1
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♪

2
00:00:04,204 --> 00:00:06,707
Narrator: PLANET EARTH.

3
00:00:06,740 --> 00:00:12,446
[WAVES CRASHING]

4
00:00:12,546 --> 00:00:14,415
OUR HOME.

5
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WE ARE PART

6
00:00:18,051 --> 00:00:21,054
OF AN ASTOUNDING
INTERDEPENDENT ECOSYSTEM,

7
00:00:21,088 --> 00:00:23,557
COATING ITS SURFACE...

8
00:00:23,590 --> 00:00:28,595
CONTAINING A DIZZYING VARIETY
OF ANIMALS AND PLANTS.

9
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LIFE IS AMAZING.

10
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BUT IT’S INCREDIBLE
IT EXISTS AT ALL.

11
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♪

12
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EXTREME FORCES
DOMINATE THE COSMOS.

13
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[EXPLOSION]

14
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IT COULD NOT APPEAR
MORE HOSTILE

15
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TO THE EXISTENCE AND SURVIVAL
OF FRAGILE ORGANISMS.

16
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[EXPLOSION]

17
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PLANET EARTH HAS LONG SEEMED
A UNIQUE OASIS

18
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IN A VIOLENT, BARREN UNIVERSE.

19
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♪

20
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[CLICKING AND WHIRRING]

21
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BUT GROUNDBREAKING SCIENCE
IS NOW CHALLENGING THIS VIEW.

22
00:01:06,099 --> 00:01:07,400
Man: HOW, WHEN, AND WHERE

23
00:01:07,434 --> 00:01:10,037
LIFE MIGHT HAVE ARISEN
IN THE UNIVERSE--

24
00:01:10,070 --> 00:01:11,772
IT’S PROBABLY
THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTIONS

25
00:01:11,805 --> 00:01:13,774
THAT MODERN SCIENCE
CAN HOPE TO ADDRESS.

26
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Narrator:
SCIENTISTS ARE REVEALING

27
00:01:15,542 --> 00:01:18,812
THE INCREDIBLE ALCHEMY
OF STARLIGHT.

28
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Man: UV PHOTONS CAN COME IN
AND BREAK A MOLECULE IN HALF.

29
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Narrator: THEY ARE UNCOVERING
EXPLOSIVE SECRETS

30
00:01:25,852 --> 00:01:28,321
ABOUT THE ORIGINS
OF LIFE ON EARTH.

31
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Man: WE WERE
LITERALLY GOBSMACKED

32
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AT THE RESULTS WE GOT.

33
00:01:31,458 --> 00:01:33,760
Narrator: AND DETECTING
TELLTALE TRACES

34
00:01:33,794 --> 00:01:36,463
OF LIFE ON OTHER PLANETS.

35
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Man: THAT’S BIG, THAT’S HUGE.

36
00:01:38,865 --> 00:01:42,802
I DON’T SEE WHY LIFE WOULDN’T
HAVE STARTED ON MARS.

37
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Narrator: AND AS NEW TECHNOLOGY
BRINGS THE SKIES ABOVE

38
00:01:46,039 --> 00:01:48,041
INTO EVER-SHARPER FOCUS,

39
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THE CONCLUSIONS
ARE MIND-BLOWING.

40
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Woman: WHEN I GO OUT AT NIGHT
AND LOOK AT THE SKY,

41
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I DON’T SEE THOSE PINPOINTS
OF LIGHTS AS STARS;

42
00:01:56,083 --> 00:01:58,018
I SEE THEM AS PLANETARY SYSTEMS.

43
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Narrator:
MANY SCIENTISTS NOW BELIEVE

44
00:02:00,487 --> 00:02:03,156
WE ARE NOT ALONE.

45
00:02:03,190 --> 00:02:05,426
Man: EARTH AND LIFE ON EARTH
IS NOT UNIQUE.

46
00:02:05,459 --> 00:02:07,795
ALL THE CLUES ARE POINTING
IN THAT DIRECTION.

47
00:02:13,300 --> 00:02:18,806
[BIRDS CHIRPING]

48
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♪

49
00:02:20,807 --> 00:02:25,045
Narrator: LIFE IS ASTOUNDING.

50
00:02:25,078 --> 00:02:29,349
INSIDE EVERY CELL OF EVERY PLANT
AND EVERY CREATURE

51
00:02:29,383 --> 00:02:32,786
LIES A STAGGERINGLY
COMPLEX WORLD

52
00:02:32,819 --> 00:02:38,458
SUSTAINED BY INTRICATELY
CONSTRUCTED ORGANIC MOLECULES.

53
00:02:38,558 --> 00:02:40,293
Chris McKay:
THE SIMPLEST CELL ON EARTH

54
00:02:40,327 --> 00:02:42,462
IS THE MOST COMPLICATED THING
WE CAN IMAGINE.

55
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ALL SORTS OF MOLECULAR MACHINES
WORKING TOGETHER,

56
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PROCESSING INFORMATION,
PROCESSING MATTER,

57
00:02:48,502 --> 00:02:50,404
PROCESSING ENERGY,

58
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ALL TO ENSURE THE SURVIVAL
AND THE REPRODUCTION

59
00:02:52,539 --> 00:02:55,208
OF THIS LITTLE
TINY ORGANISM.

60
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Narrator:
HOW SUCH COMPLEX STRUCTURES

61
00:02:57,611 --> 00:02:59,713
EVER CAME INTO EXISTENCE

62
00:02:59,746 --> 00:03:03,216
HAS LONG BEEN ONE OF EARTH’S
GREATEST MYSTERIES.

63
00:03:05,419 --> 00:03:07,855
BUT 21st-CENTURY SCIENCE

64
00:03:07,888 --> 00:03:12,059
HAS STARTED TO LOOK BEYOND
OUR PLANET FOR ANSWERS

65
00:03:12,092 --> 00:03:16,630
AND COME TO SOME
INCREDIBLE CONCLUSIONS.

66
00:03:16,663 --> 00:03:17,831
Jeremy Drake:
THE REST OF THE UNIVERSE

67
00:03:17,864 --> 00:03:19,366
IS ACTUALLY CENTRAL

68
00:03:19,466 --> 00:03:21,368
TO THE WHOLE QUESTION
OF THE ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION

69
00:03:21,401 --> 00:03:23,203
OF LIFE ON EARTH.

70
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WITHOUT THE REST
OF THE UNIVERSE,

71
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WE WOULDN’T BE HERE.

72
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Narrator: IT STARTS WITH
THE UNIVERSE’S BUILDING BLOCKS--

73
00:03:31,812 --> 00:03:33,580
ATOMS.

74
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ALL GIANT ORGANIC MOLECULES,
LIKE DNA,

75
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CONTAIN COUNTLESS ATOMS
IN INTRICATE FORMATION.

76
00:03:41,188 --> 00:03:42,956
MOSTLY THE BIG FOUR--

77
00:03:42,989 --> 00:03:46,726
HYDROGEN, OXYGEN,
CARBON, AND NITROGEN--

78
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WITH A SPRINKLING
OF HEAVIER ELEMENTS.

79
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BUT WHERE DO THE ATOMS
ORIGINATE?

80
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AND HOW DID THEY COME TO FORM
THESE STRUCTURES?

81
00:03:56,069 --> 00:03:57,504
IT TURNS OUT

82
00:03:57,537 --> 00:04:00,006
THAT TO UNCOVER
THE SECRETS OF LIFE

83
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WE MUST TRACK THE EVOLUTION
OF THE COSMOS ITSELF.

84
00:04:04,277 --> 00:04:06,179
♪

85
00:04:06,213 --> 00:04:11,318
13.8 BILLION YEARS AGO...

86
00:04:11,351 --> 00:04:14,955
THE UNIVERSE BEGINS
WITH THE BIG BANG.

87
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♪

88
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WITHIN A SECOND,

89
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IT COOLS ENOUGH
FOR PARTICLES TO FORM.

90
00:04:23,997 --> 00:04:26,466
AND WITHIN A FEW
HUNDRED THOUSAND YEARS,

91
00:04:26,500 --> 00:04:28,769
THESE PARTICLES COMBINE,

92
00:04:28,802 --> 00:04:31,104
FORMING THE FIRST SIMPLE ATOMS--

93
00:04:31,138 --> 00:04:34,742
HYDROGEN AND HELIUM.

94
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THESE ANCIENT ATOMS ARE
THE FOUNDATIONS OF EVERYTHING.

95
00:04:38,678 --> 00:04:41,314
♪

96
00:04:41,348 --> 00:04:45,419
AT THIS EARLY STAGE
OF THE UNIVERSE’S EVOLUTION,

97
00:04:45,452 --> 00:04:47,955
THE INGREDIENTS DO NOT YET EXIST

98
00:04:47,988 --> 00:04:52,059
TO MAKE EVEN THE MOST
BASIC MOLECULES OF LIFE.

99
00:04:52,793 --> 00:04:55,696
AND AS SPACE EXPANDS,

100
00:04:55,729 --> 00:05:00,701
THESE ATOMS ARE IN DANGER
OF DISSIPATING INTO THE VOID.

101
00:05:00,734 --> 00:05:04,171
BUT ALREADY
THEY FEEL THE FORCE

102
00:05:04,204 --> 00:05:05,605
OF GRAVITY.

103
00:05:07,240 --> 00:05:08,975
UNDER ITS INFLUENCE,

104
00:05:09,009 --> 00:05:12,446
EVERYTHING THAT MATTERS
WILL COME TOGETHER.

105
00:05:12,479 --> 00:05:14,381
Natalie Batalha:
GRAVITY IS A FUNDAMENTAL DRIVER

106
00:05:14,414 --> 00:05:18,184
FOR THE CREATION OF STRUCTURE
IN THE UNIVERSE.

107
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THE UNIVERSE WAS
A RELATIVELY UNIFORM VOLUME

108
00:05:23,690 --> 00:05:25,225
OF HYDROGEN AND HELIUM

109
00:05:25,258 --> 00:05:29,195
THAT WAS RAPIDLY COOLING
BECAUSE OF THE EXPANSION.

110
00:05:29,362 --> 00:05:31,097
BUT THE DEVIL’S IN THE DETAILS.

111
00:05:31,131 --> 00:05:33,734
THERE WERE REGIONS THAT WERE
SLIGHTLY OVER-DENSE.

112
00:05:33,767 --> 00:05:36,270
AND WHERE YOU HAD
THOSE OVER-DENSE REGIONS,

113
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GRAVITY WAS ABLE TO KICK IN

114
00:05:38,271 --> 00:05:41,274
AND CREATE EVEN MORE
OVER-DENSE REGIONS

115
00:05:41,308 --> 00:05:43,377
THAT LED TO ALL THE STRUCTURE
AND COMPLEXITY

116
00:05:43,410 --> 00:05:46,780
THAT WE OBSERVE
IN THE VISIBLE UNIVERSE TODAY.

117
00:05:46,813 --> 00:05:49,783
Narrator: OVER A FEW
HUNDRED THOUSAND YEARS,

118
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GRAVITY CREATES SPIRALING
REGIONS SO DENSE,

119
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THEIR TEMPERATURES
NOW RAPIDLY INCREASE.

120
00:05:57,257 --> 00:06:00,961
THE SWIRLING GASES
FORM HUGE DISCS

121
00:06:00,994 --> 00:06:04,030
FAR LARGER
THAN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.

122
00:06:04,064 --> 00:06:09,436
TEMPERATURES IN THEIR CENTERS
SURPASS 100 MILLION DEGREES.

123
00:06:09,469 --> 00:06:12,973
AND SUDDENLY,
THE FIRST STARS ARE BORN.

124
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♪

125
00:06:17,077 --> 00:06:18,445
FROM THIS MOMENT ON,

126
00:06:18,545 --> 00:06:22,849
PRIMORDIAL STARS
APPEAR IN THEIR BILLIONS.

127
00:06:26,052 --> 00:06:30,023
THEY CAST THE FIRST LIGHT
ON THE UNIVERSE.

128
00:06:30,123 --> 00:06:32,993
BUT THEY WILL ALSO TRANSFORM IT.

129
00:06:33,026 --> 00:06:35,128
THROUGH A QUIRK OF THEIR NATURE,

130
00:06:35,161 --> 00:06:39,832
STARS WILL GENERATE
ALL THE RAW MATERIALS FOR LIFE.

131
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♪

132
00:06:43,103 --> 00:06:45,639
Batalha: STARS ARE INTERESTING.
THEY BEHAVE IN INTERESTING WAYS.

133
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BUT THEY’RE ACTUALLY
QUITE SIMPLE STRUCTURALLY.

134
00:06:48,174 --> 00:06:49,275
IT’S A BALL OF PLASMA

135
00:06:49,376 --> 00:06:51,311
THAT’S BALANCED
BY GRAVITY PUSHING IN

136
00:06:51,344 --> 00:06:52,712
AND GAS PRESSURE PUSHING OUT.

137
00:06:54,814 --> 00:06:57,984
Narrator:
STARS STAVE OFF COLLAPSE

138
00:06:58,118 --> 00:07:01,054
THROUGH THE POWER
OF NUCLEAR FUSION.

139
00:07:01,087 --> 00:07:03,256
♪

140
00:07:03,356 --> 00:07:04,858
SIMPLY PUT,

141
00:07:04,891 --> 00:07:08,161
EXTREME GRAVITATIONAL
PRESSURE IN THE CORE

142
00:07:08,194 --> 00:07:12,965
FORCES HYDROGEN ATOMS TO FUSE
INTO HEAVIER HELIUM,

143
00:07:12,999 --> 00:07:15,435
RELEASING TREMENDOUS ENERGY.

144
00:07:15,468 --> 00:07:20,006
♪

145
00:07:20,040 --> 00:07:21,475
Drake:
THE STARLIGHT THAT WE SEE

146
00:07:21,508 --> 00:07:23,744
ESSENTIALLY COMES FROM
EINSTEIN’S FAMOUS EQUATION,

147
00:07:23,777 --> 00:07:25,212
E=MC2.

148
00:07:25,245 --> 00:07:27,981
THE MASS OF THE PRODUCTS
OF THAT NUCLEAR FUSION

149
00:07:28,014 --> 00:07:29,382
IS A LITTLE BIT LESS

150
00:07:29,416 --> 00:07:31,985
THAN THE MASS OF THE PRODUCTS
THAT WENT INTO IT,

151
00:07:32,018 --> 00:07:33,753
AND SO WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT
OF MASS LEFT OVER.

152
00:07:33,787 --> 00:07:37,424
AND THIS LEFTOVER MASS
CAN BE CONVERTED INTO ENERGY.

153
00:07:37,457 --> 00:07:40,760
Narrator: THE ENERGY KEEPS
THE STAR FROM COLLAPSING,

154
00:07:40,827 --> 00:07:43,530
WHICH ALLOWS FUSION
TO CONTINUE.

155
00:07:43,563 --> 00:07:45,031
THIS PROCESS NOW CREATES

156
00:07:45,065 --> 00:07:48,435
ALL THE MISSING
INGREDIENTS OF LIFE.

157
00:07:48,468 --> 00:07:51,371
Drake: STARS ARE ESSENTIALLY
THE CAULDRONS OF THE UNIVERSE

158
00:07:51,404 --> 00:07:52,839
WHERE THE ELEMENTS ARE MADE.

159
00:07:52,872 --> 00:07:57,009
♪

160
00:07:57,043 --> 00:08:00,780
Narrator: INSIDE THE HELIUM
CORES OF MASSIVE STARS,

161
00:08:00,814 --> 00:08:04,284
TOTALLY NEW ELEMENTS
ARE NOW FORGED.

162
00:08:04,317 --> 00:08:05,819
FOR THE FIRST TIME,

163
00:08:05,852 --> 00:08:09,122
HUGE QUANTITIES OF OXYGEN,
CARBON, AND NITROGEN

164
00:08:09,189 --> 00:08:11,825
ARE FUSED INTO EXISTENCE.

165
00:08:11,858 --> 00:08:13,493
Batalha: LO AND BEHOLD,
THAT’S EXACTLY THE STUFF

166
00:08:13,526 --> 00:08:15,495
THAT OUR OWN HUMAN BODIES
ARE MADE OUT OF.

167
00:08:18,298 --> 00:08:21,101
WE ARE LITERALLY MADE
OF STAR STUFF.

168
00:08:21,134 --> 00:08:23,036
Narrator:
THE MOST MASSIVE STARS

169
00:08:23,069 --> 00:08:27,440
CONTINUE TO CREATE
HEAVIER AND HEAVIER ELEMENTS.

170
00:08:27,474 --> 00:08:30,644
BUT FUSION ENGINES
DON’T LAST FOREVER,

171
00:08:30,677 --> 00:08:33,713
AND ALL STARS COME TO AN END--

172
00:08:33,747 --> 00:08:36,316
THE BIGGEST WITH A BANG.

173
00:08:36,349 --> 00:08:37,750
Batalha: BECAUSE YOU DON’T HAVE
ANY MORE ENERGY,

174
00:08:37,851 --> 00:08:40,020
THERE’S NOTHING
TO SUPPORT THE STAR.

175
00:08:40,053 --> 00:08:42,756
IT’S GONNA COLLAPSE
AND THEN DETONATE.

176
00:08:42,789 --> 00:08:48,428
[RUMBLING]

177
00:08:53,199 --> 00:08:55,435
Narrator:
13 BILLION YEARS AGO,

178
00:08:55,568 --> 00:08:59,005
THE DEATH OF THE FIRST
GENERATION OF MASSIVE STARS

179
00:08:59,105 --> 00:09:03,343
SPREADS NEW ATOMIC ELEMENTS
INTO THE VOID.

180
00:09:03,376 --> 00:09:06,346
THE UNIVERSE REACHES
A CRUCIAL THRESHOLD.

181
00:09:06,379 --> 00:09:08,081
FOR THE FIRST TIME,

182
00:09:08,248 --> 00:09:12,152
IT CONTAINS EVERYTHING NECESSARY
FOR LIFE TO FORM.

183
00:09:14,654 --> 00:09:17,157
ANCIENT HYDROGEN
HAS NOW BEEN JOINED

184
00:09:17,190 --> 00:09:21,161
BY HUGE QUANTITIES OF OXYGEN,
CARBON, AND NITROGEN,

185
00:09:21,194 --> 00:09:24,297
ALONGSIDE TRACES
OF THE HEAVIER ELEMENTS.

186
00:09:24,330 --> 00:09:26,666
AND ASTRONOMERS HAVE DISCOVERED

187
00:09:26,766 --> 00:09:28,434
THAT ALMOST IMMEDIATELY

188
00:09:28,468 --> 00:09:31,705
THEY START ALONG
THE PATH TO LIFE.

189
00:09:31,805 --> 00:09:34,241
Karin Oberg: AFTER YOU HAD
THIS FIRST GENERATION OF STARS,

190
00:09:34,340 --> 00:09:37,310
YOU ENTER INTO A UNIVERSE
THAT’S FULL OF CHEMISTRY.

191
00:09:37,343 --> 00:09:39,245
YOU HAVE SUDDENLY
A CHEMICAL UNIVERSE

192
00:09:39,279 --> 00:09:42,983
WHICH YOU DID NOT HAVE BEFORE.

193
00:09:43,083 --> 00:09:44,985
Narrator:
BY ANALYZING THE LIGHT

194
00:09:45,085 --> 00:09:47,621
REFLECTED BY
INTERSTELLAR DUST CLOUDS,

195
00:09:47,654 --> 00:09:51,291
ASTROCHEMISTS CAN DETERMINE
THEIR COMPOSITION.

196
00:09:51,324 --> 00:09:52,992
OVER THE DECADES,

197
00:09:53,026 --> 00:09:55,762
AS THEIR OBSERVATIONS
BECAME MORE PRECISE,

198
00:09:55,795 --> 00:09:59,699
THEY MADE
AN ASTONISHING DISCOVERY.

199
00:09:59,732 --> 00:10:04,237
THE UNIVERSE
IS FILLED WITH WATER.

200
00:10:06,606 --> 00:10:08,241
Oberg: WATER,

201
00:10:08,274 --> 00:10:10,676
THIS REALLY IMPORTANT MOLECULE
HERE ON EARTH,

202
00:10:10,777 --> 00:10:12,779
IS ONE OF THE MOST
ABUNDANT MOLECULES

203
00:10:12,812 --> 00:10:14,447
THAT WE FIND IN SPACE.

204
00:10:14,581 --> 00:10:16,516
Narrator: IN THE IMMENSITY
OF THE VOID,

205
00:10:16,549 --> 00:10:19,218
INDIVIDUAL ATOMS
RARELY INTERACT.

206
00:10:19,252 --> 00:10:21,721
BUT DUST GRAINS
OF HEAVIER ELEMENTS

207
00:10:21,855 --> 00:10:24,424
FORMED FROM THE DEBRIS
OF EXPLODED STARS

208
00:10:24,457 --> 00:10:28,494
TURN OUT TO BE A FORM
OF GALACTIC FLYPAPER.

209
00:10:28,528 --> 00:10:31,731
Oberg: WE HAVE REALIZED
THAT WHERE THESE MOLECULES FORM

210
00:10:31,831 --> 00:10:34,267
IS ON THE SURFACES OF THESE
TINY LITTLE DUST GRAINS.

211
00:10:34,300 --> 00:10:38,237
THESE ARE LITTLE
INTERSTELLAR CATALYSTS.

212
00:10:38,338 --> 00:10:40,040
Narrator:
GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY,

213
00:10:40,073 --> 00:10:43,076
OXYGEN BONDS WITH HYDROGEN--

214
00:10:43,109 --> 00:10:45,311
THESE TWO MOST ABUNDANT
REACTIVE ELEMENTS

215
00:10:45,345 --> 00:10:48,215
FORMING HUGE AMOUNTS OF WATER.

216
00:10:51,384 --> 00:10:54,020
CARBON AND NITROGEN JOIN THEM,

217
00:10:54,053 --> 00:10:57,857
AND SIMPLE GASES,
INCLUDING AMMONIA AND METHANE,

218
00:10:57,891 --> 00:11:01,461
ARE ADDED TO THE MIX.

219
00:11:01,494 --> 00:11:06,399
THIS DUST CLOUD CHEMISTRY
APPEARS UNREMARKABLE.

220
00:11:06,432 --> 00:11:08,868
BUT NEW DISCOVERIES SUGGEST

221
00:11:08,902 --> 00:11:13,440
IT IS THE BASIS
OF EVERYTHING BIOLOGICAL...

222
00:11:13,473 --> 00:11:15,642
BECAUSE IN THE HEART
OF THESE CLOUDS,

223
00:11:15,675 --> 00:11:17,377
GRAVITY WAS ENSURING

224
00:11:17,410 --> 00:11:20,747
THAT A SECOND GENERATION
OF STARS WAS TAKING SHAPE.

225
00:11:20,780 --> 00:11:24,250
[EXPLOSION]

226
00:11:24,284 --> 00:11:26,753
THE FIRST GENERATION
MADE THE ELEMENTS;

227
00:11:26,786 --> 00:11:31,224
THE SECOND WOULD KICK-START
THE CHEMISTRY OF LIFE.

228
00:11:31,324 --> 00:11:35,628
♪

229
00:11:35,662 --> 00:11:37,697
[EXPLOSION]

230
00:11:37,797 --> 00:11:40,133
TEN BILLION YEARS AGO,

231
00:11:40,200 --> 00:11:41,835
A SECOND GENERATION OF STARS

232
00:11:41,868 --> 00:11:46,373
HAD FORMED IN THE HEARTS
OF ELEMENT-RICH DUST CLOUDS.

233
00:11:46,472 --> 00:11:50,343
TODAY, EXPERIMENTS REVEAL
THEIR PRESENCE

234
00:11:50,376 --> 00:11:52,511
MAY HAVE COATED
THE SURROUNDING DUST

235
00:11:52,545 --> 00:11:54,714
WITH THE BUILDING BLOCKS
OF LIFE.

236
00:11:59,719 --> 00:12:07,227
[RADIO CHATTER]

237
00:12:07,260 --> 00:12:09,963
IN CUTTING-EDGE FACILITIES,

238
00:12:09,996 --> 00:12:13,066
ASTROCHEMISTS RECREATE
THE EXTREME CONDITIONS

239
00:12:13,099 --> 00:12:14,767
OF OUTER SPACE.

240
00:12:14,901 --> 00:12:19,038
[BUBBLING]

241
00:12:19,072 --> 00:12:21,341
DR. SCOTT SANDFORD LEADS A TEAM

242
00:12:21,374 --> 00:12:24,677
AT NASA AMES
RESEARCH LABORATORY.

243
00:12:24,777 --> 00:12:26,412
Scott Sandford:
WE’RE TRYING TO MAKE

244
00:12:26,446 --> 00:12:28,148
A LITTLE PIECE OF SPACE
RIGHT HERE IN THE LABORATORY

245
00:12:28,181 --> 00:12:31,051
SO WE CAN STUDY WHAT HAPPENS
IN THOSE KINDS OF ENVIRONMENTS.

246
00:12:31,084 --> 00:12:34,688
[GAS HISSING]

247
00:12:34,787 --> 00:12:36,756
AT THE SOUTH POLE
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WINTER,

248
00:12:36,789 --> 00:12:38,157
I THINK YOU GET DOWN
TO TEMPERATURES

249
00:12:38,191 --> 00:12:39,759
THAT ARE SOMETHING LIKE

250
00:12:39,792 --> 00:12:42,228
MINUS 60 OR 70 DEGREES
CENTIGRADE OR SOMETHING.

251
00:12:42,262 --> 00:12:43,463
WE’RE LIKE 200 DEGREES
BELOW THAT.

252
00:12:43,496 --> 00:12:45,098
[LAUGHS]

253
00:12:45,131 --> 00:12:47,233
TEN DEGREES ABOVE ABSOLUTE ZERO.

254
00:12:50,136 --> 00:12:52,472
Narrator:
SANDFORD’S ICE COLD EXPERIMENT

255
00:12:52,572 --> 00:12:55,742
IS DESIGNED TO SHED LIGHT
ON A MYSTERY--

256
00:12:55,842 --> 00:13:01,414
HOW SIMPLE MOLECULES IN SPACE
BECAME MORE COMPLEX...

257
00:13:01,447 --> 00:13:04,250
BECAUSE ASTROCHEMISTS
HAVE DISCOVERED

258
00:13:04,284 --> 00:13:07,621
THE UNIVERSE’S
SECOND GENERATION OF STARS

259
00:13:07,687 --> 00:13:10,323
KICK-STARTED CHEMISTRY.

260
00:13:10,356 --> 00:13:13,693
STARS GENERATE VISIBLE LIGHT,

261
00:13:13,760 --> 00:13:16,363
BUT ALSO ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT

262
00:13:16,462 --> 00:13:21,367
AT THE HIGH-ENERGY END
OF THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM.

263
00:13:21,467 --> 00:13:23,736
Drake: THE ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT

264
00:13:23,770 --> 00:13:25,238
IS ESSENTIALLY
LIKE VISIBLE LIGHT

265
00:13:25,271 --> 00:13:26,506
EXCEPT IT’S MORE ENERGETIC.

266
00:13:26,539 --> 00:13:31,444
IT CAN DO THINGS
THAT VISIBLE LIGHT CAN’T DO.

267
00:13:31,477 --> 00:13:33,112
[SIZZLING]

268
00:13:33,146 --> 00:13:38,051
Narrator: SANDFORD AND HIS TEAM
CREATE THEIR OWN UV LIGHT,

269
00:13:38,084 --> 00:13:39,385
WHICH THEY FOCUS

270
00:13:39,419 --> 00:13:42,555
ONTO A SUPER-COOLED
FILM OF MOLECULES,

271
00:13:42,588 --> 00:13:45,091
SIMULATING THE SURFACE
OF DUSTY GRAINS

272
00:13:45,191 --> 00:13:47,994
FOUND IN OUTER SPACE.

273
00:13:48,027 --> 00:13:50,029
THEY HAVE DISCOVERED
THAT THE UV LIGHT

274
00:13:50,063 --> 00:13:54,367
CREATES A CHAOTIC BURST
OF CHEMICAL ACTIVITY.

275
00:13:54,467 --> 00:13:56,235
Sandford: THE UV PHOTONS
CAN HAVE ENOUGH ENERGY

276
00:13:56,269 --> 00:14:00,106
THAT CAN COME IN
AND BREAK A MOLECULE IN HALF.

277
00:14:01,841 --> 00:14:04,477
Narrator:
BOMBARDED BY THE UV RAYS,

278
00:14:04,510 --> 00:14:08,547
THE SIMPLE MOLECULES
SPLIT INTO REACTIVE FRAGMENTS

279
00:14:08,581 --> 00:14:12,151
BUT RECOMBINE INTO
MORE COMPLEX STRUCTURES,

280
00:14:12,185 --> 00:14:14,220
BECAUSE BY CHANCE,

281
00:14:14,253 --> 00:14:19,091
THE ABUNDANT CARBON ATOMS
WANT TO FORM MULTIPLE BONDS.

282
00:14:19,125 --> 00:14:23,262
McKay: CARBON NATURALLY FORMS
MORE AND MORE COMPLEX MOLECULES.

283
00:14:23,396 --> 00:14:27,333
IT NATURALLY BRINGS IN
NITROGEN AND OXYGEN ATOMS.

284
00:14:27,367 --> 00:14:30,503
SO CARBON IS THE MASTER CHEMIST.

285
00:14:30,536 --> 00:14:35,474
Narrator: CARBON-BASED MOLECULES
FORM THE BASIS OF ALL BIOLOGY,

286
00:14:35,508 --> 00:14:37,176
AND IN RECENT DECADES,

287
00:14:37,210 --> 00:14:41,781
ASTRONOMERS HAVE DETECTED TRACES
OF CRUCIAL BIOLOGICAL MOLECULES,

288
00:14:41,814 --> 00:14:43,749
KNOWN AS AMINO ACIDS,

289
00:14:43,783 --> 00:14:47,487
IN THE DUST AND DEBRIS
OF OUTER SPACE.

290
00:14:47,520 --> 00:14:51,124
BUT THEY COULD BE
JUST THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG.

291
00:14:51,157 --> 00:14:52,792
SANDFORD’S SIMULATIONS

292
00:14:52,825 --> 00:14:56,729
HAVE PRODUCED AN INCREDIBLE
ARRAY OF ORGANIC MOLECULES,

293
00:14:56,796 --> 00:15:01,234
INCLUDING THOSE FOUND
IN DNA ITSELF.

294
00:15:01,267 --> 00:15:03,402
WITH THESE SIMPLE
BUILDING BLOCKS,

295
00:15:03,436 --> 00:15:06,973
ALL OF LIFE CAN BE CONSTRUCTED.

296
00:15:07,006 --> 00:15:09,008
McKay:
THINK OF LIKE A LEGO KIT--

297
00:15:09,041 --> 00:15:10,809
LITTLE TINY BLOCKS
THAT KIDS PLAY WITH,

298
00:15:10,843 --> 00:15:12,044
AND YOU STACK ’EM TOGETHER.

299
00:15:12,078 --> 00:15:13,746
THAT’S WHAT BIOLOGY DOES--

300
00:15:13,780 --> 00:15:18,184
MAKES WONDERFUL STRUCTURES
OUT OF THE SIMPLEST BLOCKS.

301
00:15:18,217 --> 00:15:20,386
Narrator: EVIDENCE
THAT LIFE’S BUILDING BLOCKS

302
00:15:20,420 --> 00:15:23,023
MAY BE COMMONPLACE
IN THE UNIVERSE

303
00:15:23,055 --> 00:15:25,157
HAS LED A NEW GENERATION
OF SCIENTISTS

304
00:15:25,291 --> 00:15:29,162
TO QUESTION THE UNIQUENESS
OF LIFE ON EARTH.

305
00:15:29,195 --> 00:15:32,198
Sandford: THE UNIVERSE SEEMS TO
BE SORT OF HARDWIRED TO PRODUCE

306
00:15:32,231 --> 00:15:37,770
ABUNDANT AMOUNTS OF VERY
COMPLEX ORGANIC MOLECULES.

307
00:15:37,804 --> 00:15:40,707
Oberg: IT REALLY DOES SEEM
LIKE THE UNIVERSE IS SET UP

308
00:15:40,740 --> 00:15:42,442
TO PRODUCE A RICH CHEMISTRY,

309
00:15:42,475 --> 00:15:45,044
TO PRODUCE THE KIND
OF ORGANIC MOLECULES

310
00:15:45,077 --> 00:15:47,479
THAT WE THINK ARE
SO IMPORTANT FOR LIFE.

311
00:15:49,048 --> 00:15:52,184
Narrator: BUT THE HOSTILE
ENVIRONMENT OF OUTER SPACE

312
00:15:52,218 --> 00:15:55,421
IS NO PLACE TO STICK
THE BUILDING BLOCKS TOGETHER.

313
00:15:55,455 --> 00:15:57,958
♪

314
00:15:58,057 --> 00:16:01,093
Oberg: STARLIGHT
IS ABSOLUTELY FUNDAMENTAL

315
00:16:01,127 --> 00:16:03,429
TO CREATE CHEMICAL COMPLEXITY.

316
00:16:03,463 --> 00:16:05,398
BUT IT’S REALLY
A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD.

317
00:16:05,431 --> 00:16:08,167
SO IT CAN PROMOTE
BOTH CREATION OF MOLECULES,

318
00:16:08,201 --> 00:16:11,004
BUT IT CAN ALSO DESTROY THEM.

319
00:16:11,037 --> 00:16:13,172
Narrator:
THE HIGH-ENERGY RADIATION

320
00:16:13,272 --> 00:16:14,874
EMITTED BY STARS

321
00:16:14,907 --> 00:16:19,145
CONTINUALLY DEVASTATES THE VERY
MOLECULES IT HELPED FORM.

322
00:16:19,178 --> 00:16:21,080
THE IRRADIATED
ENVIRONMENT OF SPACE

323
00:16:21,113 --> 00:16:22,648
IS TOO UNSTABLE

324
00:16:22,682 --> 00:16:24,717
FOR THE CHEMISTRY OF LIFE
TO CONTINUE.

325
00:16:27,086 --> 00:16:30,122
BUT BEGINNING
TEN BILLION YEARS AGO,

326
00:16:30,156 --> 00:16:33,726
AS CLOUDS SETTLED
AROUND NEWBORN STARS,

327
00:16:33,759 --> 00:16:35,828
OUT OF THE SWIRLING DUST,

328
00:16:35,862 --> 00:16:39,466
NEW SANCTUARIES
WOULD START TO FORM.

329
00:16:39,499 --> 00:16:50,143
♪

330
00:16:50,209 --> 00:16:53,679
[WHIRRING AND BEEPING]

331
00:16:53,713 --> 00:16:55,415
POWERFUL TELESCOPES

332
00:16:55,448 --> 00:16:59,886
ARE TRANSFORMING OUR KNOWLEDGE
OF YOUNG STAR SYSTEMS.

333
00:16:59,919 --> 00:17:02,321
[CLICKING AND WHIRRING]

334
00:17:02,421 --> 00:17:05,024
Oberg: WE HAVE A NEW SET
OF EYES IN THE SKY.

335
00:17:05,057 --> 00:17:08,127
WE HAVE THE ALMA TELESCOPE
DOWN IN CHILE,

336
00:17:08,227 --> 00:17:13,099
WHICH IS THIS AMAZING ARRAY
OF 66 TELESCOPES

337
00:17:13,199 --> 00:17:16,235
THAT’S WORKING IN UNISON.

338
00:17:16,269 --> 00:17:18,071
Narrator: THE ALMA ARRAY

339
00:17:18,104 --> 00:17:23,242
HAS A MAGNIFICATION TEN TIMES
THAT OF PREVIOUS TELESCOPES.

340
00:17:23,276 --> 00:17:27,180
ITS EXTRAORDINARY DEFINITION
ALLOWS US TO WITNESS

341
00:17:27,213 --> 00:17:31,384
HOW YOUNG STAR SYSTEMS
EVOLVE OVER TIME.

342
00:17:31,450 --> 00:17:35,721
♪

343
00:17:35,755 --> 00:17:40,727
ONE SUCH YOUNG STAR
IS TW HYDRAE...

344
00:17:40,760 --> 00:17:43,363
[BEEPING]

345
00:17:43,396 --> 00:17:47,233
LYING 175 LIGHT YEARS
AWAY FROM EARTH.

346
00:17:49,468 --> 00:17:52,738
ALMA’S POWER
MEANS WE CAN ACTUALLY SEE

347
00:17:52,772 --> 00:17:55,975
THE STAR’S DISC OF DUST

348
00:17:56,008 --> 00:17:59,011
AND HOW IT IS MARKED
BY CIRCULAR GROOVES.

349
00:18:02,148 --> 00:18:06,219
ASTRONOMERS BELIEVE THEY KNOW
WHAT GENERATES THEM.

350
00:18:06,252 --> 00:18:08,321
FROM THE MOMENT A DISC FORMS,

351
00:18:08,354 --> 00:18:12,124
DUST GRAINS ARE AGGREGATING
INTO LARGER PARTICLES,

352
00:18:12,158 --> 00:18:15,061
WHICH GRAVITY DRAWS TOGETHER.

353
00:18:15,094 --> 00:18:16,963
IN A FEW MILLION YEARS,

354
00:18:17,063 --> 00:18:19,432
SOME MASSIVE ACCRETIONS
OF DUST AND ICE

355
00:18:19,465 --> 00:18:22,268
ABSORB EVERYTHING
IN THEIR ORBITS,

356
00:18:22,301 --> 00:18:25,404
CLEARING PATHS THROUGH THE DUST.

357
00:18:25,438 --> 00:18:28,041
WE CALL THEM PLANETS.

358
00:18:28,074 --> 00:18:32,045
♪

359
00:18:32,078 --> 00:18:34,981
IN THE COLD OUTER ZONE
OF THE DISC,

360
00:18:35,014 --> 00:18:37,450
GAS AND ICE GIANTS FORM.

361
00:18:37,483 --> 00:18:40,419
LIKE JUPITER AND SATURN
IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM,

362
00:18:40,453 --> 00:18:44,057
THEIR CORES ARE MOLDED
FROM ICY DUST,

363
00:18:44,090 --> 00:18:46,960
AND THEY ARE SMOTHERED IN
THE HYDROGEN AND HELIUM

364
00:18:46,993 --> 00:18:50,129
THEY DRAW IN
FROM THE SURROUNDING DISC.

365
00:18:50,162 --> 00:18:52,564
THEY ARE HOSTILE PLACES.

366
00:18:53,599 --> 00:18:55,768
BUT CLOSER TO THE HOT STAR,

367
00:18:55,801 --> 00:18:58,137
WHERE ITS RAYS
HAVE COOKED THE DUST

368
00:18:58,170 --> 00:19:01,073
AND BLOWN AWAY
THE SURROUNDING GAS,

369
00:19:01,140 --> 00:19:05,478
ANOTHER TYPE OF PLANET CAN FORM
FROM THE REMAINING DEBRIS.

370
00:19:05,511 --> 00:19:09,749
♪

371
00:19:09,782 --> 00:19:13,252
WE CALL THEM ROCKY PLANETS.

372
00:19:13,285 --> 00:19:16,455
FREED FROM THE SMOTHERING GASES
OF THE DISC,

373
00:19:16,489 --> 00:19:21,561
ROCKY PLANETS CAN FORM
THEIR OWN ATMOSPHERES...

374
00:19:21,594 --> 00:19:26,432
FROM GASES LEACHED
FROM THEIR OWN ROCKS.

375
00:19:26,465 --> 00:19:29,168
IT CAN LET HEAT
DOWN TO THE SURFACE

376
00:19:29,201 --> 00:19:34,473
BUT PROTECT IT FROM THE WORST
OF THE STELLAR RADIATION.

377
00:19:34,507 --> 00:19:37,744
AND IF THEY ARE JUST THE RIGHT
DISTANCE FROM THEIR STAR,

378
00:19:37,777 --> 00:19:40,246
SOMETHING SPECIAL CAN HAPPEN.

379
00:19:40,279 --> 00:19:43,048
♪

380
00:19:43,082 --> 00:19:46,152
WATER CAN BECOME LIQUID.

381
00:19:46,185 --> 00:19:51,957
BY CHANCE, THE UNIVERSE HAS
CREATED THE PERFECT ENVIRONMENT

382
00:19:52,058 --> 00:19:56,362
FOR A MORE GENTLE CHEMISTRY
TO TAKE PLACE.

383
00:19:56,395 --> 00:19:59,031
McKay:
FROM THE BIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE,

384
00:19:59,065 --> 00:20:01,067
WHY PLANETS ARE SO USEFUL

385
00:20:01,100 --> 00:20:03,903
IS BECAUSE THEY ALLOW WATER
TO BECOME LIQUID.

386
00:20:03,936 --> 00:20:04,970
IT REALLY IS THAT SIMPLE.

387
00:20:05,104 --> 00:20:07,006
PLANETS ALLOW FOR LIQUID WATER,

388
00:20:07,039 --> 00:20:08,841
LIQUID WATER ALLOWS FOR LIFE.

389
00:20:08,874 --> 00:20:09,675
[THUNDER]

390
00:20:09,709 --> 00:20:12,145
Narrator: BUT MYSTERIES REMAIN.

391
00:20:12,178 --> 00:20:15,114
HOW COULD OCEANS OF WATER
REACH THE SURFACE?

392
00:20:15,147 --> 00:20:19,051
AND HOW COULD CHEMISTRY
BECOME BIOLOGY?

393
00:20:19,085 --> 00:20:25,992
[THUNDER]

394
00:20:28,394 --> 00:20:30,730
FOUR BILLION YEARS AGO,

395
00:20:30,796 --> 00:20:33,966
OUR SOLAR SYSTEM
WAS IN ITS INFANCY.

396
00:20:34,066 --> 00:20:35,234
BUT SOMETHING WAS HAPPENING

397
00:20:35,267 --> 00:20:39,138
ON A ROCKY PLANET
CLOSE TO THE SUN.

398
00:20:39,171 --> 00:20:43,409
THE EARTH WAS BECOMING
A WATER WORLD.

399
00:20:43,442 --> 00:20:46,211
♪

400
00:20:46,245 --> 00:20:49,215
THIS CRUCIAL CHANGE
WOULD MAKE HER

401
00:20:49,248 --> 00:20:52,318
A SANCTUARY FOR LIFE.

402
00:20:52,351 --> 00:20:56,288
Oberg: LIQUID WATER IS
ABSOLUTELY CRUCIAL FOR LIFE.

403
00:20:56,322 --> 00:21:00,359
IT IS AMAZING, THE NUMBER
OF ELEMENTS AND MOLECULES

404
00:21:00,392 --> 00:21:02,160
THAT CAN BECOME DISSOLVED

405
00:21:02,194 --> 00:21:05,097
AND THEREFORE REACT TO FORM
MORE COMPLEX MOLECULES.

406
00:21:05,264 --> 00:21:06,665
Narrator: THE EARTH’S ORBIT

407
00:21:06,899 --> 00:21:10,436
LIES IN WHAT SCIENTISTS REFER TO
AS "THE GOLDILOCKS ZONE,"

408
00:21:10,469 --> 00:21:12,204
A DISTANCE FROM OUR SUN

409
00:21:12,238 --> 00:21:14,407
WHERE THE TEMPERATURE
IS JUST RIGHT

410
00:21:14,507 --> 00:21:18,745
FOR LIQUID WATER
TO POOL ON HER SURFACE.

411
00:21:18,778 --> 00:21:21,080
BUT THERE IS A MYSTERY.

412
00:21:21,113 --> 00:21:23,282
SOME BELIEVE GOLDILOCKS PLANETS

413
00:21:23,315 --> 00:21:28,620
SHOULD LACK THE RESOURCES
TO FILL THEIR OWN OCEANS.

414
00:21:28,654 --> 00:21:32,291
Oberg: THE PROBLEM WITH FORMING
IN THE GOLDILOCKS ZONE

415
00:21:32,324 --> 00:21:35,127
IS THAT YOU’RE FORMING
TOO CLOSE TO THE STAR

416
00:21:35,161 --> 00:21:37,630
TO FORM FROM ICY GRAINS.

417
00:21:37,663 --> 00:21:41,567
AND THAT MEANS
THAT YOU FORM DRY.

418
00:21:41,600 --> 00:21:46,238
WE SEE AN EARTH THAT HAS LARGE
AMOUNTS OF WATER ON THE SURFACE.

419
00:21:46,272 --> 00:21:47,406
SO THE QUESTION IS

420
00:21:47,439 --> 00:21:50,976
WHERE DID ALL THAT WATER
COME FROM?

421
00:21:51,076 --> 00:21:54,680
Narrator: THE ANSWER
MAY LIE IN THE HEAVENS.

422
00:21:54,713 --> 00:21:56,315
THEN, AS NOW,

423
00:21:56,348 --> 00:21:59,451
THE SOLAR SYSTEM WAS FILLED
WITH ASTEROIDS AND COMETS,

424
00:21:59,485 --> 00:22:01,520
FORMED ALONGSIDE THE PLANETS

425
00:22:01,620 --> 00:22:05,290
FROM THE SAME
ICY GRAINS OF DUST.

426
00:22:05,324 --> 00:22:08,627
BUT IT’S BELIEVED
THAT FOUR BILLION YEARS AGO

427
00:22:08,661 --> 00:22:11,464
THE SOLAR SYSTEM WAS UNSTABLE.

428
00:22:11,497 --> 00:22:15,101
SOME GAS GIANTS
MIGRATED IN THEIR ORBITS,

429
00:22:15,134 --> 00:22:16,669
THE GRAVITATIONAL PULL

430
00:22:16,702 --> 00:22:19,371
DISTURBING MILLIONS
OF THESE PROJECTILES,

431
00:22:19,505 --> 00:22:22,308
HURLING SOME TOWARDS THE EARTH.

432
00:22:22,341 --> 00:22:24,710
♪

433
00:22:24,743 --> 00:22:29,481
THESE ICY ROCKS COULD HAVE
DELIVERED MORE THAN ENOUGH WATER

434
00:22:29,515 --> 00:22:32,051
TO FILL THE OCEANS.

435
00:22:32,084 --> 00:22:35,955
[RUMBLING]

436
00:22:35,988 --> 00:22:38,557
Oberg:
HAVING AN EARLY INSTABILITY

437
00:22:38,624 --> 00:22:40,392
IN YOUR PLANETARY SYSTEM

438
00:22:40,426 --> 00:22:43,562
AND PLANETS MOVING AROUND,
STIRRING THINGS UP,

439
00:22:43,596 --> 00:22:46,365
MIGHT BE VERY IMPORTANT
TO DELIVER WATER

440
00:22:46,465 --> 00:22:49,668
TO OTHERWISE DRY, ROCKY PLANETS.

441
00:22:49,702 --> 00:22:51,637
AND I THINK FROM
A CHEMISTRY POINT OF VIEW,

442
00:22:51,670 --> 00:22:54,339
WHAT’S REALLY
INTERESTING ABOUT THAT

443
00:22:54,373 --> 00:22:57,142
IS THAT THE WATER
DID NOT COME ALONE.

444
00:22:57,176 --> 00:23:01,213
Narrator: BURIED IN THEIR ICE
WERE ORGANIC MOLECULES--

445
00:23:01,247 --> 00:23:03,516
THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF LIFE.

446
00:23:03,549 --> 00:23:07,453
WHEN ORGANIC MOLECULES
ENCOUNTERED LIQUID WATER,

447
00:23:07,486 --> 00:23:09,655
MIRACLES COULD HAPPEN.

448
00:23:09,688 --> 00:23:14,526
♪

449
00:23:14,560 --> 00:23:20,232
HIGH IN THE MOUNTAINS OF CHILE
LIES EL TATIO,

450
00:23:20,266 --> 00:23:23,336
A VOLCANIC GEYSER FIELD.

451
00:23:23,369 --> 00:23:26,339
DR. MARIA EUGENIA FARIAS

452
00:23:26,372 --> 00:23:30,643
IS AN EXPERT
IN THIS UNIQUE ECOSYSTEM.

453
00:23:30,809 --> 00:23:33,312
Maria Eugenia Farias:
TATIO IS A BEAUTIFUL PLACE,

454
00:23:33,345 --> 00:23:36,715
BUT ALSO IT IS LIKE
A TIME MACHINE.

455
00:23:36,749 --> 00:23:39,018
THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT PLACE

456
00:23:39,051 --> 00:23:41,120
TO STUDY
THE EARLY EARTH CONDITIONS.

457
00:23:41,153 --> 00:23:46,392
BECAUSE HERE WE ARE OVER
4,000 METERS OVER THE SEA LEVEL,

458
00:23:46,425 --> 00:23:48,761
HERE THERE IS A LOT
OF UV RADIATION,

459
00:23:48,794 --> 00:23:50,529
AND WE HAVE THESE GEYSERS

460
00:23:50,596 --> 00:23:52,731
PRODUCED BECAUSE
OF VOLCANIC ACTIVITY.

461
00:23:52,765 --> 00:23:56,302
THOSE ARE SIMILAR CONDITIONS
TO THE EARLY EARTH.

462
00:23:56,335 --> 00:23:59,271
♪

463
00:23:59,305 --> 00:24:01,207
Narrator:
FOUR BILLION YEARS AGO

464
00:24:01,240 --> 00:24:02,742
THE SURFACE OF THE YOUNG EARTH

465
00:24:02,775 --> 00:24:07,113
WAS ALIVE
WITH VOLCANIC ACTIVITY.

466
00:24:07,146 --> 00:24:11,684
ORGANIC MOLECULES OF CARBON,
HYDROGEN, NITROGEN, AND OXYGEN

467
00:24:11,717 --> 00:24:14,687
MIX WITH TRACES
OF PHOSPHORUS, SULFUR,

468
00:24:14,787 --> 00:24:18,424
AND OTHER MINERALS
BLED FROM THE HOT ROCKS.

469
00:24:18,457 --> 00:24:22,094
THIS INHOSPITABLE
COCKTAIL OF CHEMISTRY

470
00:24:22,194 --> 00:24:26,331
IS READY TO TRANSFORM
THE UNIVERSE.

471
00:24:26,365 --> 00:24:30,302
Farias: IN PLACES LIKE THIS,
CHEMISTRY BECAME BIOLOGY.

472
00:24:31,837 --> 00:24:34,139
Narrator:
BUT JUST HOW IT HAPPENED

473
00:24:34,173 --> 00:24:37,009
REMAINS A MYSTERY.

474
00:24:37,042 --> 00:24:41,413
McKay: WE UNDERSTAND LIFE
FROM BIOLOGY LOOKING DOWN.

475
00:24:41,513 --> 00:24:45,550
AND WE UNDERSTAND LIFE
FROM CHEMISTRY LOOKING UP.

476
00:24:45,584 --> 00:24:48,587
BUT WE HAVEN’T YET GOT
THOSE TWO ENDS TO MEET.

477
00:24:48,620 --> 00:24:50,155
THERE’S STILL
A GAP IN THE MIDDLE

478
00:24:50,255 --> 00:24:52,124
CALLED "THE ORIGIN OF LIFE."

479
00:24:52,257 --> 00:24:56,595
♪

480
00:24:56,628 --> 00:24:58,597
Narrator: CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND.

481
00:25:01,266 --> 00:25:04,603
IN THE LABORATORIES
OF THE MEDICAL RESEARCH COUNCIL,

482
00:25:04,670 --> 00:25:11,010
DR. JOHN SUTHERLAND LEADS A TEAM
DEDICATED TO CLOSING THAT GAP.

483
00:25:11,143 --> 00:25:13,112
John Sutherland:
LIFE MUST COME FROM CHEMISTRY.

484
00:25:13,145 --> 00:25:15,114
IT MUST BE POSSIBLE TO PRODUCE
LIFE FROM CHEMISTRY.

485
00:25:15,147 --> 00:25:17,650
AND WE SHOULD BE ABLE
TO RECREATE THAT PROCESS

486
00:25:17,750 --> 00:25:19,118
IN A LABORATORY.

487
00:25:19,284 --> 00:25:20,719
Narrator:
SCIENTISTS LIKE DR. SUTHERLAND

488
00:25:20,819 --> 00:25:23,655
BELIEVE THAT THE SECRET
TO THE ORIGIN OF LIFE

489
00:25:23,689 --> 00:25:25,291
AND ITS EVOLUTION

490
00:25:25,324 --> 00:25:28,093
LIES WITH A CERTAIN
FRAGILE, FLEXIBLE,

491
00:25:28,127 --> 00:25:30,229
SELF-REPLICATING MOLECULE

492
00:25:30,329 --> 00:25:32,832
CALLED RIBONUCLEIC ACID,

493
00:25:32,865 --> 00:25:35,301
OR RNA.

494
00:25:35,334 --> 00:25:37,169
Sutherland:
DNA BEARS ALL THE HALLMARKS

495
00:25:37,202 --> 00:25:39,538
OF BEING THE PRODUCT
OF EVOLUTION,

496
00:25:39,571 --> 00:25:41,206
ITS ANCESTOR BEING RNA.

497
00:25:41,340 --> 00:25:45,978
AND RNA LOOKS TO US
LIKE THE PRODUCT OF CHEMISTRY.

498
00:25:46,078 --> 00:25:48,180
Narrator:
THE LARGE RNA MOLECULE

499
00:25:48,213 --> 00:25:53,518
NATURALLY SELF-ASSEMBLES FROM
MUCH SIMPLER MOLECULAR RUNGS.

500
00:25:53,585 --> 00:25:55,020
BUT FOR YEARS,

501
00:25:55,054 --> 00:25:56,989
SUTHERLAND’S TEAM
HAVE TRIED TO DETERMINE

502
00:25:57,089 --> 00:26:00,359
HOW AN ANCIENT
PREBIOTIC CHEMICAL SOUP

503
00:26:00,459 --> 00:26:03,329
COULD NATURALLY
GENERATE RNA RUNGS

504
00:26:03,362 --> 00:26:06,265
FROM EVEN SIMPLER MOLECULES.

505
00:26:06,298 --> 00:26:09,334
FINDING THE CORRECT BALANCE
OF CHEMICAL INGREDIENTS,

506
00:26:09,368 --> 00:26:11,604
TEMPERATURES,
AND RADIATION LEVELS

507
00:26:11,737 --> 00:26:14,440
REMAINS A CHALLENGE.

508
00:26:14,473 --> 00:26:15,741
BUT SUTHERLAND BELIEVES

509
00:26:15,774 --> 00:26:18,443
THAT AT THE HEART
OF THE KEY REACTIONS

510
00:26:18,477 --> 00:26:20,412
LIES ONE MOLECULE--

511
00:26:20,446 --> 00:26:22,581
HYDROGEN CYANIDE.

512
00:26:24,616 --> 00:26:27,752
Sutherland: HYDROGEN CYANIDE
HAS CERTAIN CHEMICAL PROPERTIES

513
00:26:27,786 --> 00:26:30,055
WHICH ARE HIGHLY CONDUCIVE

514
00:26:30,155 --> 00:26:33,058
TO PRODUCE
MORE COMPLEX STRUCTURES.

515
00:26:33,092 --> 00:26:34,193
Narrator: THE PROBLEM IS

516
00:26:34,226 --> 00:26:36,261
THAT TO FORM
ENOUGH HYDROGEN CYANIDE

517
00:26:36,361 --> 00:26:39,164
REQUIRES A HUGE BURST OF ENERGY,

518
00:26:39,198 --> 00:26:43,335
EQUIVALENT TO AN ENDLESS
LIGHTNING STORM.

519
00:26:43,368 --> 00:26:46,338
THIS HAD LONG BEEN THOUGHT
UNREALISTIC.

520
00:26:46,371 --> 00:26:49,074
BUT THE TEAM
HAS RECENTLY DISCOVERED

521
00:26:49,108 --> 00:26:53,045
THE ANSWER MAY LIE
BEYOND THE CLOUDS,

522
00:26:53,078 --> 00:26:57,816
IN ANOTHER GIFT
FROM OUTER SPACE.

523
00:27:00,752 --> 00:27:04,356
IN THEIR SEARCH FOR THE ORIGINS
OF LIFE ON EARTH,

524
00:27:04,523 --> 00:27:06,658
SOME SCIENTISTS NOW BELIEVE

525
00:27:06,692 --> 00:27:10,729
VITAL CHEMICAL REACTIONS
ON THE SURFACE

526
00:27:10,762 --> 00:27:14,165
MAY HAVE BEEN TRIGGERED
BY METEOR STRIKES

527
00:27:14,199 --> 00:27:17,602
THAT WERE COMMONPLACE EVENTS
FOUR BILLION YEARS AGO.

528
00:27:17,636 --> 00:27:19,304
[EXPLOSION]

529
00:27:19,338 --> 00:27:21,640
NEW EXPERIMENTS
HAVE DEMONSTRATED

530
00:27:21,740 --> 00:27:25,410
THAT WHEN THE LARGEST METEORS
VAPORIZE ON IMPACT,

531
00:27:25,444 --> 00:27:26,879
THE INCREDIBLE TEMPERATURES

532
00:27:26,912 --> 00:27:29,348
GENERATE
A HIGH-ENERGY CHEMISTRY,

533
00:27:29,381 --> 00:27:34,019
CREATING HUGE QUANTITIES
OF A KEY REACTIVE MOLECULE--

534
00:27:34,052 --> 00:27:36,388
HYDROGEN CYANIDE--

535
00:27:36,421 --> 00:27:38,657
WHILE THE IMPACT CRATER

536
00:27:38,757 --> 00:27:42,327
FORMS THE PERFECT HYDROTHERMAL
VOLCANIC ENVIRONMENT

537
00:27:42,361 --> 00:27:45,731
FOR ORGANIC CHEMISTRY.

538
00:27:45,764 --> 00:27:48,100
♪

539
00:27:48,133 --> 00:27:50,535
WHEN JOHN SUTHERLAND’S
TEAM IN ENGLAND

540
00:27:50,636 --> 00:27:53,739
RECENTLY SIMULATED
THIS CHEMICAL SCENARIO,

541
00:27:53,772 --> 00:27:56,541
THE INGREDIENTS
SPONTANEOUSLY PRODUCED

542
00:27:56,575 --> 00:28:00,045
MANY KEY MOLECULES THEY HAD
BEEN STRUGGLING TO FORM.

543
00:28:00,078 --> 00:28:03,048
♪

544
00:28:03,081 --> 00:28:05,116
Sutherland: WE WERE
LITERALLY GOBSMACKED

545
00:28:05,217 --> 00:28:06,485
AT THE RESULTS WE GOT.

546
00:28:06,518 --> 00:28:08,687
IT COULD BE THAT LIFE STARTS

547
00:28:08,720 --> 00:28:12,991
AS A RESULT OF REALLY AGGRESSIVE
EVENTS TAKING PLACE

548
00:28:13,058 --> 00:28:14,726
IN THE EARLY
SOLAR SYSTEM HISTORY.

549
00:28:14,826 --> 00:28:18,363
THESE INCESSANT IMPACTS
WERE ACTUALLY GIVING RISE

550
00:28:18,397 --> 00:28:21,467
TO A VERY, VERY
INTERESTING CHEMISTRY

551
00:28:21,500 --> 00:28:23,002
THAT WOULD ULTIMATELY GIVE RISE

552
00:28:23,035 --> 00:28:25,004
TO THE MOLECULES
REQUIRED FOR LIFE

553
00:28:25,037 --> 00:28:26,405
AND LIFE ITSELF.

554
00:28:28,507 --> 00:28:31,543
Narrator: IT LOOKED LIKE THEY
MIGHT HAVE HIT UPON THE PROCESS

555
00:28:31,577 --> 00:28:35,614
THAT HAD GENERATED
THE FIRST RNA MOLECULES.

556
00:28:38,850 --> 00:28:44,522
THE EVIDENCE IS COMPELLING,
BUT THE PROOF REMAINS ELUSIVE.

557
00:28:44,556 --> 00:28:46,992
WHAT WE DO KNOW
IS THAT AT SOME STAGE

558
00:28:47,025 --> 00:28:51,363
BETWEEN 4 BILLION
AND 3.5 BILLION YEARS AGO,

559
00:28:51,396 --> 00:28:55,066
SINGLE-CELLED ORGANISMS,
THE SIMPLEST FORM OF LIFE,

560
00:28:55,100 --> 00:28:57,269
EVOLVED FROM THE CHEMICAL SOUP

561
00:28:57,302 --> 00:28:59,204
AND GAINED A FOOTHOLD,

562
00:28:59,304 --> 00:29:01,306
SUCCESSIVE GENERATIONS

563
00:29:01,340 --> 00:29:05,344
BECOMING INCREASINGLY
ROBUST AND ADAPTIVE.

564
00:29:07,412 --> 00:29:10,849
THE VOLCANIC STREAMS
OF EL TATIO

565
00:29:10,882 --> 00:29:13,418
ARE SOME OF THE MOST
INHOSPITABLE ENVIRONMENTS

566
00:29:13,452 --> 00:29:15,454
ON THE PLANET.

567
00:29:15,487 --> 00:29:17,189
BUT EVEN HERE,

568
00:29:17,222 --> 00:29:21,026
THESE SIMPLE FORMS OF LIFE
CAN THRIVE.

569
00:29:21,059 --> 00:29:23,461
Farias: I LOVE BACTERIA.
THEY ARE AMAZING.

570
00:29:23,495 --> 00:29:25,464
THEY ARE SO SIMPLE,

571
00:29:25,497 --> 00:29:28,200
AND THIS IS
THEIR MAIN ADVANTAGE.

572
00:29:28,233 --> 00:29:31,269
BECAUSE IF YOU ARE SIMPLE,
YOU CAN ADAPT QUICKLY,

573
00:29:31,303 --> 00:29:34,273
AND YOU CAN LIVE IN THESE
EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS.

574
00:29:34,306 --> 00:29:38,110
YOU CAN SEE
YELLOW, GREEN, PINK.

575
00:29:38,143 --> 00:29:41,647
ALL ARE SURVIVING
AT HIGH TEMPERATURE,

576
00:29:41,680 --> 00:29:43,615
HIGH UV RADIATION.

577
00:29:43,649 --> 00:29:47,620
AND, IN FACT,
THEY ARE MAKING STONES,

578
00:29:47,653 --> 00:29:53,526
JUST IN THE SAME WAY THEY DID
3.5 BILLIONS OF YEARS AGO.

579
00:29:53,558 --> 00:29:55,026
Narrator: OVER TIME,

580
00:29:55,060 --> 00:29:58,363
THE MINERAL EXCRETIONS
FROM MATS OF BACTERIA

581
00:29:58,397 --> 00:30:01,734
CAN FORM DISTINCTIVE
STONY STRUCTURES--

582
00:30:01,767 --> 00:30:04,303
STROMATOLITES.

583
00:30:04,336 --> 00:30:08,540
3.7 BILLION-YEAR-OLD
FOSSILIZED STROMATOLITES

584
00:30:08,674 --> 00:30:12,411
ARE THE EARLIEST RECORD
OF LIFE ON EARTH.

585
00:30:12,444 --> 00:30:14,146
BUT MICROBE-MADE STRUCTURES

586
00:30:14,246 --> 00:30:18,784
MAY ALSO HAVE LEFT
A RECORD OF LIFE ON MARS.

587
00:30:18,817 --> 00:30:29,561
♪

588
00:30:29,594 --> 00:30:31,663
FOR OVER A DECADE,

589
00:30:31,697 --> 00:30:33,165
NASA’S MARS ROVERS

590
00:30:33,198 --> 00:30:36,601
HAVE BEEN EXPLORING
THE RED PLANET.

591
00:30:36,635 --> 00:30:40,873
NEW OBSERVATIONS HAVE NOTED
REMARKABLE SIMILARITIES

592
00:30:40,906 --> 00:30:44,443
BETWEEN EL TATIO’S
GEYSER FIELD STROMATOLITES

593
00:30:44,476 --> 00:30:48,613
AND ROCK FORMATIONS PHOTOGRAPHED
BY THE MARS SPIRIT ROVER.

594
00:30:48,647 --> 00:30:55,521
♪

595
00:30:55,620 --> 00:30:58,389
THESE APPEAR TO SUPPORT THE IDEA

596
00:30:58,423 --> 00:31:00,692
THAT FOUR BILLION YEARS AGO

597
00:31:00,726 --> 00:31:04,597
THERE WERE TWO LIVING PLANETS
IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.

598
00:31:04,629 --> 00:31:09,033
McKay: I DON’T SEE WHY LIFE
WOULDN’T HAVE STARTED ON MARS.

599
00:31:09,067 --> 00:31:11,736
EARLY EARTH, EARLY MARS
ARE VERY SIMILAR.

600
00:31:11,837 --> 00:31:14,206
AND THEY’RE SIMILAR
DURING THE TIME

601
00:31:14,239 --> 00:31:16,141
WHEN WE KNOW LIFE
FIRST APPEARS ON EARTH.

602
00:31:16,174 --> 00:31:18,043
THE MOST IMPORTANT
FEATURE OF EARTH

603
00:31:18,076 --> 00:31:20,045
IS THAT IT HAS LIQUID WATER.

604
00:31:20,078 --> 00:31:22,681
THE MOST CLEAR EVIDENCE
WE HAVE OF EARLY MARS

605
00:31:22,814 --> 00:31:25,350
IS THAT IT HAD LIQUID WATER.

606
00:31:25,384 --> 00:31:28,020
♪

607
00:31:28,053 --> 00:31:30,088
SO WHATEVER YOU FANCY
IS NECESSARY

608
00:31:30,188 --> 00:31:32,023
FOR THE ORIGIN OF LIFE ON EARTH,

609
00:31:32,057 --> 00:31:34,393
MARS WOULD HAVE HAD
THE SAME ENVIRONMENTS.

610
00:31:34,426 --> 00:31:39,064
♪

611
00:31:39,097 --> 00:31:42,667
Narrator: BUT TODAY,
MARS IS COLD AND DRY.

612
00:31:45,370 --> 00:31:50,342
WATER PREDOMINANTLY EXISTS
IN THE POLES AS ICE.

613
00:31:50,375 --> 00:31:54,045
SO WHAT HAPPENED TO HER OCEANS?

614
00:31:54,079 --> 00:31:56,582
A CLUE LIES IN HER ATMOSPHERE.

615
00:31:56,681 --> 00:32:01,553
IT’S A HUNDRED TIMES THINNER
THAN THAT OF EARTH.

616
00:32:01,586 --> 00:32:03,121
McKay: THE THICKNESS
OF THE ATMOSPHERE

617
00:32:03,155 --> 00:32:04,590
IS LIKE A SWITCH.

618
00:32:04,623 --> 00:32:06,792
IF IT FALLS
BELOW A CERTAIN LEVEL,

619
00:32:06,825 --> 00:32:08,260
WATER WILL NOT STAY AS LIQUID;

620
00:32:08,360 --> 00:32:09,294
IT WILL JUST BOIL.

621
00:32:09,728 --> 00:32:11,563
♪

622
00:32:11,596 --> 00:32:15,500
Narrator: SOMETHING DESTROYED
THE ATMOSPHERE OF MARS.

623
00:32:17,335 --> 00:32:21,239
MANY BELIEVE THE CULPRIT
WAS THE SUN.

624
00:32:21,273 --> 00:32:24,243
♪

625
00:32:24,276 --> 00:32:28,514
ALONGSIDE LIGHT AND HEAT,
OUR STAR RADIATES

626
00:32:28,547 --> 00:32:32,451
INVISIBLE WAVES
OF SUB-ATOMIC CHARGED PARTICLES,

627
00:32:32,484 --> 00:32:34,486
CAPABLE OF IMMENSE DESTRUCTION.

628
00:32:37,055 --> 00:32:41,326
WE CALL THIS THE SOLAR WIND.

629
00:32:41,359 --> 00:32:42,861
Drake: THE SOLAR WIND

630
00:32:42,894 --> 00:32:44,963
IS ESSENTIALLY THE VERY
OUTER ATMOSPHERE OF THE SUN

631
00:32:45,063 --> 00:32:47,198
THAT’S JUST FLUNG OUT INTO SPACE

632
00:32:47,232 --> 00:32:50,368
WITH ENERGY GENERATED
FROM MAGNETIC FIELDS.

633
00:32:50,402 --> 00:32:52,671
IT IS GOING FROM
500 KILOMETERS A SECOND

634
00:32:52,704 --> 00:32:54,639
TO A THOUSAND KILOMETERS
A SECOND.

635
00:32:54,673 --> 00:32:56,175
WHEN IT IMPACTS A PLANET,

636
00:32:56,208 --> 00:32:58,310
THAT’S GONNA HAVE
SOME EROSION POWER

637
00:32:58,443 --> 00:33:00,545
ON THE PLANETARY ATMOSPHERE.

638
00:33:00,579 --> 00:33:03,182
Narrator:
FOUR BILLION YEARS AGO,

639
00:33:03,215 --> 00:33:07,086
EVEN AS MARS’ OCEANS
WERE TAKING HOLD...

640
00:33:07,118 --> 00:33:09,320
THE PARTICLES OF THE SOLAR WIND

641
00:33:09,354 --> 00:33:13,592
WERE SMASHING INTO THE GASES
OF HER ATMOSPHERE.

642
00:33:13,625 --> 00:33:18,263
OVER HALF A BILLION YEARS,
THEY SCOURED IT AWAY,

643
00:33:18,296 --> 00:33:23,134
AND THE PLANET’S OCEANS
EVAPORATED INTO SPACE.

644
00:33:23,168 --> 00:33:26,605
THIS POSES A BIG QUESTION.

645
00:33:26,638 --> 00:33:30,242
HOW DID LIFE ON EARTH SURVIVE?

646
00:33:30,275 --> 00:33:33,278
♪

647
00:33:33,311 --> 00:33:36,080
LIKE ALL STARS IN THE UNIVERSE,

648
00:33:36,114 --> 00:33:38,650
OUR SUN CONTINUALLY SPRAYS OUT

649
00:33:38,683 --> 00:33:43,488
A STELLAR WIND
OF CHARGED PARTICLES.

650
00:33:43,522 --> 00:33:45,290
BILLIONS OF YEARS AGO,

651
00:33:45,323 --> 00:33:50,261
ITS CONSTANT SCOURING DESTROYED
THE ATMOSPHERE ON MARS,

652
00:33:50,295 --> 00:33:54,366
ENDING ANY CHANCE OF LIFE
DEVELOPING ON ITS SURFACE,

653
00:33:54,466 --> 00:33:56,401
WHICH POSES THE QUESTION,

654
00:33:56,434 --> 00:34:00,705
HOW DID LIFE ON EARTH
SURVIVE ITS ONSLAUGHT?

655
00:34:00,739 --> 00:34:03,075
♪

656
00:34:03,108 --> 00:34:07,479
THE ISLAND OF SVALBARD,
HIGH IN THE ARCTIC CIRCLE.

657
00:34:07,512 --> 00:34:11,182
♪

658
00:34:11,283 --> 00:34:14,653
DR. LISA BADDELEY
IS HEADING TO THE OFFICE.

659
00:34:14,686 --> 00:34:22,360
♪

660
00:34:22,394 --> 00:34:24,496
Lisa Baddeley: WE ARE ABOUT
A THOUSAND KILOMETERS

661
00:34:24,663 --> 00:34:26,331
SOUTH OF THE NORTH POLE.

662
00:34:26,364 --> 00:34:28,466
IT CAN GET
QUITE DIFFICULT SOMETIMES

663
00:34:28,500 --> 00:34:31,737
WHEN, YOU KNOW,
IT’S MINUS 40 DEGREES.

664
00:34:31,803 --> 00:34:34,272
AND THEN SOMETIMES YOU CAN GET
A COMPLETE WHITE-OUT.

665
00:34:34,306 --> 00:34:38,343
SO, YOU KNOW, I HAVE TO RELY
COMPLETELY ON THE GPS UNIT.

666
00:34:38,376 --> 00:34:40,378
Narrator:
LISA BRAVES THE CONDITIONS

667
00:34:40,412 --> 00:34:42,714
BECAUSE THIS IS
THE BEST LOCATION

668
00:34:42,747 --> 00:34:45,650
TO STUDY A UNIQUE SPECTACLE

669
00:34:45,684 --> 00:34:49,555
VISIBLE FROM JUST
A FEW POINTS ON EARTH.

670
00:34:49,588 --> 00:34:51,990
Baddeley:
AND HERE WE ARE.

671
00:34:52,023 --> 00:34:54,225
Narrator:
SHE’S HERE TO WITNESS A BATTLE

672
00:34:54,259 --> 00:34:57,262
BETWEEN OUR PLANET AND OUR STAR.

673
00:34:57,295 --> 00:35:02,867
♪

674
00:35:02,901 --> 00:35:04,369
Baddeley: WELL, YOU MAY NOTICE

675
00:35:04,402 --> 00:35:05,770
THAT WE’VE GOT THE DOMES
AND THE CAMERAS

676
00:35:05,804 --> 00:35:07,539
ARE ALL POINTING UPWARDS.

677
00:35:07,572 --> 00:35:09,841
SO WE’RE HERE TO STUDY
A VERY UNIQUE PHENOMENA

678
00:35:09,874 --> 00:35:11,876
THAT WE SEE IN THE SKY OVERHEAD.

679
00:35:14,379 --> 00:35:16,848
Narrator:
IN THE HIGH ATMOSPHERE ABOVE,

680
00:35:16,881 --> 00:35:18,683
THE CONFLICT PLAYS OUT,

681
00:35:18,717 --> 00:35:24,089
24 HOURS A DAY, 365 DAYS A YEAR.

682
00:35:24,122 --> 00:35:27,359
THE CORE OF THE EARTH
IS MOLTEN IRON.

683
00:35:27,392 --> 00:35:28,960
AS THE CORE ROTATES,

684
00:35:28,994 --> 00:35:32,164
IT GENERATES
A POWERFUL MAGNETIC FIELD.

685
00:35:33,365 --> 00:35:36,201
THIS CREATES
A PROTECTIVE BUBBLE,

686
00:35:36,234 --> 00:35:39,537
DIVERTING THE CHARGED PARTICLES
OF THE SOLAR WIND

687
00:35:39,638 --> 00:35:42,174
AWAY FROM THE ATMOSPHERE.

688
00:35:42,207 --> 00:35:44,409
THE BATTLE IS CONTINUOUS.

689
00:35:44,442 --> 00:35:48,079
BUT THE PROTECTIVE EFFECT
IS WEAKEST NEAR THE POLES,

690
00:35:48,113 --> 00:35:52,150
AND SOME PARTICLES
SHOOT THROUGH...

691
00:35:52,183 --> 00:35:55,620
TO IMPACT ATOMS
IN THE ATMOSPHERE,

692
00:35:55,654 --> 00:35:58,957
CREATING ONE OF
THE GREATEST SHOWS ON EARTH--

693
00:35:59,124 --> 00:36:01,193
THE AURORA BOREALIS.

694
00:36:01,292 --> 00:36:08,599
♪

695
00:36:08,633 --> 00:36:10,702
Baddeley:
WHEN THE WHOLE SKY IS LIT UP

696
00:36:10,735 --> 00:36:12,437
GREEN AND RED AND DANCING,

697
00:36:12,470 --> 00:36:15,239
YOU CAN SIT OUT THERE FOR HOURS
WITHOUT REALIZING.

698
00:36:15,273 --> 00:36:16,674
IT’S AN AMAZING THING TO SEE.

699
00:36:19,511 --> 00:36:21,513
YOU CAN SEE HOW,
HOW DYNAMIC IT IS,

700
00:36:21,546 --> 00:36:23,214
AND YOU CAN ALSO SEE,

701
00:36:23,248 --> 00:36:25,150
IT LOOKS LIKE YOU CAN SEE
LIKE LITTLE PATHS.

702
00:36:25,183 --> 00:36:27,552
AND THAT IS ACTUALLY THE EARTH’S
MAGNETIC FIELD LINES.

703
00:36:27,585 --> 00:36:29,253
AND THESE PARTICLES
ARE TRAVELING DOWN

704
00:36:29,421 --> 00:36:31,857
THESE MAGNETIC FIELD LINES
AND INTO THE ATMOSPHERE.

705
00:36:33,725 --> 00:36:36,995
Narrator: WHAT THEY HIT
AND WHAT ENERGY THEY HAVE

706
00:36:37,028 --> 00:36:40,532
DETERMINES THE COLOR
OF THE LIGHT PRODUCED.

707
00:36:40,565 --> 00:36:42,367
IT’S BEAUTIFUL,

708
00:36:42,400 --> 00:36:45,670
BUT SCIENTISTS BELIEVE THAT
AN AURORA ALL OVER THE PLANET

709
00:36:45,704 --> 00:36:49,441
WOULD EVENTUALLY BRING AN END
TO LIFE ON EARTH.

710
00:36:49,541 --> 00:36:51,576
MARS’ DRAMATIC DECLINE

711
00:36:51,609 --> 00:36:55,213
SHOWS JUST HOW VITAL
THIS SHIELD CAN BE.

712
00:36:55,246 --> 00:36:56,581
McKay: EARLY IN ITS HISTORY,

713
00:36:56,614 --> 00:36:59,283
MARS DID HAVE A MAGNETIC FIELD.

714
00:36:59,317 --> 00:37:01,986
WE KNOW THAT FROM OBSERVATIONS
ON THE GROUND

715
00:37:02,087 --> 00:37:03,355
AND FROM ORBIT.

716
00:37:03,488 --> 00:37:06,157
IT WAS PROTECTED,
THEN IT LOST ITS PROTECTION.

717
00:37:06,191 --> 00:37:07,626
Narrator: MANY BELIEVE

718
00:37:07,659 --> 00:37:11,163
THAT MARS’ FAILURE TO RETAIN
HER WATERY ENVIRONMENT

719
00:37:11,196 --> 00:37:15,367
WAS THE RESULT OF HER SIZE.

720
00:37:15,400 --> 00:37:18,403
McKay: MARS IS TEN TIMES
LESS MASSIVE THAN THE EARTH.

721
00:37:18,436 --> 00:37:19,737
IT’S A SMALL GUY.

722
00:37:19,904 --> 00:37:21,506
AS A RESULT OF THAT,

723
00:37:21,539 --> 00:37:24,142
IT CANNOT MAINTAIN THE ACTIVE
CONVECTIVE MOLTEN CORE

724
00:37:24,175 --> 00:37:25,410
THAT EARTH HAS.

725
00:37:25,443 --> 00:37:27,045
ALL OF MARS’ TROUBLES

726
00:37:27,078 --> 00:37:29,447
REALLY TRACE BACK TO THE FACT
THAT IT’S TOO SMALL.

727
00:37:29,481 --> 00:37:31,583
Drake: THE EXAMPLE OF MARS
IS VERY INSTRUCTIVE.

728
00:37:31,616 --> 00:37:33,384
SO LIFE-SUSTAINING
ENVIRONMENTS ON PLANETS

729
00:37:33,418 --> 00:37:35,120
ARE NOT NECESSARILY FOREVER,

730
00:37:35,153 --> 00:37:36,688
THEY’RE NOT NECESSARILY
FOR BILLIONS OF YEARS.

731
00:37:36,721 --> 00:37:39,123
THEY MAY ONLY LAST
A FEW HUNDRED MILLION YEARS.

732
00:37:39,157 --> 00:37:41,760
LIFE ON CERTAIN PLANETS COULD BE
A VERY TRANSIENT PHENOMENON.

733
00:37:41,793 --> 00:37:49,234
♪

734
00:37:49,267 --> 00:37:52,370
Narrator: BUT IF A PLANET
DOES STAY STABLE,

735
00:37:52,403 --> 00:37:56,440
THE LIFE IT NURTURES CAN
TRANSFORM ITS ENVIRONMENT,

736
00:37:56,474 --> 00:37:58,042
WHICH IS USEFUL,

737
00:37:58,076 --> 00:38:02,380
BECAUSE INITIALLY,
LIFE WAS FORCED TO STAY SMALL.

738
00:38:02,413 --> 00:38:04,782
McKay: WHEN WE TALK ABOUT
LIFE ON EARTH,

739
00:38:04,816 --> 00:38:08,186
WE USUALLY MEAN TREES
AND ANIMALS AND BIRDS

740
00:38:08,219 --> 00:38:09,587
AND THE THINGS THAT WE CAN SEE.

741
00:38:09,687 --> 00:38:13,124
BUT, IN FACT,
THAT’S JUST MINOR DETAIL.

742
00:38:13,158 --> 00:38:15,794
LIFE ON EARTH
IS MICRO-ORGANISMS.

743
00:38:15,827 --> 00:38:18,263
Narrator: FOR NEARLY
THREE BILLION YEARS,

744
00:38:18,296 --> 00:38:23,434
SINGLE-CELLED MICRO-ORGANISMS
WERE THE ONLY LIFE ON EARTH.

745
00:38:23,468 --> 00:38:27,105
THEY STAYED SIMPLE BECAUSE
THEY LACKED A SOURCE OF ENERGY

746
00:38:27,138 --> 00:38:31,242
THAT WOULD ALLOW THEM TO GROW
MORE STRUCTURALLY COMPLEX.

747
00:38:31,276 --> 00:38:35,380
BUT BY CHANCE, A SPECIES
OF BACTERIA EVOLVED

748
00:38:35,413 --> 00:38:38,182
THAT WOULD CHANGE THE GAME.

749
00:38:38,216 --> 00:38:42,053
ITS DESCENDANTS STILL POPULATE
THE LAKES OF THE ATACAMA DESERT

750
00:38:42,086 --> 00:38:43,688
IN CHILE.

751
00:38:43,822 --> 00:38:46,792
Farias: THIS MAT,
IT’S MADE OF BACTERIAS.

752
00:38:46,825 --> 00:38:49,695
EACH LAYER HAS A COLOR,

753
00:38:49,727 --> 00:38:52,863
AND IT MEANS A DIFFERENT
BACTERIAL COMMUNITY.

754
00:38:52,897 --> 00:38:55,299
IF WE KEEP ON TAKING AWAY,

755
00:38:55,333 --> 00:38:58,736
WE WILL FIND THIS GREEN LAYER.

756
00:38:58,903 --> 00:39:01,339
Narrator:
THESE ARE CYANOBACTERIA.

757
00:39:01,372 --> 00:39:03,808
AS A BY-PRODUCT
OF THEIR LIFE CYCLE,

758
00:39:03,842 --> 00:39:06,645
THEY PRODUCE OXYGEN.

759
00:39:06,678 --> 00:39:08,380
Farias: YOU CAN SEE HERE,

760
00:39:08,413 --> 00:39:12,617
THESE BUBBLES ARE OXYGEN.

761
00:39:12,650 --> 00:39:17,455
♪

762
00:39:17,488 --> 00:39:20,791
Narrator:
2.45 BILLION YEARS AGO,

763
00:39:20,825 --> 00:39:24,195
THE CYANOBACTERIA
BECAME SO ABUNDANT,

764
00:39:24,229 --> 00:39:27,799
THEY BEGAN TO FILL THE AIR
WITH OXYGEN.

765
00:39:27,832 --> 00:39:33,571
THE GREAT OXYGENATION EVENT
HAD PROFOUND CONSEQUENCES.

766
00:39:33,605 --> 00:39:37,042
FREE OXYGEN
WOULD BE THE ENERGY SUPPLY

767
00:39:37,075 --> 00:39:39,377
THAT ALLOWED LIFE TO GROW

768
00:39:39,410 --> 00:39:42,780
INTO COMPLEX
MULTI-CELLULAR ORGANISMS.

769
00:39:44,582 --> 00:39:47,051
WITH ACCESS TO OXYGEN,

770
00:39:47,085 --> 00:39:49,654
LIFE WENT
FROM BUILDING ROCKS...

771
00:39:49,754 --> 00:39:53,391
♪

772
00:39:53,491 --> 00:39:56,260
TO BUILDING SKYSCRAPERS.

773
00:39:56,361 --> 00:39:57,996
McKay: WE WOULDN’T BE HERE

774
00:39:58,029 --> 00:40:00,665
IF THOSE LITTLE GREEN
MICRO-ORGANISMS

775
00:40:00,698 --> 00:40:02,400
HADN’T PRODUCED
ALL THIS POLLUTION

776
00:40:02,433 --> 00:40:05,636
AND CONTAMINATED THE PLANET
IRREVERSIBLY WITH OXYGEN.

777
00:40:05,670 --> 00:40:06,704
WE NOW RELY ON IT.

778
00:40:06,838 --> 00:40:08,373
WE CALL IT FRESH AIR.

779
00:40:10,475 --> 00:40:13,611
Narrator:
MANKIND HAS COME A LONG WAY.

780
00:40:13,645 --> 00:40:15,680
BUT EVER SINCE
WE FIRST LOOKED UP,

781
00:40:15,747 --> 00:40:18,617
WE HAVE SEARCHED
FOR SIGNS IN THE STARS

782
00:40:18,650 --> 00:40:20,752
THAT WE ARE NOT ALONE.

783
00:40:20,785 --> 00:40:23,221
NOW, 21st-CENTURY TECHNOLOGY

784
00:40:23,254 --> 00:40:26,691
ALLOWS US TO TAKE THAT SEARCH
TO THE NEXT LEVEL.

785
00:40:26,724 --> 00:40:28,492
[RUMBLING]

786
00:40:28,526 --> 00:40:31,295
THE QUEST FOR LIFE
IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM

787
00:40:31,329 --> 00:40:33,164
HAS ALREADY BEGUN.

788
00:40:33,197 --> 00:40:36,634
TODAY, PROBES SCOUR MARS,

789
00:40:36,668 --> 00:40:40,138
AND SOON, NASA MAY SEND
OTHERS FURTHER.

790
00:40:40,171 --> 00:40:41,572
Oberg:
THERE ARE A COUPLE OF MOONS

791
00:40:41,706 --> 00:40:43,341
IN THE OUTER SOLAR SYSTEM

792
00:40:43,474 --> 00:40:45,643
THAT HAVE LIQUID WATER

793
00:40:45,677 --> 00:40:47,612
AND THEY HAVE ORGANICS.

794
00:40:47,645 --> 00:40:50,481
AND I SEE NO REASON

795
00:40:50,515 --> 00:40:53,218
WHY THEY SHOULDN’T
HAVE LIFE ON THEM

796
00:40:53,251 --> 00:40:56,421
IF THAT IS ALL THAT IS NEEDED
FOR LIFE TO ORIGINATE.

797
00:40:58,356 --> 00:40:59,958
McKay:
ENCELADUS, IN PARTICULAR--

798
00:41:00,091 --> 00:41:01,426
MOON OF SATURN

799
00:41:01,526 --> 00:41:04,062
WITH A GEYSER OF ORGANIC-RICH
WATER COMING OUT.

800
00:41:04,162 --> 00:41:07,799
WE CAN JUST FLY THROUGH IT AND
SEARCH FOR EVIDENCE OF LIFE.

801
00:41:07,832 --> 00:41:09,734
I WANT TO DO THAT.

802
00:41:09,767 --> 00:41:12,336
WE’RE GONNA LOOK FOR
THE MOLECULAR SKYSCRAPERS,

803
00:41:12,370 --> 00:41:14,372
THESE MOLECULES OF DESIGN

804
00:41:14,405 --> 00:41:15,640
THAT ARE BUILT BY LIFE

805
00:41:15,673 --> 00:41:16,974
AND THAT WILL BE PRESERVED

806
00:41:17,008 --> 00:41:18,610
EVEN AFTER
THE ORGANISMS ARE DEAD.

807
00:41:18,643 --> 00:41:21,146
WE’LL FIND THEM
IN THE SOILS ON MARS,

808
00:41:21,179 --> 00:41:23,281
WE’LL FIND THEM IN THE ICE
IN EUROPA,

809
00:41:23,314 --> 00:41:25,383
WE’LL FIND THEM
IN THE PLUME OF ENCELADUS,

810
00:41:25,450 --> 00:41:29,187
AND THEY WILL TELL US
THAT THERE WAS LIFE HERE.

811
00:41:29,220 --> 00:41:30,955
Narrator: BUT IF IT TURNS OUT

812
00:41:30,989 --> 00:41:33,558
THAT LIFE REQUIRES
A PLANET LIKE OUR OWN,

813
00:41:33,591 --> 00:41:35,093
WITH SURFACE WATER,

814
00:41:35,126 --> 00:41:38,963
WE NEED TO LOOK FURTHER AFIELD.

815
00:41:38,997 --> 00:41:43,468
THE KEPLER SPACE TELESCOPE
WAS LAUNCHED IN 2009.

816
00:41:43,501 --> 00:41:44,769
IT AIMED TO DETERMINE

817
00:41:44,802 --> 00:41:48,339
IF ANY PLANETS
ORBITED NEARBY STARS.

818
00:41:48,373 --> 00:41:54,045
INCREDIBLY, IT DETECTED THEM
ALMOST EVERYWHERE IT LOOKED.

819
00:41:54,078 --> 00:41:56,614
WE NOW BELIEVE
THAT IN OUR GALAXY

820
00:41:56,647 --> 00:42:02,386
ONE IN FIVE STARS HOSTS
A POTENTIALLY HABITABLE PLANET.

821
00:42:02,420 --> 00:42:04,322
Batalha:
THE FIELD OF EXOPLANET RESEARCH

822
00:42:04,422 --> 00:42:06,257
HAS TRANSFORMED COMPLETELY.

823
00:42:06,290 --> 00:42:09,393
WHEN I GO OUT AT NIGHT
AND LOOK AT THE SKY,

824
00:42:09,427 --> 00:42:12,297
I DON’T SEE THOSE PINPOINTS
OF LIGHTS AS STARS;

825
00:42:12,330 --> 00:42:14,199
I SEE THEM AS PLANETARY SYSTEMS.

826
00:42:14,232 --> 00:42:18,369
KEPLER HAS FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGED
THE WAY I PERCEIVE THE UNIVERSE.

827
00:42:18,469 --> 00:42:21,205
Narrator: THE CHALLENGE
IN THE COMING DECADES

828
00:42:21,305 --> 00:42:25,509
IS TO DISCOVER SIGNS OF LIFE
ON THESE ALIEN WORLDS.

829
00:42:25,543 --> 00:42:29,480
A NEW GENERATION OF GROUND
AND SPACE-BASED TELESCOPES

830
00:42:29,580 --> 00:42:32,116
IS SET TO TRANSFORM THE SEARCH.

831
00:42:32,150 --> 00:42:35,787
Oberg: THE NEXT BIG EXCITING
TELESCOPE TO COME ALONG

832
00:42:36,087 --> 00:42:41,125
IS THE JAMES WEBB
SPACE TELESCOPE, OR JWST.

833
00:42:41,159 --> 00:42:44,362
THIS TELESCOPE WILL BE ABLE TO
LOOK VERY CLOSE TO THE STAR

834
00:42:44,395 --> 00:42:46,697
AND REALLY SEE
WHAT THE CHEMISTRY LOOKS LIKE

835
00:42:46,731 --> 00:42:49,300
RIGHT WHERE
ROCKY PLANETS ARE FORMING.

836
00:42:49,333 --> 00:42:52,770
Narrator: ON EARTH, ONE
OF THE MOST AMBITIOUS PROJECTS

837
00:42:52,804 --> 00:42:55,407
IS THE GIANT MAGELLAN TELESCOPE.

838
00:42:55,440 --> 00:42:57,042
Drake:
THE GIANT MAGELLAN TELESCOPE

839
00:42:57,141 --> 00:42:59,176
SHOULD BE ABLE
TO LOOK AT THE ATMOSPHERES

840
00:42:59,210 --> 00:43:00,611
OF NEARBY PLANETS.

841
00:43:00,645 --> 00:43:02,280
AND THIS IS CRUCIAL
FOR SEARCHING BOTH

842
00:43:02,313 --> 00:43:04,682
FOR SIGNS OF LIFE,
FOR SIGNS OF OXYGENATION

843
00:43:04,715 --> 00:43:06,784
THAT WE THINK
IS THE SIGNPOST FOR LIFE,

844
00:43:06,818 --> 00:43:09,821
BUT ALSO TO DETERMINE WHETHER
PLANETS ARE ACTUALLY HABITABLE.

845
00:43:09,854 --> 00:43:12,323
Narrator: BREAKTHROUGHS
IN MANY FIELDS OF SCIENCE

846
00:43:12,423 --> 00:43:15,226
HAVE MEANT THERE IS
NEW CONFIDENCE IN THE QUEST

847
00:43:15,259 --> 00:43:18,462
FOR EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL LIFE.

848
00:43:18,496 --> 00:43:20,465
Drake: THE FACT
THAT WE’RE NOW FINDING PLANETS

849
00:43:20,498 --> 00:43:22,200
AROUND MOST STARS

850
00:43:22,233 --> 00:43:24,602
AND THE FACT THAT WE’RE NOW
SEEING THAT CHEMICAL PROCESSES

851
00:43:24,635 --> 00:43:27,037
THAT BUILD UP
ORGANIC MOLECULES IN SPACE

852
00:43:27,071 --> 00:43:28,506
SEEM TO BE QUITE COMMON...

853
00:43:28,539 --> 00:43:30,274
ALL THIS SEEMS TO BE POINTING
TOWARD THE DIRECTION

854
00:43:30,374 --> 00:43:32,710
THAT LIFE IS MAYBE MUCH MORE
COMMON IN THE UNIVERSE

855
00:43:32,743 --> 00:43:35,713
THAN WE MAY HAVE
PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT.

856
00:43:35,746 --> 00:43:38,215
McKay: EARTH AND LIFE ON EARTH
IS NOT UNIQUE.

857
00:43:38,349 --> 00:43:40,818
ALL THE CLUES ARE POINTING
IN THAT DIRECTION.

858
00:43:40,918 --> 00:43:42,520
♪

859
00:43:42,587 --> 00:43:45,190
Oberg: IF ALL THAT’S NEEDED

860
00:43:45,223 --> 00:43:47,392
IS A ROCKY PLANET
AND WATER AND ORGANICS,

861
00:43:47,425 --> 00:43:49,394
LIFE SHOULD BE ABUNDANT
IN THE UNIVERSE.

862
00:43:49,427 --> 00:43:57,535
♪