Original subtitles

Narrator: LIQUID METAL MONSTERS FROM A PLANET CALLED JANSSEN...

THIS WOULD BE A KIND OF LIFE ENTIRELY FOREIGN TO US

AND TO OUR EXPERIENCES.

Narrator: ...A COMPUTER CODE IN NATURE

THAT MAY CAUSE SUPERNATURAL EVENTS...

THE UNIVERSE MAY BE JUST SMACKING US IN THE FACE

AND SAYING, YES, OF COURSE WE'RE IN A SIMULATION.

ALL THIS EVIDENCE POINTS TO IT.

Narrator: ...AND THE SOVIET SUN GUN --

COULD WE BE ROASTED BY ROGUE RUSSIANS?

IF THEY'RE ABLE TO TURN THE SUN INTO A WEAPON,

THEN WE'LL PROBABLY ALL BE TOAST.

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

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

Narrator: THESE ARE NASA'S UNEXPLAINED FILES.

AT PRESENT, MAN IS THE MASTER.

METAL IS HIS SLAVE.

BUT NEW DISCOVERIES ON EARTH

AND ON A DANGEROUSLY CLOSE PLANET NEARBY SUGGEST

THAT WE COULD FACE A THREAT FROM MONSTERS MADE OF METAL,

NATURALLY EVOLVING MACHINE-LIKE ENTITIES,

CREATURES WHO JUST DON'T TEAR UP OUR ASSUMPTIONS

ABOUT THE VERY NATURE OF LIFE ITSELF,

BUT WHO COULD CHALLENGE AND DEFEAT US

FOR CONTROL OF OUR PLANET.

WE OFTEN ASSUME THAT ALIENS WOULD BE INTERESTED IN US,

BUT THESE MIGHT JUST BE INTERESTED

IN OUR PLANET'S HOT CORE.

Narrator: JANUARY 2018, GREAT BRITAIN.

A SCIENTIST BUILDS A MACHINE WITH ALMOST GODLIKE POWERS.

IT IS DESIGNED TO CREATE LIFE, BUT NOT AS WE KNOW IT.

THIS MACHINE WE BUILT TO EXPLORE THE ORIGIN OF LIFE

AND TO MAKE ARTIFICIAL LIFE-FORMS.

Narrator: BY MAKING INORGANIC CELLS,

THE MACHINE BRINGS TOGETHER DIFFERENT CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS.

WE PUT THEM ONTO THE SURFACE OF THE PLANET, IF YOU LIKE,

AND LET THEM INTERACT WITH ONE ANOTHER.

THEN WE'RE LOOKING FOR DROPLETS THAT LITERALLY BURST INTO LIFE.

WITHIN A FEW SECONDS,

THEY'LL START DOING REALLY STRANGE THINGS

AS THEY EXPLORE MORE OF THEIR ENVIRONMENT.

SO, YOU GOT THIS ONE START --

THEY START BURSTING AROUND SPONTANEOUSLY.

Narrator: THE CELLS IN THE DISHES

ACT LIKE THEY'RE LIVING,

BUT IT'S NOT LIFE AS WE KNOW IT.

Cronin: THESE ARE COMPLETELY DEAD.

WE'RE JUST LOOKING AT HOW INORGANIC CELLS

CAN TAKE ON LIFELIKE PROPERTIES

AND FOOL US INTO THINKING IT'S ALIVE.

AND THEN, AT SOME POINT, WE'RE GONNA BE ABLE

TO NOT TELL THE DIFFERENCE, AND THEN MAYBE IT IS ALIVE.

Narrator: CRONIN'S LIFE-MAKING MACHINE IS PROGRAMMED

TO AUTOMATICALLY ALTER AND ADAPT ITS CHEMICAL RECIPES,

CARRYING OUT A KIND OF UNNATURAL SELECTION --

EVOLUTION OF A NEW FORM OF LIFE IN A LAB AT HIGH SPEED.

WELL, I BASICALLY THINK WE NOW KNOW

HOW TO MAKE LIFE IN THE LAB.

WITHIN THE NEXT DECADE,

WE WILL HAVE MADE SOME VERY ODD-LOOKING LIFE-FORMS.

Narrator: THE LIFE-FORMS CRONIN IS WORKING ON

ARE LIKE NOTHING FOUND ON EARTH.

Cronin: IN MY LAB, WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO MAKE

PRIMITIVE LIFE-FORMS BASED ON AN IRON OXIDE.

COULD LIFE EXIST BASED ON METAL INSTEAD OF CARBON?

Cronin: IF YOU MANAGED TO MAKE LIFE IN THE LAB,

THAT WOULD ALLOW US TO CHANGE OUR ENTIRE SET OF PARAMETERS

ON HOW WE WOULD LOOK FOR LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE.

Narrator: BIZARRE AS IT SEEMS, CRONIN'S AND OTHER EXPERIMENTS

ARE NOT ONLY PERSUADING SCIENTISTS

THAT INORGANIC LIFE IS POSSIBLE,

THEY ARE ALREADY SPECULATING WHAT THAT LIFE MIGHT LOOK LIKE

AND WHERE IN THE UNIVERSE WE MIGHT FIND IT ALREADY EXISTING.

THEIR RESEARCH HAS LED THEM TO LOOK AGAIN AT A NEARBY STAR.

55 CANCRI IS A SUN-LIKE STAR.

IT'S JUST A LITTLE BIT SMALLER

AND A LITTLE BIT LESS MASSIVE THAN OUR SUN.

IT IS A STAR THAT IS ONLY 40 LIGHT-YEARS AWAY,

WHICH IS BASICALLY THE EQUIVALENT OF BEING

IN OUR ASTRONOMICAL BACKYARD.

Narrator: AROUND THIS NEARBY SUN,

THEY DISCOVER AN EXOPLANET

OF A TYPE ASTRONOMERS CALL A SUPER-EARTH.

Wall: THERE'S THIS PLANET CALLED JANSSEN

AND IT'S ABOUT TWICE THE DIAMETER OF EARTH

AND ABOUT EIGHT TIMES AS MASSIVE.

IT'S LIKE EARTH, BUT ON STEROIDS.

Narrator: JANSSEN IS HALF THE SIZE

OF THE GAS GIANT NEPTUNE,

BUT IT IS MADE OUT OF SOLID ROCK,

AND LIKE OUR OWN PLANET,

THIS SUPER-EARTH MAY WELL HARBOR LIFE.

A SUPER-EARTH'S A GOOD CANDIDATE TO FINDING LIFE

BECAUSE THEY'RE GONNA HAVE A LOT OF INTERESTING ELEMENTS

ON THEM --

A LOT OF HEAT AND GRAVITY TO DRAG THESE MATERIALS TOGETHER

SO THE PROCESSES THAT GIVE RISE TO BIOLOGY CAN START.

Narrator: FOR LIFE-FORMS MADE FROM ROCK OR METAL TO EVOLVE,

GEOLOGICAL, CHEMICAL, AND CLIMATIC CONDITIONS

WOULD HAVE TO BE JUST RIGHT.

ASTRONOMERS HAVE USED HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE

TO LOOK AT JANSSEN AND LOOK AT ITS ATMOSPHERE.

Wall: IT SEEMS LIKE JANSSEN DOES HAVE AN ATMOSPHERE,

AND IT MIGHT ACTUALLY BE KIND OF THICK,

AND IT MIGHT BE KIND OF EARTHLIKE

WITH A LOT OF NITROGEN

AND SOME OXYGEN AND MAYBE EVEN SOME WATER.

Narrator: LIKE EARTH BUT, IN ONE IMPORTANT WAY, VERY DIFFERENT.

Russ: IF YOU WERE STANDING ON THE SURFACE OF PLANET JANSSEN,

THE SUN IN THE SKY WOULD APPEAR 60 TIMES BIGGER,

AND IT WOULD BE 3,600 TIMES BRIGHTER THAN OUR SUN.

JANSSEN IS VERY, VERY HOT.

IT'S SOMETHING LIKE 4,000 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT.

THAT IS JUST FAR BEYOND ANYTHING WE CAN EVEN IMAGINE.

Narrator: FOR HUMANS, THIS SUPER-EARTH

IS A VISION OF FIERY DAMNATION.

Tomlinson: YOU WOULD SEE LIQUID METAL

PRECIPITATING LIKE RAIN OUT OF THE ATMOSPHERE.

YOU WOULD BE BUFFETED BY INCREDIBLY HIGH-SPEED WINDS

COMING FROM EVERY DIRECTION.

IT WOULD BE LIKE VISITING DANTE'S VERSION OF HELL.

THE CONDITIONS ON JANSSEN MEAN INSTANT DEATH

FOR ANYTHING THAT WE WOULD UNDERSTAND CURRENTLY AS LIFE.

Granade: LIFE ON EARTH IS CENTERED ON D.N.A.,

ON PROTEINS BEING ARRANGED ON DIFFERENT ORDERS,

AND IT'S ALL KIND OF DELICATE.

IF YOU PUT TOO MUCH HEAT INTO IT,

THOSE CHAINS OF PROTEINS FALL APART AND LIFE

BECOMES NEXT TO IMPOSSIBLE.

Narrator: THE INTENSE HEAT IS ENOUGH

TO TURN SOLIDS INTO FLUIDS.

HELL FOR ORGANIC LIFE,

BUT AN ATMOSPHERE AND CLIMATE NECESSARY

FOR THE EVOLUTION OF INORGANIC BEINGS.

THIS PLANET HAS OCEANS, BUT THEY'RE OCEANS OF LAVA.

ON A PLANET LIKE JANSSEN,

YOU'LL HAVE MOLTEN LAKES OF METAL, OF ROCK.

WOULD THEY ACT SORT OF ANALOGOUS TO AN OCEAN ON EARTH

THAT CREATURES COULD LIVE IN?

IF YOU MOVE AWAY FROM CARBON AND CARBON-BASED MOLECULES,

YOU CAN ASK,

"COULD YOU CREATE LIFE OUT OF INORGANIC CHEMISTRY?"

Narrator: WE KNOW OF THE POTENTIAL FOR INORGANIC LIFE

FROM LABORATORY TESTS,

BUT SUCH A DIFFERENT FORM OF LIFE

WOULD BREAK ALL THE RULES OF BIOLOGY AS WE KNOW THEM.

HOW WOULD SUCH CREATURES LOOK OR THINK

OR BEHAVE, EVEN ON A CHEMICAL LEVEL?

THAT'S ONE OF THE AMAZING THINGS ABOUT THE PROSPECTS

FOR FINDING LIFE ON FOREIGN WORLDS IS THAT

THE CHEMISTRY THAT'S AVAILABLE, WE CAN'T EVEN IMAGINE.

LIQUID METAL CREATURES SOUNDS EXTREME,

BUT WE'VE ACTUALLY STARTED BUILDING

THE FIRST INITIAL BLOCKS OF THEM HERE ON EARTH.

IMAGINE WHAT A LAB THE SIZE OF A PLANET

GIVEN BILLIONS OF YEARS COULD ACCOMPLISH.

Narrator: SCI-FI WRITERS HAVE ALREADY IMAGINED

SUCH FLUID METAL MONSTERS IN THE "TERMINATOR" MOVIES.

BECAUSE OF THE NATURE OF THE PLACE THAT THEY LIVE,

IT WOULD BE ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE FOR ANY COMPONENT

TO THEM TO BE SOLID.

IT WOULD BE VERY DIFFICULT TO IMAGINE THEM

HAVING ANYTHING RESEMBLING A SKELETON.

SO, IF ANYTHING, THEY'D BE MORE LIKE AMORPHOUS BLOBS,

PERHAPS LIKE THE T-1000.

Narrator: LIQUID METAL ORGANISMS

LIVING IN THE FIERY LAKES OF JANSSEN,

GROWING RED HOT AND ABLE TO SHAPE SHIFT

INTO ANY FORM THEY WANT.

Granade: DO YOU TAKE A MORE SPHERICAL SHAPE

TO CONSERVE ENERGY,

TO HAVE AS LITTLE SERVICE AREA

COMPARED TO YOUR INTERNALS AS POSSIBLE?

DO YOU TAKE A MORE ELONGATED SHAPE

FOR PREDATORY ACTIVITIES?

Narrator: SUCH LIQUID METAL BEINGS WOULD HAVE EVOLVED

AS WE HAVE EVOLVED --

TO ADAPT AND TO SURVIVE THE CONDITIONS AROUND THEM.

THE IDEA THAT THEY MOVE AROUND

BY MANIPULATING MAGNETIC FIELDS WITHIN THEIR OWN BODY

WOULD POTENTIALLY MEAN THEY COULD DO

SO WITH OBJECTS AROUND THEM, AS WELL.

Narrator: IS IT IMPOSSIBLE THAT, AFTER BILLIONS OF YEARS

ON THIS FIERY SUPER-EARTH,

EVOLUTION WILL HAVE PRODUCED CREATURES

AS ADVANCED OR MORE ADVANCED THAN ON OUR OWN COLD, WET EARTH?

Granade: I THINK, IF THEY'RE GOOD AT WORKING METAL,

THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO POTENTIALLY MAKE METAL

STRUCTURES IN WAYS THAT WE'RE NOT AS USED TO

AND NOT AS SKILLED AT.

THEY'D BE USED TO WORKING WITH THINGS IN THEIR MOLTEN STATE

AND WOULD HAVE HAD TO OF DEVELOPED THE TECHNIQUES

FOR DOING SO.

IT WOULD BE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF ENERGY

POURING IN FROM THEIR STAR.

Narrator: HAVING MASTERED THE ELEMENTS ON THEIR HOME WORLD,

WOULD THEY THEN LOOK, AS WE DO, TO VENTURE INTO SPACE?

♪♪

COMING UP, THE PERFECT HOME FOR JANSSEN'S METAL MONSTERS --

THE CENTER OF THE EARTH.

THERE IS A STRING OF U.F.O. REPORTS

IN DIFFERENT VOLCANOES THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.

Narrator: AND A HIDDEN CODE IN THE FABRIC OF NATURE ITSELF

THAT MIGHT EXPLAIN PARANORMAL EVENTS.

THINGS LIKE DéJà VU, WHERE THINGS HAPPEN REPEATEDLY.

THESE MIGHT BE CRACKS APPEARING IN THE SIMULATION.

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: SCIENTISTS INVESTIGATING

THE HELLISH EXOPLANET JANSSEN ASK

WHETHER TECHNOLOGICALLY ADVANCED LIQUID METAL CREATURES

HAVE EVOLVED THERE, AND IF SO,

WHETHER THEY MIGHT VENTURE THROUGH SPACE IN OUR DIRECTION.

THE BEINGS ON JANSSEN,

IF THESE METALLIC LIQUID T-1000s DO EXIST DOWN THERE,

IT WOULD LOOK AT EARTH AND SEE AN ABSOLUTE HELLSCAPE.

THEY WOULD ALL FREEZE TO DEATH.

Narrator: BUT IF THE JANSSENITES CAN TRAVEL

THROUGH THE BONE-CHILLING VACUUM OF SPACE TO GET HERE,

THEN THEY WILL HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY

TO OVERCOME ANYTHING THE EARTH CAN THROW AT THEM.

THEIR SPACESHIPS WILL OBVIOUSLY EMULATE

THE ENVIRONMENT ON THEIR PLANET.

Granade: THEY WOULD HAVE TO KEEP THOSE TEMPERATURES

AND THE PRESSURES SUFFICIENT TO KEEP THEMSELVES TOGETHER

AND TO KEEP THEMSELVES FROM SOLIDIFYING.

Narrator: WHAT'S MORE, THERE ARE PLACES ON THE EARTH WHERE

THE LIQUID METAL JANSSENITES MIGHT FEEL ALMOST AT HOME.

Granade: IF THEY WERE LOOKING AT VISITING EARTH,

VOLCANOES MIGHT BE A REASONABLE PLACE TO GO.

Narrator: IT IS NO DOUBT A COINCIDENCE THAT MANY REPORTS

OF UNEXPLAINED AERIAL PHENOMENON HAPPEN CLOSE TO VOLCANOES,

WHOSE TEMPERATURES CAN REACH TO 2,200 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT.

THERE'S A STRING OF REPORTING OF U.F.O. REPORTS

IN DIFFERENT VOLCANOES THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.

ARE THEY VISITORS FROM JANSSEN OR A SIMILAR TYPE PLANET?

THEY'D HAVE TO GO FAIRLY DEEP INTO OUR MANTLE

BEFORE THEY GOT TO A SPOT WHERE THEY WOULD CONSIDER IT

TO BE REAL BEACH-LIKE FOR THEM.

Narrator: EARTH'S MOLTEN OUTER CORE,

1,800 MILES INSIDE THE PLANET,

HAS TEMPERATURES OF 4,000 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT,

THE SAME AS JANSSEN'S SCORCHING HOT SURFACE.

THE LIQUID METAL ALIENS COULD BE SWIMMING IN THE MOLTEN OCEAN

BENEATH OUR FEET RIGHT NOW UNBEKNOWNST TO US.

I WOULD IMAGINE, IF THESE ALIENS TURNED UP,

IT WOULD BE ENTIRELY BIZARRE.

WOULD WE TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN INORGANIC LIFE-FORM

VISITING IN A METEORITE GOING THROUGH THE EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE?

A REALLY HOT -- I DON'T KNOW.

Narrator: JUST AS WE MIGHT NOW RECOGNIZE THEM,

THEY MIGHT NOT EVEN SEE US AS LIFE-FORMS.

JUST STRANGE CLUMPS OF ORGANIC MATTER

SCATTERED OVER THE THIN CRUST OF OUR PLANET.

I FIND IT VERY DIFFICULT TO BELIEVE

THAT WE COULD INTERACT WITH THEM IN ANY MEANINGFUL WAY.

IF THEY DECIDED TO WIPE THEIR NEW WORLD CLEAN,

WE MAY NOT HAVE ANY WAY OF ASKING THEM TO STOP.

♪♪

THROUGHOUT RECORDED HISTORY, HUMANS HAVE REPORTED GHOSTS,

TIME SLIPS, AND PREMONITIONS.

EVEN TODAY, THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF REPORTS OF PEOPLE

EXPERIENCING THE INEXPLICABLE.

Kowal: A COUPLE RETURNS HOME FROM THEIR NIGHT OUT.

MOMENTS LATER, THE MAN NOTICES HIS PARTNER SITTING DOWN.

Narrator: THE WOMAN ALSO SEES HER MYSTERIOUS CLONE.

WAS THAT A TRICK THAT THEIR MIND PLAYED ON THEM,

OR WAS SHE SOMEHOW IN TWO PLACES AT ONCE?

THIS HAS TO BE ONE OF THE CREEPIEST EXPERIENCES

OF YOUR LIFE.

Narrator: A WOMAN WALKING DOWN THE STREET

PASSES A SUSPICIOUS-LOOKING MAN.

SHE TURNS A CORNER AND IS SHOCKED TO DISCOVER

THE SAME MAN WALKING DOWN THE STREET TOWARDS HER AGAIN.

IT'S LIKE HE WAS TELEPORTED THERE.

Narrator: AND TWO MEN LOSE CONTROL OF THEIR TONGUES.

A GUY REMEMBERS HAVING A CONVERSATION WITH A FRIEND

IN FLUENT FRENCH.

[ CONVERSING IN FRENCH ]

THEN HE REALIZES, "WAIT A MINUTE..."

[ Man's voice ] NEITHER OF US SPEAK FRENCH.

[ Normal voice ] IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO EXPLAIN

HOW PEOPLE CAN SUDDENLY SPEAK A FOREIGN LANGUAGE.

Narrator: COULD THERE BE A SCIENTIFIC EXPLANATION

FOR SUCH BIZARRE OCCURRENCES?

PROFESSOR JIM GATES IS A THEORETICAL PHYSICIST.

I STRONGLY BELIEVE THAT THERE IS A VERY STRANGE MYSTERY

AT THE CORE OF OUR UNIVERSE.

Narrator: TO UNDERSTAND IT, PHYSICISTS TRANSLATE

THE PHYSICAL UNIVERSE INTO MATHEMATICS,

AND WITHIN THESE NUMBERS, GATES AND HIS COLLEAGUES BELIEVE

THEY HAVE DISCOVERED A HIDDEN CODE.

WE FOUND THESE WEIRD PIECES OF MATHEMATICS

THAT NO ONE HAD EVER TOLD US WAS PART OF THIS SET OF EQUATIONS.

THIS WEIRDNESS REALLY BOTHERED ME.

WE FOUND OUT THESE OBJECTS HAD COMPUTER CODE BURIED IN THEM.

Narrator: WEIRDLY, THIS CODE EXISTING IN NATURE

IS SAID TO MATCH ALMOST PERFECTLY

THE ERROR-CORRECTING CODES OF ONES

AND ZEROES USED TO PREVENT COMPUTERS

AND THE INTERNET FROM CRASHING.

ERROR-CORRECTING CODES ARE VERY USEFUL

IN TERMS OF OUR TECHNOLOGY,

BUT WE WEREN'T STUDYING TECHNOLOGY.

WE WERE SIMPLY STUDYING MATTER AND ENERGY.

WHY WOULD THERE BE ERROR-CORRECTING CODES?

Narrator: GATES BELIEVES THAT SEWN INTO THE FABRIC OF PHYSICAL REALITY

ARE CODES WHICH ACT TO PREVENT THAT REALITY

FROM SOMEHOW UNRAVELING OR COLLAPSING.

THAT'S THE ONLY SCIENTIFIC EXPLANATION I CAN COME UP WITH.

WHY WOULD WE EXIST IN A UNIVERSE

WHERE THE LAWS OF PHYSICS HAVE ERROR-CORRECTING CODES IN THEM?

Narrator: BUT SOME SCIENTISTS BELIEVE GATES' DISCOVERY

POINTS TO SOMETHING THAT SEEMS INCREDIBLE.

THE WORK SUGGESTS THAT OUR UNIVERSE IS A VAST

COSMIC COMPUTER PROGRAM,

AND LIKE ANY COMPUTER PROGRAM, IT SUFFERS ERRORS OR GLITCHES.

THINGS LIKE DéJà VU WHERE THINGS HAPPEN REPEATEDLY.

IT'S ENTIRELY POSSIBLE THAT OUR WHOLE REALITY

MAY BE A CONSTRUCT, SOME SORT OF ILLUSION.

MANY PEOPLE, INCLUDING MANY PROMINENT PEOPLE LIKE ELON MUSK,

HAVE BOUGHT INTO THIS IDEA

THAT THE UNIVERSE MUST BE A SIMULATION.

Narrator: AND THIS IS WHERE IT GETS EVEN WEIRDER.

TECH BILLIONAIRES IN SILICON VALLEY ARE INVESTING MONEY

INTO LOOKING INTO WAYS TO BREAK OUT OF THE SIMULATION.

Narrator: IN EFFECT, THEY'RE LOOKING FOR ANOTHER DIMENSION --

THE ORIGIN OF OUR CREATED UNIVERSE.

WE REALLY HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THE SITUATION

IS LIKE OUTSIDE OF THE SIMULATION.

Narrator: THIS SUPPORTS THE THEORY OF MULTIPLE UNIVERSES,

OF WHICH OURS IS JUST ONE.

ONCE YOU'VE CREATED THAT INFRASTRUCTURE,

WHY WOULDN'T YOU CREATE MULTIPLE WORLDS?

Narrator: BUT IF WE ARE CREATED, THE QUESTION IS,

WHO IS THIS ALMIGHTY GOD?

WHO IS THE -- DEVELOPED THIS SIMULATION AND FOR WHAT PURPOSE?

WHAT ARE THEY DOING?

Narrator: COMING UP...

BE CAREFUL NOT TO ANGER THE PROGRAMMER GOD.

ARE WE SIMPLY PLAYTHINGS THAT SOME SUPER BEING DALLIES WITH

AND THEN GETS BORED WITH US

AND THEN PUTS US AWAY OR HITS THE ERASE BUTTON.

Narrator: AND SCI-FI HORROR WEAPONS FROM SPACE,

AS THE REDS AND THE NAZIS TEAM UP.

HAVE THE RUSSIANS PERFECTED HITLER'S DEATH RAY IN SPACE?

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: SOME SCIENTISTS BELIEVE

THEY HAVE EVIDENCE THAT OUR UNIVERSE,

OUR WORLD, IS A COSMIC COMPUTER SIMULATION.

SCIENCE AND RELIGION, LONG THOUGHT TO BE ADVERSARIES,

APPEAR TO MEET.

IS GOD THE BIG COMPUTER PROGRAMMER?

Narrator: "IN THE BEGINNING," SAYS THE BIBLE, "WAS THE WORD."

THE GREEK FOR "WORD" IS LOGOS,

FROM WHICH WE GET OUR WORD "LOGIC."

SINCE EARLIEST TIMES, HUMANS HAVE SENSED

THAT THERE IS A LOGIC WRITTEN INTO THE UNIVERSE

BY SOMEONE OR SOMETHING.

Paris: IF I'M BUILDING A COMPUTER SIMULATION, RIGHT,

I WANT THAT COMPUTER SIMULATION TO BE AN IMAGE OF MYSELF, RIGHT?

Narrator: GOD, IT IS SAID, CREATED MAN IN HIS IMAGE.

SOME NASA SCIENTISTS ARE CONVINCED

THE LOGIC OF OUR UNIVERSE

IS SOMEHOW THE WORK OF A BEING OR BEINGS LIKE OURSELVES

FROM THE FUTURE OR EVEN ANOTHER DIMENSION.

DO I BELIEVE? IT'S HIGHLY PROBABLY.

I DO.

I DO BELIEVE IT'S PROBABLE. I'D BET ON IT.

Narrator: BUT WHY WOULD THESE GODLIKE HUMANS

BUILD A SIMULATION OF THE UNIVERSE?

YOU GENERALLY DON'T RUN SIMULATIONS ABOUT THE PAST

TO INFORM YOURSELF ABOUT THE PAST.

MAYBE IN THE FUTURE THERE'S SOME TYPE OF HUMAN CATASTROPHE,

EARTH CATASTROPHE.

Narrator: THE THEORIES JUST GET WILDER --

THAT WE ARE EFFECTIVELY LAB RATS

IN SOME VAST TIME-TRAVEL EXPERIMENT.

Haas: IF YOU COULD SEND INFORMATION BACK IN TIME

TO AFFECT THE PRESENT,

YOU WOULD DEFINITELY WANT TO RUN SIMULATIONS

TO MODEL THAT BEFORE YOU IMPACTED YOUR OWN TIMELINE.

IF YOU HAVE COMPLETE CONTROL OVER THE PROGRAM,

YOU CAN JUST GO IN AND EDIT IT OR CHANGE THINGS.

Narrator: IF WE EXIST FOR A PURPOSE,

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THAT PURPOSE IS FULFILLED?

HOW ABOUT WHEN THE SIMULATION ENDS?

WHAT HAPPENS TO ALL OF US?

IF THE SIMULATION IS SHUT OFF,

THEN OUR WORLD POPS OUT OF EXISTENCE.

♪♪

Narrator: AUGUST 2018.

A CRAFT IN ORBIT ABOVE THE EARTH

PUTS THE U.S. AUTHORITIES ON HIGH ALERT.

THE SATELLITE WAS BEHAVING STRANGELY.

Narrator: IT BEGINS MOVING IN WAYS THAT SATELLITES DON'T.

Oluseyi: SATELLITES TYPICALLY MOVE ACCORDING TO

WHAT WE WOULD DESCRIBE AS A BALLISTIC ORBIT.

THEY'RE FALLING AROUND THE EARTH,

BUT IF YOU SEE A SATELLITE THAT'S DOING MANEUVERS,

IT'S NOT JUST FALLING, IT'S ZIPPING ABOUT,

SOMETHING'S DIFFERENT ABOUT THIS SATELLITE.

Narrator: THE SUSPICIOUS CRAFT IS QUICKLY LINKED

TO THE RUSSIANS.

THE STATE DEPARTMENT CALLS OUT THE RUSSIANS ON IT,

BUT THEY DENY EVERYTHING, AS USUAL.

THE RUSSIANS CLAIM THAT THIS IS A HARMLESS INSPECTION SATELLITE,

BUT IF WE LOOK AT ITS BEHAVIOR AND WHAT IT'S DOING,

IT DOESN'T SEEM ROUTINE.

SO IT'S HIGHLY SUSPICIOUS.

Narrator: SOME FEAR THAT THIS MYSTERIOUS CRAFT

COULD BE SOMETHING FAR MORE DANGEROUS

THAN THE RUSSIANS WOULD HAVE US BELIEVE.

Pickens: THE FACT IS, THE RUSSIANS ARE ABSOLUTELY

DOING SOMETHING THAT WE'VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE.

IF IT IS A WEAPON, HOW DANGEROUS IS IT?

THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME THAT THE RUSSIANS HAVE BEEN UP

TO SOMETHING SUSPICIOUS IN SPACE.

Narrator: FEBRUARY 4, 1993. A BEAM OF LIGHT

OVER TWO AND HALF MILES WIDE FLASHES ACROSS EUROPE.

IT'S MOVING FAST, RAKING THE EARTH FROM FRANCE TO RUSSIA

IN JUST OVER FIVE MINUTES.

ALL ACROSS EUROPE, PEOPLE ARE REPORTING

THAT THERE WAS THIS BRIGHT LIGHT ZOOMING ACROSS THE SKY.

Teitel: YOU CAN IMAGINE PEOPLE THINKING, "WHAT IS THAT?

A SATELLITE? A FALLING STAR?"

IT'S TURNING NIGHT INTO DAY.

WHERE IS IT COMING FROM?

Teitel: THE PATH OF THE BEAM MATCHES THE PATH

OF THE SPACE STATION MIR, WHICH RAISES THE QUESTION --

WHAT ARE THE RUSSIANS DOING UP THERE?

AGENCIES ARE ON THIS RIGHT AWAY.

THEY WANT TO KNOW -- IS THIS A THREAT?

IT WAS CLAIMING THE RUSSIANS

WERE TRYING TO DO SOME SORT OF EXPERIMENT.

THERE WAS A LARGE MIRROR IN SPACE.

Narrator: A SATELLITE WITH A MIRROR FIRING LIGHT

DOWN ONTO THE EARTH REMINDS ANALYSTS

OF SCI-FI WONDER WEAPONS THAT THE NAZIS DESIGNED

BUT NEVER GOT OFF THE DRAWING BOARD.

IS IT POSSIBLE THE RUSSIANS HAVE TAKEN A LEAF

OUT OF HITLER'S PLAYBOOK?

Narrator: DURING WORLD WAR II,

HITLER AND HIS SCIENTISTS DEVELOPED PLANS FOR WUNDERWAFFE,

OR "WONDER WEAPONS."

THESE TERRIBLE DEVICES, INCLUDING JET AIRCRAFT,

LONG-RANGE ROCKETS, AND ATOMIC WEAPONS, WERE DESIGNED

TO SWING THE WAR IN GERMANY'S FAVOR.

THE MOST AMBITIOUS PLAN WAS FOR A SPACE-BASED WEAPON.

HITLER WANTED TO TAKE THE POWER OF THE SUN

AND CREATE A SPACE RAY GUN.

HE IMAGINED THAT HE COULD HARNESS THIS POWER

AND BURN HIS WAY TO VICTORY.

Gottlieb: IT WAS A SIMPLE IDEA.

LAUNCH A MASSIVE LENS INTO SPACE, RIGHT,

FOCUS IT DOWN ON ENEMY TERRITORY,

AND BURN UP ENEMY TARGETS.

Narrator: HITLER RECOGNIZED THE SUN AS A POWER FOR EVIL,

MORE POTENT THAN ANY NUCLEAR WEAPON,

AND HE COULD HARNESS ITS DESTRUCTIVE POTENTIAL

WITH A MILE-WIDE MIRROR.

THE AMOUNT OF ENERGY THIS THING COULD PINPOINT

ONTO THE SURFACE OF THE EARTH

WOULDN'T JUST SET SIMPLE FLAMMABLE OBJECTS ON FIRE.

IT COULD OBLITERATE ENTIRE CITIES.

YOU COULD RENDER HUMAN SOCIETIES LIKE ANTS

UNDER A MAGNIFYING GLASS.

Narrator: DEFEAT IN WAR PREVENTED THE NAZIS

FROM CONSTRUCTING THEIR SOLAR SUPER WEAPON.

THANK GOD HITLER DIDN'T LAUNCH A SPACE MIRROR

BECAUSE, FRANKLY, IF HE HAD BEEN ABLE

TO LAUNCH ANYTHING INTO SPACE,

WE WOULD HAVE CHANGED THE NARRATIVE OF WORLD HISTORY.

Narrator: BUT HITLER'S ADVANCED WEAPON SCIENTISTS FIND JOBS

AFTER THE WAR IN AMERICA AND IN COMMUNIST RUSSIA.

AMERICA GOT ROCKET TECHNOLOGY FROM THE RUINS OF NAZI GERMANY.

BUT COULD THE RUSSIANS HAVE ACQUIRED SOMETHING ELSE?

THE QUESTION IS, WHAT ARE THE RUSSIANS DEVELOPING?

WHY ARE THEY DEPLOYING MIRRORS IN SPACE?

Narrator: COMING UP...

THE THREAT OF A RUSSIAN-OPERATED NAZI SPACE WEAPON.

CONVENTIONAL FORCES HAVE NO DEFENSE

AGAINST WHAT WOULD ESSENTIALLY BE A BURNING RAY

COMING FROM SPACE.

Narrator: AND BIBLICAL CALAMITIES LIKE NOAH'S FLOOD.

A SCIENTIST LINKS THEM TO PLANETS

VEERING WILDLY THROUGH SPACE.

WATER VAPOR, MATERIAL FROM SATURN

FLEW ACROSS THE SOLAR SYSTEM,

AND THAT'S WHAT CAUSED ALL THE RAIN.

♪♪

Narrator: IN 1993, A RUSSIAN SATELLITE FIRES A BEAM OF LIGHT

FROM SPACE, CAUSING PANIC ACROSS EUROPE.

EXPERTS FEAR THAT THIS COULD BE THE TEST

OF A RESURRECTED NAZI TERROR WEAPON.

THE RUSSIANS ANNOUNCE THAT THE DEVICE HAS BEEN LAUNCHED

FROM THE MIR SPACE STATION.

IT IS CALLED THE ZNAMYA 2 SPACE MIRROR.

THIS SPACE MIRROR WAS ENGINEERED BEAUTIFULLY.

IT'S NOT A RIGID MIRROR

LIKE WE'RE ACCUSTOMED TO HERE ON EARTH.

IT GOES UP IN A BARREL AND THEN IT UNFURLS.

IT'S A THIN, FLEXIBLE MATERIAL THAT REFLECTS SUNLIGHT,

AND WHEN IT'S FULLY DEPLOYED, IT'S 65 FEET ACROSS.

TO PUT THE SIZE OF THIS MIRROR INTO CONTEXT,

CONSIDER THE BIGGEST SPACE TELESCOPES

THAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW.

THEIR MIRRORS ARE ONLY ABOUT 6 FEET ACROSS.

Narrator: THE LARGEST IS ON THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE,

WHICH MEASURES JUST 7.8 FEET ACROSS.

NOW YOU'VE GOT A 65-FOOT MIRROR.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH THAT?

Narrator: THE RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT CLAIMS ITS MOTIVES

FOR LAUNCHING A SCI-FI SPACE MIRROR ARE ENTIRELY INNOCENT.

THE PURPOSE FOR THIS IS NOT AN EXPERIMENT.

IT IS TO CREATE ARTIFICIAL LIGHTING FOR CITIES

OR FOR AREAS ON EARTH WHICH DON'T GET ENOUGH LIGHT,

AND THAT COULD, OF COURSE, IMPROVE ECONOMY.

RUSSIA, OF COURSE, HAS THESE HUGE POLAR REGIONS

WHICH ARE IN DARKNESS FOR BIG PART OF THE YEAR.

Narrator: BUT MANY OBSERVERS ARE SKEPTICAL

AND BELIEVE THIS MIRROR COULD HAVE MILITARY APPLICATIONS.

Orwoll: WITH THE RUSSIANS, YOU'RE NEVER EXACTLY SURE,

AND YOU WONDER, "IS THIS ALSO POTENTIALLY TESTING

FOR SOME SORT OF WEAPON?"

EVEN IF THE MIRROR'S DESIGNED FOR PEACEFUL PURPOSES,

IT COULD BE MADE VERY DEADLY VERY QUICKLY.

Narrator: JUST A TWEAK TO THE MIRROR'S DESIGN

AND IT BECOMES A MUCH MORE SINISTER DEVICE.

BY CHANGING THE FOCUS OF THE BEAM,

YOU COULD GO FROM GOOD FOR HUMANITY,

HELPFUL MIRROR TO WEAPONIZED CITY OBLITERATOR.

Narrator: SINCE THE ZNAMYA LAUNCH,

THE RUSSIANS HAVE HAD ANOTHER QUARTER CENTURY

TO ADVANCE THEIR TECHNOLOGY.

IF WE CONSIDER THE SIZE OF THE MIRROR THAT'S WITHIN OUR GRASP,

I'D SAY A THOUSAND FEET IS DEFINITELY DOABLE.

NOW, IMAGINE THAT YOU COULD FOCUS

THAT INTO A TINY BEAM AT EARTH'S SURFACE.

WHO KNOWS WHAT YOU COULD DO?

Narrator: IF THE RUSSIANS HAVE PERFECTED THE NAZI DESIGN,

THE MIRROR COULD VAPORIZE A SINGLE INDIVIDUAL.

AND WITH ANOTHER ADJUSTMENT, SUCH A MIRROR

MIGHT DIRECT A 2 1/2-MILE-WIDE BEAM OF WHITE-HOT DEATH

AT THE UNITED STATES

BIG ENOUGH TO BURN THROUGH TOWNS AND CITIES.

CONVENTIONAL FORCES HAVE NO DEFENSE AGAINST

WHAT WOULD ESSENTIALLY BE A BURNING RAY COMING FROM SPACE.

THEN WE'LL PROBABLY ALL BE TOAST.

Narrator: NEW YORK, 1950.

RUSSIAN ACADEMIC IMMANUEL VELIKOVSKY

UNVEILS AN INCREDIBLE THEORY --

THAT THE EPIC DISASTERS DESCRIBED IN THE BIBLE

WERE CAUSED BY OBJECTS FROM SPACE.

HE BELIEVED THAT THESE EVENTS WERE CAUSED BY WANDERING PLANETS

AND SOLAR SYSTEMS IN FLUX.

Gottlieb: IF VELIKOVSKY WAS CORRECT

AND RELIGIOUS TEXTS LIKE THE BIBLE

DO, IN FACT, RECORD PHYSICAL HISTORY,

THE UNIVERSE IS A VERY DIFFERENT PLACE THAN WE BELIEVE.

Narrator: IN THE BOOK OF GENESIS,

A GREAT FLOOD ENGULFS THE EARTH

AFTER 40 DAYS AND 40 NIGHTS OF RAIN.

THE ONLY SURVIVORS ARE THE PASSENGERS ON NOAH'S ARK.

VELIKOVSKY WAS ABLE TO POSE A THEORY OF THE PHYSICAL MECHANISM

WHEREBY A FLOOD COULD HAVE HAPPENED

THE WAY THE BIBLE TOLD IT.

Narrator: VELIKOVSKY SUGGESTED THAT PLANETARY DISTURBANCES

ON SATURN MAY HAVE BEEN THE CELESTIAL EVENT

THAT TRIGGERED THE DELUGE.

WATER VAPOR, MATERIAL FROM SATURN,

FLEW ACROSS THE SOLAR SYSTEM TO PLANET EARTH,

AND THAT'S WHAT CAUSED ALL THE RAIN.

Narrator: IN THE BOOK OF EXODUS, 10 PLAGUES HAMMER EGYPT,

KILLING CHILDREN, LIVESTOCK,

AND MAKING THE RIVER NILE RUN RED WITH BLOOD.

THESE EVENTS VELIKOVSKY BLAMES ON VENUS.

Birnes: WHAT VELIKOVSKY POSITED

WAS THAT JUPITER, AT A VERY EARLY STAGE,

BURPED OUT WHAT WOULD BECOME THE PLANET VENUS.

IT WAS ACTUALLY A COMET,

AND WHEN IT CAME IN CLOSE CONTACT IN PROXIMITY TO EARTH,

THE TAIL OF THE COMET VENUS, AS THE EARTH PASSED THROUGH IT,

CAUSED THE BIBLICAL PLAGUES THAT YOU SEE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT.

Narrator: VELIKOVSKY PUBLISHED HIS IDEAS IN A BOOK TITLED

"WORLDS IN COLLISION."

IT WAS AN INSTANT BEST SELLER.

THE READING PUBLIC IN THE 1950s ATE IT UP,

AND THAT'S WHAT CAUSED VELIKOVSKY'S OWN COLLISION

WITH MAINSTREAM SCIENCE.

Narrator: LINKING THE BIBLE WITH SCIENTIFIC ASTRONOMY

DID NOT GO DOWN WELL WITH SPACE SCIENTISTS.

HE LOST ALL HIS PROFESSIONAL CREDIBILITY.

Narrator: BUT 60 YEARS AFTER THE PUBLICATION

OF "WORLDS IN COLLISION,"

SOME ASTRONOMERS ARE LOOKING AGAIN AT ITS BASIC ARGUMENTS.

COULD IT BE THAT VELIKOVSKY IS RIGHT

AND THAT EXTRATERRESTRIAL EVENTS HAVE IMPACTED LIFE ON EARTH?

Narrator: COMING UP...

ASTRONOMERS WARN OF A NEW TERRIFYING BIBLICAL PLAGUE.

WHAT WE'RE DEALING WITH IS EXTRATERRESTRIAL VIRUS,

AND THAT IS EXTREMELY FRIGHTENING.

Narrator: AND A WEIRD MIST APPEARS ON THE LUNAR SURFACE.

MAYBE WE'RE NOT RIGHT ABOUT THE MOON BEING COMPLETELY DEAD.

♪♪

Narrator: CONTROVERSIAL RUSSIAN ACADEMIC IMMANUEL VELIKOVSKY

BELIEVED THAT EVENTS IN THE HEAVENS

CAUSED THE GREAT BIBLICAL CATASTROPHES.

AT THE TIME, HIS IDEAS WERE DISMISSED

AS FANCIFUL NONSENSE BY N.A.S.A.

BUT A FEW SCIENTISTS

ARE REVISITING VELIKOVSKY'S THEORIES.

IT IS NOW ACCEPTED THAT APOCALYPTIC EVENTS ON EARTH,

INCLUDING MASS EXTINCTIONS,

HAVE BEEN CAUSED BY ASTRONOMICAL EVENTS.

VELIKOVSKY MAY HAVE BEEN WRONG ON THE SPECIFICS,

BUT HE MAY HAVE BEEN RIGHT ABOUT A COMET CATASTROPHE

AFFECTING EARTH.

PEOPLE DID INDEED BELIEVE IN ANCIENT SOCIETIES

THAT THE ADVENT OF A COMET WAS AN OMEN.

MAYBE THERE WAS A GRAIN OF TRUTH

TO WHAT THOSE PEOPLE WERE THINKING.

Narrator: IN 2007, A GROUP OF SIX SCIENTISTS

FROM AMERICA, AUSTRALIA,

AND RUSSIA SUGGEST A POSSIBLE LINK

BETWEEN THE FLOOD STORY IN THE BIBLE

AND THE CRASHING INTO THE EARTH OF A LARGE COMET

WHICH HIT THE INDIAN OCEAN 5,000 YEARS AGO.

THE IMPACT OF THIS COMET WOULD HAVE HAD

DEVASTATING CONSEQUENCES.

I MEAN, IT COULD HAVE CREATED 600-FOOT WAVES.

I MEAN, THESE ARE MEGA TSUNAMIS

THAT WOULD HAVE WIPED OUT CIVILIZATIONS ALONG SHORELINES

AND DEVASTATED ENTIRE COMMUNITIES.

Narrator: THE GROUP CLAIMS TO FIND EVIDENCE OF A GIANT WAVE

THAT SWEPT MILES OVER THE LAND.

SOME EVEN SUGGEST THAT THIS COMET IMPACT

MIGHT EXPLAIN THE 40 DAYS AND 40 NIGHTS OF RAIN

DESCRIBED IN THE BIBLE.

THAT IMPACT WOULD HAVE THROWN UP A VAST AMOUNT OF MOISTURE,

OF DEBRIS INTO THE ATMOSPHERE.

Narrator: VELIKOVSKY ALSO THOUGHT THAT THE PLANET VENUS

CAUSED THE GREAT PLAGUES OF EGYPT.

NOW SOME SCIENTISTS BELIEVE THAT KILLER PLAGUES

MAY WELL ORIGINATE IN SPACE.

ALTHOUGH VELIKOVSKY WAS WRONG IN ASSERTING

THAT PANDEMICS CAME FROM VENUS,

HE WAS CERTAINLY RIGHT IN SAYING THAT PANDEMICS CAME FROM SPACE.

THEY CAME FROM COMETS.

Narrator: SPACE IS POPULATED, SOME SCIENTISTS NOW BELIEVE,

WITH EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE-FORMS,

WHICH, IF THEY REACH EARTH, CAN ENTER AND INFECT HUMANS.

IF THAT'S THE CASE, WHAT WE'RE DEALING WITH

IS EXTRATERRESTRIAL VIRUS,

AND THAT IS EXTREMELY FRIGHTENING.

Narrator: ALIEN LIFE-FORMS CARRIED BY COMETS

MAY BE THE CAUSE OF SOME OF THE MOST TRAGIC EVENTS

IN HUMAN HISTORY.

THE IDEA THAT COMETS BRING DEATH IS VERY CLEARLY WRITTEN

IN THE RECORD OF PANDEMICS, OF DISEASES, OF EPIDEMIOLOGY --

LIKE THE GREAT PLAGUE OF ATHENS,

LIKE THE PLAGUE OF JUSTINIAN IN THE EARLY-CHRISTIAN ERA.

Narrator: OUR ANCIENT ANCESTORS SAW THE APPEARANCE OF A COMET

AS A WORRYING SIGN OF SOME IMPENDING DISASTER.

SOME ASTRONOMERS ARE FINALLY ACCEPTING

THAT THERE MAY BE REASONING

BEHIND THIS APPARENT SUPERSTITION.

THE IMPORTANCE OF VELIKOVSKY IS THAT HE ALERTED THE WORLD

TO THE FACT THAT THE EARTH IS VULNERABLE,

VULNERABLE TO THE TAILS OF COMETS.

Narrator: ANGRY GODS OR ALIEN DISEASE

HITCHING A RIDE ON COMETS.

ONE THING'S CERTAIN, THERE'S MORE COSMIC TROUBLE

HEADING OUR WAY.

IT'S GONNA HAPPEN, AND WHEN IT DOES, YOU BETTER WATCH OUT.

Narrator: JULY 20, 1969.

APOLLO 11 TOUCHES DOWN ON THE MOON...

THE EAGLE HAS LANDED.

...BRINGING WITH IT THE VERY FIRST HUMANS

TO STEP FOOT ON ANOTHER WORLD.

IT'S ONE SMALL STEP FOR MAN, ONE GIANT LEAP FOR MANKIND.

ON THAT VERY FIRST MISSION,

ASTRONAUTS NEIL ARMSTRONG AND BUZZ ALDRIN

ENCOUNTER SOMETHING THAT REMAINS TO THIS DAY UNEXPLAINED.

THERE WAS KIND OF A BRIGHT CLOUD EXISTING OVER MANY MINUTES.

Narrator: ALDRIN DESCRIBED THIS STRANGE GLOW ON MOON'S SURFACE

AS BRIGHTER THAN ANYTHING HE COULD SEE IN EITHER DIRECTION.

SCIENTISTS ARE BAFFLED.

Radebaugh: WHAT ARE THESE THINGS? I DON'T KNOW.

MAYBE WE'RE NOT RIGHT ABOUT THE MOON BEING COMPLETELY DEAD.

Narrator: DESPITE BEING OUR CLOSEST CELESTIAL NEIGHBOR,

THERE IS MUCH ABOUT THE MOON THAT IS SHROUDED IN MYSTERY.

IN TOTAL, HUMANS HAVE ONLY SPENT 80 HOURS ON THE MOON.

WE HAVE MADE A SUPERFICIAL INSPECTION

ONLY OF A TINY FRACTION OF THE SURFACE,

AND THE DARK SIDE REMAINS A MYSTERY.

BUT ALMOST 40 YEARS AFTER ARMSTRONG'S MISSION,

A LUNAR PROBE LAUNCHED BY INDIA, THE CHANDRAYAAN-1,

LANDS ON THE SURFACE OF THE MOON.

ON BOARD IS N.A.S.A.'s MOON MINERALOGY MAPPER,

AND IT MAKES AN ASTONISHING DISCOVERY.

IN 2018, N.A.S.A.

ANNOUNCED DEFINITIVE PROOF FROM THEIR MINERALOGY MAPPER

OF WATER ON THE MOON.

Moran: I MEAN, WE'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR WATER FOR YEARS,

DECADES, TILL FINALLY, WE LOOKED IN THE RIGHT PLACE

IN THE RIGHT WAY AND FOUND IT.

Narrator: WATER IS THE ELIXIR OF THE COSMOS.

WHERE THERE IS WATER, THERE IS VERY POSSIBLY LIFE.

EVER SINCE THE END OF THE APOLLO PROGRAM IN 1972,

WE'VE BEEN WONDERING, "SHOULD WE GO BACK TO THE MOON?

IS IT WORTH RETURNING?"

THIS DISCOVERY IS A REAL LUNAR GAME CHANGER.

Narrator: BUT IT'S NOT JUST THE POSSIBILITY OF LIFE ON THE MOON.

IN SPACE, WATER IS FUEL.

Gutheinz: TODAY, WE HAVE A MODERN-DAY GOLD RUSH.

NOT FOR GOLD, BUT FOR WATER,

BECAUSE IN SPACE, WATER IS GOLD.

Narrator: EXPERTS NOW FEAR

A DEADLY STAMPEDE TO CONQUER THE MOON.

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: IN AUGUST 2018, A N.A.S.A. PROBE

DISCOVERS THE SEEMINGLY IMPOSSIBLE --

WATER ON THE SURFACE OF THE MOON.

AND THIS CAN'T BE WATER THAT HAS ARRIVED FROM ICY COMET IMPACTS.

ANY WATER THAT MAY HAVE BEEN DELIVERED TO THE MOON,

IT SHOULD HAVE EVAPORATED RIGHT INTO SPACE.

THERE'S NO ATMOSPHERE THERE TO HELP TRAP IT,

AND SO IT BASICALLY ESCAPES.

Narrator: AND YET THE N.A.S.A. PROBE HAS MAPPED OUT BILLIONS

OF GALLONS OF WATER ON THE LUNAR SURFACE.

AT THE POLAR REGIONS,

THERE ARE REGIONS WHERE SUNLIGHT NEVER REACHES,

ESPECIALLY BECAUSE THERE ARE DEEP CRATERS THERE,

AND WITHIN THOSE CRATERS

ARE PLACES CALLED PERMANENTLY-SHADOWED REGIONS.

IN THOSE LOCATIONS, ICE CAN REMAIN THERE

FOR BILLIONS OF YEARS.

Narrator: SCIENTISTS NOW HAVE AN ASTONISHING THEORY

AS TO WHERE THIS ICE HAS COME FROM.

Radebaugh: A POSSIBLE WAY FOR THERE TO BE WATER

AT THE PERMANENTLY-SHADOWED REGIONS

IS THAT IT ACTUALLY ESCAPED OUT OF THE MOON.

Narrator: THIS COULD FINALLY EXPLAIN THE MYSTERIOUS MIST

ENCOUNTERED BY THE APOLLO ASTRONAUTS.

Radebaugh: IF IT'S GAS COMING OUT OF THE INTERIOR,

ONE OF THE MOST LIKELY COMPONENTS COULD BE WATER.

SO YOU HAVE WATER ESCAPING OUT OF THE INTERIOR

OF THE MOON TODAY, AND THAT'S REALLY EXCITING.

Narrator: IT'S POSSIBLE THAT VAST QUANTITIES OF WATER

MAY NOW EXIST DEEP WITHIN THE MOON --

A REMNANT OF THE TIME WHEN IT WAS A HOT

AND GEOLOGICALLY ACTIVE WORLD,

AND THIS WATER ESCAPES TO THE SURFACE AS GAS.

TO FIND ANY SORT OF WATER ON THE SURFACE OF ANY WORLD

BESIDES EARTH IS A HUGE, HUGE DISCOVERY.

DISCOVERING WATER ON THE MOON IS LIKE DISCOVERING GOLD,

EXCEPT IT'S MUCH, MUCH MORE VALUABLE THAN THAT.

Narrator: BESIDES THE POSSIBILITY OF LUNAR LIFE,

SCIENTISTS BELIEVE THEY CAN USE THE MOON'S WATER

TO PROPEL HUMANS MUCH FURTHER, MUCH FASTER INTO SPACE.

PROPULSION ENGINEER TIM PICKENS EXPLAINS THE PRINCIPAL

OF USING HYDROGEN AND OXYGEN IN WATER TO CREATE AN EXPLOSION

THAT CAN FIRE A SPACECRAFT ENGINE.

THESE ARE SOLAR PANELS, VERY STANDARD.

YOU TAKE NORMAL WATER, TAKE AN ELECTROLYZER -- THIS DEVICE.

THIS IS BASICALLY NOTHING BUT STAINLESS STEEL PLATES.

YOU CAN USE ELECTRICITY AND ACTUALLY SEPARATE HYDROGEN

AND OXYGEN, AND THEY EXIT HERE.

Narrator: AFTER SEPARATING THE WATER'S HYDROGEN AND OXYGEN,

BUBBLES ARE COLLECTED IN A BALLOON AT THE TOP.

THIS DOESN'T LOOK LIKE A LOT OF GAS,

BUT IT IS A LOT OF POWER.

Narrator: THE BALLOON IS CAREFULLY PLACED ON THE GROUND.

ALL RIGHT, STAND BACK AND GET READY.

WE'RE GONNA LIGHT THIS CANDLE.

♪♪

BOOM! MAN, THAT'S POWERFUL!

Narrator: THE EXPLOSION HERE IS SMALL,

BUT SCALED UP AND CONDUCTED IN SPACE,

WATER FUEL IS EXPECTED TO REVOLUTIONIZE SPACE TRAVEL.

Pickens: THERE'S A TRICK TO THIS.

ALL RIGHT, SO WE'VE GOT OUR OXYGEN AND I'VE GOT MY HYDROGEN.

GOT MY ROCKET THRUSTER RIGHT HERE.

THIS COMBUSTS THESE GASSES.

-YOU READY? -ALL RIGHT.

HYDROGEN/OXYGEN LUNIC SOLDER IN 3, 2, 1.

WOW!

THAT IS REAL ROCKET THRUST. THIS THING IS AMAZING.

IT RUNS ON HYDROGEN AND OXYGEN

THAT WE CAN MAKE FROM ICE ON THE MOON.

THIS MOTOR COULD GO ON A ROCKET TODAY.

Narrator: AND THERE'S A HUGE ADVANTAGE TO HAVING THIS FUEL SOURCE

ON THE MOON RATHER THAN THE EARTH.

TO GET OFF THE EARTH, A ROCKET HAS TO HAVE SOMETHING LIKE

80% OR 90% OF ITS TAKEOFF WEIGHT IS PROPELLANT.

Pickens: ON THE MOON, YOU HAVE 1/6th OF THE GRAVITY.

THAT MEANS IT TAKES ABOUT 1/6th OF THE ENERGY

THAT IT WOULD TO LEAVE THE MOON'S GRAVITY

TO GO SOMEWHERE ELSE.

IT'S ALMOST LIKE THE MOON BECOMES A GAS STATION

THAT WE CAN STOP OFF AT, FILL UP OUR FUEL TANKS,

AND CONTINUE ON TO ANOTHER PLANET.

Narrator: WATER IS TOO HEAVY TO CARRY UP FROM EARTH,

BUT IF THE MOON CAN ACT AS A LUNAR GAS STATION,

THE WHOLE NATURE OF SPACE EXPLORATION CHANGES.

THE PROBLEM IS, WHO OWNS THIS HUGE RESERVE OF GALACTIC FUEL?

WHO DOES THIS WATER BELONG TO AND WHO GETS TO USE IT FIRST?

AND NOW THERE IS A RACE TO GET BACK TO THE MOON,

AND THE RACE IS NOT JUST BETWEEN THE U.S. AND RUSSIANS.

NOW IT'S CHINA AND INDIA, SpaceX, WHATEVER.

BUSINESS WISE, THE MOON

IS STARTING TO LOOK LIKE A GOOD INVESTMENT.

Schultz: THIS IS A PRIZE WORTH FIGHTING FOR.

THE GOLD RUSH IS ON.

Narrator: THE MOON COULD BECOME THE GATEWAY TO THE OTHER WORLDS

IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM,

BUT SOME FEAR IT MAY SPARK THE FIRST GREAT SPACE WAR.

THERE'S A LOT OF CONCERN OVER WHO'S GOING TO BE LEADING

THE CHARGE WHEN IT COMES TO FURTHER SPACE EXPLORATION.

IT'S STILL VERY TERRITORIAL.

SO THERE'S GONNA BE COMPETITION IN SPACE

JUST AS THERE'S COMPETITION HERE ON EARTH.

Narrator: THE GRAND PRIZE TO THE WINNER IS MUCH GREATER

THAN JUST THE MOON ITSELF.

WHOEVER CONTROLS THE MOON WILL CONTROL THE SOLAR SYSTEM.

Gutheinz: IF IT'S RUSSIA, IF IT'S CHINA,

THEY'LL HAVE THEIR OWN AGENDA,

BUT IF IT'S THE UNITED STATES,

IT COULD VERY WELL BE OUR LAUNCHING PAD...

FOR MARS.