THE FUEL WAS HYDRAZINE.

Narrator: NICKNAMED "THE DEVIL'S VENOM" BY ROCKET SCIENTISTS,

THIS COMBINATION IS HIGHLY VOLATILE.

WHEN THESE TWO MEET, THEY AUTO-IGNITE.

YOU DON'T NEED A SPARK SOURCE. SO IT'S PRETTY BAD STUFF.

♪♪

Narrator: AT THE 11th HOUR, A DANGEROUS LEAK IS DISCOVERED.

Gerovitch: WHAT THE SOVIETS COULD DO IN THIS SITUATION

IS THEY COULD EITHER DE-FUEL THE ROCKET

AND POSTPONE THE LAUNCH FOR A MONTH,

OR THEY COULD TRY TO FIX THE TIMING MECHANISM.

Narrator: NEDELIN COULD'VE EVACUATED THE AREA,

BUT HE ORDERS THE ENGINEERS TO CONTINUE THEIR WORK.

NEDELIN, HE DECIDED THAT HE WOULD DO THE REPAIR

WITH THE ROCKET STILL FUELED.

NEDELIN GOES DOWN TO THE LAUNCH PAD

TO OVERSEE THE FIX AND ACTUALLY SETS UP A CHAIR, UM,

JUST ABOUT 30 YARDS FROM WHERE THE ACTUAL ROCKET IS

SO THAT HE CAN SUPERVISE THE TEAM

OF ENGINEERS AND TECHNICIANS.

IT'S NOT ONLY NEDELIN,

BUT HIS ENTIRE ENTOURAGE OF PEOPLE

WHO WERE ABSOLUTELY NOT SUPPOSED TO BE ANYWHERE NEAR ROCKET.

♪♪

Narrator: T-MINUS 30 MINUTES.

THE TEAM HAD BEEN WORKING FOR 72 HOURS STRAIGHT,

AND THE LAUNCH PAD IS STILL SWARMING WITH TECHNICIANS

REPAIRING LAST-MINUTE GLITCHES.

AT 18:45, THE UNTHINKABLE OCCURS.

THE R-16'S SECOND STAGE ROCKET ACCIDENTALLY FIRES

WHILE IT'S STILL ON THE GROUND.

CLASSIFIED FILM THAT ONLY EMERGED IN THE 1990s

GIVES YOU A GLIMPSE AT THE UNFOLDING HORROR.

JUST A WAVE OF FLAME TORE OUT ACROSS THE ENTIRE PAD AREA.

Narrator: A 3,000 DEGREE WALL OF FIRE ENGULFS THE LAUNCH PAD

AND THE PEOPLE WORKING ON IT.

THE SCALE WAS HORRENDOUS -- INCREDIBLE FIREBALL.

IT WAS LIKE A NUCLEAR BOMB GOING OFF.

Narrator: THE CLOSEST ROCKET CREW, INCLUDING NEDELIN IN HIS CHAIR,

ARE INSTANTLY INCINERATED.

THEY ARE THE LUCKY ONES.

Robert Zimmerman: SOME PEOPLE RUN AND GET CAUGHT ON MELTING TAR,

AND THEY CAN'T RUN, AND THEN THE BLAST WAVE COMES ACROSS.

PEOPLE GET TO FENCES,

AND THE FENCES ARE LOCKED AND THE GATES ARE LOCKED.

THEY CAN'T GET PAST THEM.

PEOPLE HIT BARBED WIRE.

Zak: AND OF COURSE, AT THE SAME TIME, YOU HAVE THESE DANGEROUS FUMES.

WITH A SINGLE BREATH, YOU BECOME PARALYZED.

SO A LOT OF PEOPLE GOT POISONED.

AND IT WAS JUST AN INFERNO OF AGONY FOR ANYONE WHO WAS THERE.

IT WAS JUST HORRIFIC.

Narrator: 100 CIVILIAN AND MILITARY PERSONNEL

HAD BEEN WORKING ON THE R-16.

AN ADDITIONAL 150 SPECTATORS HAD COME TO WATCH

THE MOMENTOUS EVENT FROM UP CLOSE.

ALMOST HALF OF THEM DIED THAT DAY.

IN THE HISTORY OF SPACE EXPLORATION,

AT THIS MOMENT IN TIME, THIS --

THIS REMAINS THE WORST DISASTER OF ALL TIME.

[ INDISTINCT CONVERSATION ]

Narrator: THE RUSSIAN LEADERSHIP ARE ADAMANT

THAT THE DETAILS MUST BE KEPT UNDER WRAPS.

AMERICA CAN NEVER KNOW OF A DISASTER ON THIS SCALE.

♪♪

THE COMMUNIST GOVERNMENT OF THE SOVIET UNION,

AS THEY DID WITH MANY THINGS, IMMEDIATELY, UH,

COVERED UP THE DISASTER.

Pickens: THE NEDELIN EXPLOSION IS A PRIME EXAMPLE

OF HOW RUSSIA COVERS THINGS UP.

EVEN TODAY, THEY'RE PROBABLY DOING THE SAME THING.

WHO'S TO SAY THEY'RE NOT?

[ EXPLOSION ]

♪♪

Narrator: 2016 --

UNDER CLEAR SKIES IN THE CHILEAN ANDES,

THE CUTTING-EDGE LA SILLA OBSERVATORY'S GIANT TELESCOPE

TARGETS A DISTANT STAR,

TRAPPIST-1.

♪♪

Seager: TRAPPIST-1 IS A FASCINATING STAR.

IT'S SO SMALL AND SO COLD -- ANY SMALLER AND COLDER,

IT WOULDN'T BE A STAR.

Narrator: ASTRONOMERS ARE LOOKING FOR THE TELLTALE SIGN

OF AN ORBITING PLANET --

A FAINT DIP IN LIGHT CAUSED BY A LARGE OBJECT PASSING BY.

WHEN THEY LOOK CAREFULLY AT TWO YEARS OF RESULTS,

THE SCIENTISTS REALIZE THEY'VE HIT THE MOTHER LODE.

AND THEY FIND NOT ONE, NOT TWO DIPS, BUT SEVEN DIPS.

[ RUMBLING ]

Narrator: SEVEN DIPS MEANS SEVEN PLANETS.

THE SIZE AND MASS AND, THEREFORE,

THE DENSITY OF THESE PLANETS

ARE VERY SIMILAR TO THOSE OF EARTH AND MARS.

♪♪

Kaku: THINK ABOUT IT, SEVEN --

COUNT THEM, SEVEN --

EARTH-SIZED PLANETS GOING AROUND A STAR.

THAT WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN, BUT THERE IT IS.

IS IT POSSIBLE THAT THERE'S LIFE ON THESE PLANETS

IN THE TRAPPIST SYSTEM?

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: IT'S 2017.

ASTRONOMERS FIND SEVEN PLANETS

ORBITING A STAR CALLED TRAPPIST-1.

Dragomir: WHAT'S EVEN MORE INTERESTING ABOUT THESE SEVEN PLANETS

IS THAT THE ONES IN THE MIDDLE, PLANETS FOUR, FIVE, AND SIX,

ARE IN THE HABITABLE ZONE OF THE TRAPPIST-1 STAR,

WHICH MEANS THAT THEY HAVE THE POTENTIAL

TO HAVE LIQUID WATER ON THEIR SURFACE.

Brensberger: THIS SHOWS THAT IT MIGHT BE POSSIBLE

THAT LIFE MAY EXIST ON MORE THAN ONE OF THOSE PLANETS.

Dragomir: THAT'S ASTONISHING.

THAT'S -- THAT'S BASICALLY ASTRONOMER'S PAYDAY.

Narrator: THESE PLANETS AREN'T JUST HABITABLE.

THEY'RE CLOSE TO EACH OTHER, VERY CLOSE.

JUST IMAGINE THE VIEW STANDING ON ONE OF THOSE PLANETS

AND SEEING ANOTHER HUGE PLANET JUST LOOMING IN THE SKY.

THE FACT THAT THESE PLANETS ARE SO CLOSE TO EACH OTHER

INCREASES THE CHANCE THAT IF YOU HAVE LIFE

STARTING ON ONE OF THEM,

IT COULD SPREAD TO THE OTHERS, AS WELL.

♪♪

THE, UH -- THE ROCKS AND DEBRIS, UH, CREATED BY ASTEROID STRIKES

THAT WOULD LEAVE ONE PLANET AND TRAVEL TO ANOTHER,

THERE'S VERY GOOD LIKELIHOOD THAT, UH,

EACH ONE COULD HAVE THE ORGANIC MATERIAL FROM THE OTHER.

Narrator: HOW MIGHT LIFE HAVE EVOLVED HERE?

THREE SETS OF ALIENS, EFFECTIVELY NEIGHBORS.

THERE MAY BE SIMILAR LIFE FORMS WITH SIMILAR FEATURES

THAT WE HAVE PHYSICALLY -- UM, EYES, EARS, PERHAPS, UM,

SOMETHING TO MANIPULATE THE ENVIRONMENT WITH.

UH, ENTIRELY POSSIBLE THAT, UH, YOU COULD HAVE SPECIES

THAT EXIST THAT ARE NOT TOO UNLIKE OURSELVES.

Narrator: LOOKING FOR CLUES,

SCIENTISTS STUDY THE TRAPPIST-1 SYSTEM MORE CLOSELY.

SOME OF THE HABITABLE PLANETS COULD HOLD 250 TIMES

MORE WATER THAN THE EARTH'S OCEANS,

SUGGESTING LIFE THERE MIGHT BE AMPHIBIOUS.

[ GROWLING ]

HIGH LEVELS OF RADIATION SUGGEST LIFE FORMS

ROAMING THE TRAPPIST PLANETS WILL HAVE THICK,

PROTECTIVE SKIN.

THESE CREATURES WILL HAVE EVOLVED TO MAKE THE BEST

OF THEIR PLANETARY ENVIRONMENT.

♪♪

Narrator: AND STRANGELY, UNLIKE ISOLATED EARTH BEINGS,

THESE LIFE FORMS MIGHT BE ABLE

TO SEE NEIGHBORING ALIENS AROUND THEM.

THE PLANETS ARE SO CLOSE TO EACH OTHER THAT WITH A TELESCOPE,

YOU'D BE ABLE TO SEE CITY LIGHTS.

Narrator: POTENTIALLY THREE SETS OF BEINGS, ALIEN TO ONE ANOTHER,

AWARE OF ONE ANOTHER,

AND POSSIBLY ABLE TO MAKE CONTACT.

♪♪

WILL THESE NEIGHBORS BE GOOD FRIENDS OR MORTAL ENEMIES?

LIVING IN THE SHADOW OF A NEARBY PLANET,

YOU WONDER WHAT'S OUT THERE.

AND THEN YOU WONDER, "ARE THEY LOOKING BACK AT YOU?"

[ TRILLING ]

Narrator: HUMANS HAVE LONG WONDERED ABOUT

AND FEARED INTERACTION WITH

ALIEN LIFE FORMS AND CIVILIZATIONS.

HERE, WITHIN SIGHT OF EARTH'S MOST POWERFUL TELESCOPES,

IS A POSSIBLE TEST CASE.

WILL THEY THINK THEY'RE LOOKING AT GODS OR ANTS TO BE SQUASHED?

Narrator: IF THESE CREATURES COULD LEARN TO LIVE IN HARMONY,

THE ADVANCES THAT THREE PLANETS COULD MAKE TOGETHER

MIGHT BE INCREDIBLE.

♪♪

THEY WON'T BE ABLE TO PHYSICALLY VISIT EACH OTHER

UNTIL THEY DEVELOP MUCH MORE POWERFUL ROCKETS.

WHEN THAT HAPPENS, WATCH OUT,

BECAUSE ONE OF THE LAWS OF EVOLUTION

IS SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST.[ SWORDS CLANGING ]

Narrator: WHEN THE TECHNOLOGICALLY SUPERIOR EUROPEANS

MET THE PRE-COLUMBIAN INHABITANTS OF AMERICA,

THE OUTCOME WAS CONQUEST AND GENOCIDE.

THE GREAT AZTEC CIVILIZATION, WHICH TOOK THOUSANDS OF YEARS

TO RISE FROM THE FOREST, THEY WERE DESTROYED.

THE CIVILIZATION WAS DESTROYED IN A MATTER OF MONTHS

BY A BUNCH OF CONQUISTADORS, BLOODTHIRSTY CONQUERORS.

WHAT WAS THE MISTAKE?

THE MISTAKE WAS THAT MONTEZUMA AND THE AZTECS

THOUGHT THAT CORTES WAS A GOD.

BIG MISTAKE.

THERE WOULD PROBABLY BE QUITE A LOT OF CONFLICT AND ARGUMENTS

HAPPENING BETWEEN THESE PLANETS.

A LOT OF FIGHTING, MAYBE ARMS WAR OR SPACE RACES GOING ON.

Narrator: IN THIS SPACE RACE,

THE FIRST PLANET TO DEVELOP ROCKETS

AND INTERPLANETARY TRAVEL

COULD HAVE AN ENORMOUS OPPORTUNITY

TO DOMINATE THE SYSTEM.

THIS COULD BE BATTLE FOR THE PLANETS, AND WINNER TAKES ALL.

Narrator: WHAT'S MORE,

AFTER GENERATIONS OF INTERPLANETARY WAR,

THE DOMINANT SPECIES OF THE TRAPPIST SYSTEM MAY DEVELOP

AND INSATIABLE APPETITE FOR CONQUEST.

Hovland: NOW, IF THEY WERE TO COME TO EARTH,

WHERE THEY'VE BEEN FIGHTING FOR THEIR LIVES,

THEY'VE GROWN STRONGER.

COMPARED TO EARTHLINGS,

THAT COULD BE QUITE THE SOCIAL UPSET.

WHO KNOWS WHAT TO EXPECT?

[ RUMBLING ]