♪
Narrator: PLANET EARTH.
[WAVES CRASHING]
OUR HOME.
WE ARE PART
OF AN ASTOUNDING INTERDEPENDENT ECOSYSTEM,
COATING ITS SURFACE...
CONTAINING A DIZZYING VARIETY OF ANIMALS AND PLANTS.
LIFE IS AMAZING.
BUT IT’S INCREDIBLE IT EXISTS AT ALL.
♪
EXTREME FORCES DOMINATE THE COSMOS.
[EXPLOSION]
IT COULD NOT APPEAR MORE HOSTILE
TO THE EXISTENCE AND SURVIVAL OF FRAGILE ORGANISMS.
[EXPLOSION]
PLANET EARTH HAS LONG SEEMED A UNIQUE OASIS
IN A VIOLENT, BARREN UNIVERSE.
♪
[CLICKING AND WHIRRING]
BUT GROUNDBREAKING SCIENCE IS NOW CHALLENGING THIS VIEW.
Man: HOW, WHEN, AND WHERE
LIFE MIGHT HAVE ARISEN IN THE UNIVERSE--
IT’S PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTIONS
THAT MODERN SCIENCE CAN HOPE TO ADDRESS.
Narrator: SCIENTISTS ARE REVEALING
THE INCREDIBLE ALCHEMY OF STARLIGHT.
Man: UV PHOTONS CAN COME IN AND BREAK A MOLECULE IN HALF.
Narrator: THEY ARE UNCOVERING EXPLOSIVE SECRETS
ABOUT THE ORIGINS OF LIFE ON EARTH.
Man: WE WERE LITERALLY GOBSMACKED
AT THE RESULTS WE GOT.
Narrator: AND DETECTING TELLTALE TRACES
OF LIFE ON OTHER PLANETS.
Man: THAT’S BIG, THAT’S HUGE.
I DON’T SEE WHY LIFE WOULDN’T HAVE STARTED ON MARS.
Narrator: AND AS NEW TECHNOLOGY BRINGS THE SKIES ABOVE
INTO EVER-SHARPER FOCUS,
THE CONCLUSIONS ARE MIND-BLOWING.
Woman: WHEN I GO OUT AT NIGHT AND LOOK AT THE SKY,
I DON’T SEE THOSE PINPOINTS OF LIGHTS AS STARS;
I SEE THEM AS PLANETARY SYSTEMS.
Narrator: MANY SCIENTISTS NOW BELIEVE
WE ARE NOT ALONE.
Man: EARTH AND LIFE ON EARTH IS NOT UNIQUE.
ALL THE CLUES ARE POINTING IN THAT DIRECTION.
[BIRDS CHIRPING]
♪
Narrator: LIFE IS ASTOUNDING.
INSIDE EVERY CELL OF EVERY PLANT AND EVERY CREATURE
LIES A STAGGERINGLY COMPLEX WORLD
SUSTAINED BY INTRICATELY CONSTRUCTED ORGANIC MOLECULES.
Chris McKay: THE SIMPLEST CELL ON EARTH
IS THE MOST COMPLICATED THING WE CAN IMAGINE.
ALL SORTS OF MOLECULAR MACHINES WORKING TOGETHER,
PROCESSING INFORMATION, PROCESSING MATTER,
PROCESSING ENERGY,
ALL TO ENSURE THE SURVIVAL AND THE REPRODUCTION
OF THIS LITTLE TINY ORGANISM.
Narrator: HOW SUCH COMPLEX STRUCTURES
EVER CAME INTO EXISTENCE
HAS LONG BEEN ONE OF EARTH’S GREATEST MYSTERIES.
BUT 21st-CENTURY SCIENCE
HAS STARTED TO LOOK BEYOND OUR PLANET FOR ANSWERS
AND COME TO SOME INCREDIBLE CONCLUSIONS.
Jeremy Drake: THE REST OF THE UNIVERSE
IS ACTUALLY CENTRAL
TO THE WHOLE QUESTION OF THE ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION
OF LIFE ON EARTH.
WITHOUT THE REST OF THE UNIVERSE,
WE WOULDN’T BE HERE.
Narrator: IT STARTS WITH THE UNIVERSE’S BUILDING BLOCKS--
ATOMS.
ALL GIANT ORGANIC MOLECULES, LIKE DNA,
CONTAIN COUNTLESS ATOMS IN INTRICATE FORMATION.
MOSTLY THE BIG FOUR--
HYDROGEN, OXYGEN, CARBON, AND NITROGEN--
WITH A SPRINKLING OF HEAVIER ELEMENTS.
BUT WHERE DO THE ATOMS ORIGINATE?
AND HOW DID THEY COME TO FORM THESE STRUCTURES?
IT TURNS OUT
THAT TO UNCOVER THE SECRETS OF LIFE
WE MUST TRACK THE EVOLUTION OF THE COSMOS ITSELF.
♪
13.8 BILLION YEARS AGO...
THE UNIVERSE BEGINS WITH THE BIG BANG.
♪
WITHIN A SECOND,
IT COOLS ENOUGH FOR PARTICLES TO FORM.
AND WITHIN A FEW HUNDRED THOUSAND YEARS,
THESE PARTICLES COMBINE,
FORMING THE FIRST SIMPLE ATOMS--
HYDROGEN AND HELIUM.
THESE ANCIENT ATOMS ARE THE FOUNDATIONS OF EVERYTHING.
♪
AT THIS EARLY STAGE OF THE UNIVERSE’S EVOLUTION,
THE INGREDIENTS DO NOT YET EXIST
TO MAKE EVEN THE MOST BASIC MOLECULES OF LIFE.
AND AS SPACE EXPANDS,
THESE ATOMS ARE IN DANGER OF DISSIPATING INTO THE VOID.
BUT ALREADY THEY FEEL THE FORCE
OF GRAVITY.
UNDER ITS INFLUENCE,
EVERYTHING THAT MATTERS WILL COME TOGETHER.
Natalie Batalha: GRAVITY IS A FUNDAMENTAL DRIVER
FOR THE CREATION OF STRUCTURE IN THE UNIVERSE.
THE UNIVERSE WAS A RELATIVELY UNIFORM VOLUME
OF HYDROGEN AND HELIUM
THAT WAS RAPIDLY COOLING BECAUSE OF THE EXPANSION.
BUT THE DEVIL’S IN THE DETAILS.
THERE WERE REGIONS THAT WERE SLIGHTLY OVER-DENSE.
AND WHERE YOU HAD THOSE OVER-DENSE REGIONS,
GRAVITY WAS ABLE TO KICK IN
AND CREATE EVEN MORE OVER-DENSE REGIONS
THAT LED TO ALL THE STRUCTURE AND COMPLEXITY
THAT WE OBSERVE IN THE VISIBLE UNIVERSE TODAY.
Narrator: OVER A FEW HUNDRED THOUSAND YEARS,
GRAVITY CREATES SPIRALING REGIONS SO DENSE,
THEIR TEMPERATURES NOW RAPIDLY INCREASE.
THE SWIRLING GASES FORM HUGE DISCS
FAR LARGER THAN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.
TEMPERATURES IN THEIR CENTERS SURPASS 100 MILLION DEGREES.
AND SUDDENLY, THE FIRST STARS ARE BORN.
♪
FROM THIS MOMENT ON,
PRIMORDIAL STARS APPEAR IN THEIR BILLIONS.
THEY CAST THE FIRST LIGHT ON THE UNIVERSE.
BUT THEY WILL ALSO TRANSFORM IT.
THROUGH A QUIRK OF THEIR NATURE,
STARS WILL GENERATE ALL THE RAW MATERIALS FOR LIFE.
♪
Batalha: STARS ARE INTERESTING. THEY BEHAVE IN INTERESTING WAYS.
BUT THEY’RE ACTUALLY QUITE SIMPLE STRUCTURALLY.
IT’S A BALL OF PLASMA
THAT’S BALANCED BY GRAVITY PUSHING IN
AND GAS PRESSURE PUSHING OUT.
Narrator: STARS STAVE OFF COLLAPSE
THROUGH THE POWER OF NUCLEAR FUSION.
♪
SIMPLY PUT,
EXTREME GRAVITATIONAL PRESSURE IN THE CORE
FORCES HYDROGEN ATOMS TO FUSE INTO HEAVIER HELIUM,
RELEASING TREMENDOUS ENERGY.
♪
Drake: THE STARLIGHT THAT WE SEE
ESSENTIALLY COMES FROM EINSTEIN’S FAMOUS EQUATION,
E=MC2.
THE MASS OF THE PRODUCTS OF THAT NUCLEAR FUSION
IS A LITTLE BIT LESS
THAN THE MASS OF THE PRODUCTS THAT WENT INTO IT,
AND SO WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF MASS LEFT OVER.
AND THIS LEFTOVER MASS CAN BE CONVERTED INTO ENERGY.
Narrator: THE ENERGY KEEPS THE STAR FROM COLLAPSING,
WHICH ALLOWS FUSION TO CONTINUE.
THIS PROCESS NOW CREATES
ALL THE MISSING INGREDIENTS OF LIFE.
Drake: STARS ARE ESSENTIALLY THE CAULDRONS OF THE UNIVERSE
WHERE THE ELEMENTS ARE MADE.
♪
Narrator: INSIDE THE HELIUM CORES OF MASSIVE STARS,
TOTALLY NEW ELEMENTS ARE NOW FORGED.
FOR THE FIRST TIME,
HUGE QUANTITIES OF OXYGEN, CARBON, AND NITROGEN
ARE FUSED INTO EXISTENCE.
Batalha: LO AND BEHOLD, THAT’S EXACTLY THE STUFF
THAT OUR OWN HUMAN BODIES ARE MADE OUT OF.
WE ARE LITERALLY MADE OF STAR STUFF.
Narrator: THE MOST MASSIVE STARS
CONTINUE TO CREATE HEAVIER AND HEAVIER ELEMENTS.
BUT FUSION ENGINES DON’T LAST FOREVER,
AND ALL STARS COME TO AN END--
THE BIGGEST WITH A BANG.
Batalha: BECAUSE YOU DON’T HAVE ANY MORE ENERGY,
THERE’S NOTHING TO SUPPORT THE STAR.
IT’S GONNA COLLAPSE AND THEN DETONATE.
[RUMBLING]
Narrator: 13 BILLION YEARS AGO,
THE DEATH OF THE FIRST GENERATION OF MASSIVE STARS
SPREADS NEW ATOMIC ELEMENTS INTO THE VOID.
THE UNIVERSE REACHES A CRUCIAL THRESHOLD.
FOR THE FIRST TIME,
IT CONTAINS EVERYTHING NECESSARY FOR LIFE TO FORM.
ANCIENT HYDROGEN HAS NOW BEEN JOINED
BY HUGE QUANTITIES OF OXYGEN, CARBON, AND NITROGEN,
ALONGSIDE TRACES OF THE HEAVIER ELEMENTS.
AND ASTRONOMERS HAVE DISCOVERED
THAT ALMOST IMMEDIATELY
THEY START ALONG THE PATH TO LIFE.
Karin Oberg: AFTER YOU HAD THIS FIRST GENERATION OF STARS,
YOU ENTER INTO A UNIVERSE THAT’S FULL OF CHEMISTRY.
YOU HAVE SUDDENLY A CHEMICAL UNIVERSE
WHICH YOU DID NOT HAVE BEFORE.
Narrator: BY ANALYZING THE LIGHT
REFLECTED BY INTERSTELLAR DUST CLOUDS,
ASTROCHEMISTS CAN DETERMINE THEIR COMPOSITION.
OVER THE DECADES,
AS THEIR OBSERVATIONS BECAME MORE PRECISE,
THEY MADE AN ASTONISHING DISCOVERY.
THE UNIVERSE IS FILLED WITH WATER.
Oberg: WATER,
THIS REALLY IMPORTANT MOLECULE HERE ON EARTH,
IS ONE OF THE MOST ABUNDANT MOLECULES
THAT WE FIND IN SPACE.
Narrator: IN THE IMMENSITY OF THE VOID,
INDIVIDUAL ATOMS RARELY INTERACT.
BUT DUST GRAINS OF HEAVIER ELEMENTS
FORMED FROM THE DEBRIS OF EXPLODED STARS
TURN OUT TO BE A FORM OF GALACTIC FLYPAPER.
Oberg: WE HAVE REALIZED THAT WHERE THESE MOLECULES FORM
IS ON THE SURFACES OF THESE TINY LITTLE DUST GRAINS.
THESE ARE LITTLE INTERSTELLAR CATALYSTS.
Narrator: GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY,
OXYGEN BONDS WITH HYDROGEN--
THESE TWO MOST ABUNDANT REACTIVE ELEMENTS
FORMING HUGE AMOUNTS OF WATER.
CARBON AND NITROGEN JOIN THEM,
AND SIMPLE GASES, INCLUDING AMMONIA AND METHANE,
ARE ADDED TO THE MIX.
THIS DUST CLOUD CHEMISTRY APPEARS UNREMARKABLE.
BUT NEW DISCOVERIES SUGGEST
IT IS THE BASIS OF EVERYTHING BIOLOGICAL...
BECAUSE IN THE HEART OF THESE CLOUDS,
GRAVITY WAS ENSURING
THAT A SECOND GENERATION OF STARS WAS TAKING SHAPE.
[EXPLOSION]
THE FIRST GENERATION MADE THE ELEMENTS;
THE SECOND WOULD KICK-START THE CHEMISTRY OF LIFE.
♪
[EXPLOSION]
TEN BILLION YEARS AGO,
A SECOND GENERATION OF STARS
HAD FORMED IN THE HEARTS OF ELEMENT-RICH DUST CLOUDS.
TODAY, EXPERIMENTS REVEAL THEIR PRESENCE
MAY HAVE COATED THE SURROUNDING DUST
WITH THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF LIFE.
[RADIO CHATTER]
IN CUTTING-EDGE FACILITIES,
ASTROCHEMISTS RECREATE THE EXTREME CONDITIONS
OF OUTER SPACE.
[BUBBLING]
DR. SCOTT SANDFORD LEADS A TEAM
AT NASA AMES RESEARCH LABORATORY.
Scott Sandford: WE’RE TRYING TO MAKE
A LITTLE PIECE OF SPACE RIGHT HERE IN THE LABORATORY
SO WE CAN STUDY WHAT HAPPENS IN THOSE KINDS OF ENVIRONMENTS.
[GAS HISSING]
AT THE SOUTH POLE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WINTER,
I THINK YOU GET DOWN TO TEMPERATURES
THAT ARE SOMETHING LIKE
MINUS 60 OR 70 DEGREES CENTIGRADE OR SOMETHING.
WE’RE LIKE 200 DEGREES BELOW THAT.
[LAUGHS]
TEN DEGREES ABOVE ABSOLUTE ZERO.
Narrator: SANDFORD’S ICE COLD EXPERIMENT
IS DESIGNED TO SHED LIGHT ON A MYSTERY--
HOW SIMPLE MOLECULES IN SPACE BECAME MORE COMPLEX...
BECAUSE ASTROCHEMISTS HAVE DISCOVERED
THE UNIVERSE’S SECOND GENERATION OF STARS
KICK-STARTED CHEMISTRY.
STARS GENERATE VISIBLE LIGHT,
BUT ALSO ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT
AT THE HIGH-ENERGY END OF THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM.
Drake: THE ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT
IS ESSENTIALLY LIKE VISIBLE LIGHT
EXCEPT IT’S MORE ENERGETIC.
IT CAN DO THINGS THAT VISIBLE LIGHT CAN’T DO.
[SIZZLING]
Narrator: SANDFORD AND HIS TEAM CREATE THEIR OWN UV LIGHT,
WHICH THEY FOCUS
ONTO A SUPER-COOLED FILM OF MOLECULES,
SIMULATING THE SURFACE OF DUSTY GRAINS
FOUND IN OUTER SPACE.
THEY HAVE DISCOVERED THAT THE UV LIGHT
CREATES A CHAOTIC BURST OF CHEMICAL ACTIVITY.
Sandford: THE UV PHOTONS CAN HAVE ENOUGH ENERGY
THAT CAN COME IN AND BREAK A MOLECULE IN HALF.
Narrator: BOMBARDED BY THE UV RAYS,
THE SIMPLE MOLECULES SPLIT INTO REACTIVE FRAGMENTS
BUT RECOMBINE INTO MORE COMPLEX STRUCTURES,
BECAUSE BY CHANCE,
THE ABUNDANT CARBON ATOMS WANT TO FORM MULTIPLE BONDS.
McKay: CARBON NATURALLY FORMS MORE AND MORE COMPLEX MOLECULES.
IT NATURALLY BRINGS IN NITROGEN AND OXYGEN ATOMS.
SO CARBON IS THE MASTER CHEMIST.
Narrator: CARBON-BASED MOLECULES FORM THE BASIS OF ALL BIOLOGY,
AND IN RECENT DECADES,
ASTRONOMERS HAVE DETECTED TRACES OF CRUCIAL BIOLOGICAL MOLECULES,
KNOWN AS AMINO ACIDS,
IN THE DUST AND DEBRIS OF OUTER SPACE.
BUT THEY COULD BE JUST THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG.
SANDFORD’S SIMULATIONS
HAVE PRODUCED AN INCREDIBLE ARRAY OF ORGANIC MOLECULES,
INCLUDING THOSE FOUND IN DNA ITSELF.
WITH THESE SIMPLE BUILDING BLOCKS,
ALL OF LIFE CAN BE CONSTRUCTED.
McKay: THINK OF LIKE A LEGO KIT--
LITTLE TINY BLOCKS THAT KIDS PLAY WITH,
AND YOU STACK ’EM TOGETHER.
THAT’S WHAT BIOLOGY DOES--
MAKES WONDERFUL STRUCTURES OUT OF THE SIMPLEST BLOCKS.
Narrator: EVIDENCE THAT LIFE’S BUILDING BLOCKS
MAY BE COMMONPLACE IN THE UNIVERSE
HAS LED A NEW GENERATION OF SCIENTISTS
TO QUESTION THE UNIQUENESS OF LIFE ON EARTH.
Sandford: THE UNIVERSE SEEMS TO BE SORT OF HARDWIRED TO PRODUCE
ABUNDANT AMOUNTS OF VERY COMPLEX ORGANIC MOLECULES.
Oberg: IT REALLY DOES SEEM LIKE THE UNIVERSE IS SET UP
TO PRODUCE A RICH CHEMISTRY,
TO PRODUCE THE KIND OF ORGANIC MOLECULES
THAT WE THINK ARE SO IMPORTANT FOR LIFE.
Narrator: BUT THE HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT OF OUTER SPACE
IS NO PLACE TO STICK THE BUILDING BLOCKS TOGETHER.
♪
Oberg: STARLIGHT IS ABSOLUTELY FUNDAMENTAL
TO CREATE CHEMICAL COMPLEXITY.
BUT IT’S REALLY A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD.
SO IT CAN PROMOTE BOTH CREATION OF MOLECULES,
BUT IT CAN ALSO DESTROY THEM.
Narrator: THE HIGH-ENERGY RADIATION
EMITTED BY STARS
CONTINUALLY DEVASTATES THE VERY MOLECULES IT HELPED FORM.
THE IRRADIATED ENVIRONMENT OF SPACE
IS TOO UNSTABLE
FOR THE CHEMISTRY OF LIFE TO CONTINUE.
BUT BEGINNING TEN BILLION YEARS AGO,
AS CLOUDS SETTLED AROUND NEWBORN STARS,
OUT OF THE SWIRLING DUST,
NEW SANCTUARIES WOULD START TO FORM.
♪
[WHIRRING AND BEEPING]
POWERFUL TELESCOPES
ARE TRANSFORMING OUR KNOWLEDGE OF YOUNG STAR SYSTEMS.
[CLICKING AND WHIRRING]
Oberg: WE HAVE A NEW SET OF EYES IN THE SKY.
WE HAVE THE ALMA TELESCOPE DOWN IN CHILE,
WHICH IS THIS AMAZING ARRAY OF 66 TELESCOPES
THAT’S WORKING IN UNISON.
Narrator: THE ALMA ARRAY
HAS A MAGNIFICATION TEN TIMES THAT OF PREVIOUS TELESCOPES.
ITS EXTRAORDINARY DEFINITION ALLOWS US TO WITNESS
HOW YOUNG STAR SYSTEMS EVOLVE OVER TIME.
♪
ONE SUCH YOUNG STAR IS TW HYDRAE...
[BEEPING]
LYING 175 LIGHT YEARS AWAY FROM EARTH.
ALMA’S POWER MEANS WE CAN ACTUALLY SEE
THE STAR’S DISC OF DUST
AND HOW IT IS MARKED BY CIRCULAR GROOVES.
ASTRONOMERS BELIEVE THEY KNOW WHAT GENERATES THEM.
FROM THE MOMENT A DISC FORMS,
DUST GRAINS ARE AGGREGATING INTO LARGER PARTICLES,
WHICH GRAVITY DRAWS TOGETHER.
IN A FEW MILLION YEARS,
SOME MASSIVE ACCRETIONS OF DUST AND ICE
ABSORB EVERYTHING IN THEIR ORBITS,
CLEARING PATHS THROUGH THE DUST.
WE CALL THEM PLANETS.
♪
IN THE COLD OUTER ZONE OF THE DISC,
GAS AND ICE GIANTS FORM.
LIKE JUPITER AND SATURN IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM,
THEIR CORES ARE MOLDED FROM ICY DUST,
AND THEY ARE SMOTHERED IN THE HYDROGEN AND HELIUM
THEY DRAW IN FROM THE SURROUNDING DISC.
THEY ARE HOSTILE PLACES.
BUT CLOSER TO THE HOT STAR,
WHERE ITS RAYS HAVE COOKED THE DUST
AND BLOWN AWAY THE SURROUNDING GAS,
ANOTHER TYPE OF PLANET CAN FORM FROM THE REMAINING DEBRIS.
♪
WE CALL THEM ROCKY PLANETS.
FREED FROM THE SMOTHERING GASES OF THE DISC,
ROCKY PLANETS CAN FORM THEIR OWN ATMOSPHERES...
FROM GASES LEACHED FROM THEIR OWN ROCKS.
IT CAN LET HEAT DOWN TO THE SURFACE
BUT PROTECT IT FROM THE WORST OF THE STELLAR RADIATION.
AND IF THEY ARE JUST THE RIGHT DISTANCE FROM THEIR STAR,
SOMETHING SPECIAL CAN HAPPEN.
♪
WATER CAN BECOME LIQUID.
BY CHANCE, THE UNIVERSE HAS CREATED THE PERFECT ENVIRONMENT
FOR A MORE GENTLE CHEMISTRY TO TAKE PLACE.
McKay: FROM THE BIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE,
WHY PLANETS ARE SO USEFUL
IS BECAUSE THEY ALLOW WATER TO BECOME LIQUID.
IT REALLY IS THAT SIMPLE.
PLANETS ALLOW FOR LIQUID WATER,
LIQUID WATER ALLOWS FOR LIFE.
[THUNDER]
Narrator: BUT MYSTERIES REMAIN.
HOW COULD OCEANS OF WATER REACH THE SURFACE?
AND HOW COULD CHEMISTRY BECOME BIOLOGY?
[THUNDER]
FOUR BILLION YEARS AGO,
OUR SOLAR SYSTEM WAS IN ITS INFANCY.
BUT SOMETHING WAS HAPPENING
ON A ROCKY PLANET CLOSE TO THE SUN.
THE EARTH WAS BECOMING A WATER WORLD.
♪
THIS CRUCIAL CHANGE WOULD MAKE HER
A SANCTUARY FOR LIFE.
Oberg: LIQUID WATER IS ABSOLUTELY CRUCIAL FOR LIFE.
IT IS AMAZING, THE NUMBER OF ELEMENTS AND MOLECULES
THAT CAN BECOME DISSOLVED
AND THEREFORE REACT TO FORM MORE COMPLEX MOLECULES.
Narrator: THE EARTH’S ORBIT
LIES IN WHAT SCIENTISTS REFER TO AS "THE GOLDILOCKS ZONE,"
A DISTANCE FROM OUR SUN
WHERE THE TEMPERATURE IS JUST RIGHT
FOR LIQUID WATER TO POOL ON HER SURFACE.
BUT THERE IS A MYSTERY.
SOME BELIEVE GOLDILOCKS PLANETS
SHOULD LACK THE RESOURCES TO FILL THEIR OWN OCEANS.
Oberg: THE PROBLEM WITH FORMING IN THE GOLDILOCKS ZONE
IS THAT YOU’RE FORMING TOO CLOSE TO THE STAR
TO FORM FROM ICY GRAINS.
AND THAT MEANS THAT YOU FORM DRY.
WE SEE AN EARTH THAT HAS LARGE AMOUNTS OF WATER ON THE SURFACE.
SO THE QUESTION IS
WHERE DID ALL THAT WATER COME FROM?
Narrator: THE ANSWER MAY LIE IN THE HEAVENS.
THEN, AS NOW,
THE SOLAR SYSTEM WAS FILLED WITH ASTEROIDS AND COMETS,
FORMED ALONGSIDE THE PLANETS
FROM THE SAME ICY GRAINS OF DUST.
BUT IT’S BELIEVED THAT FOUR BILLION YEARS AGO
THE SOLAR SYSTEM WAS UNSTABLE.
SOME GAS GIANTS MIGRATED IN THEIR ORBITS,
THE GRAVITATIONAL PULL
DISTURBING MILLIONS OF THESE PROJECTILES,
HURLING SOME TOWARDS THE EARTH.
♪
THESE ICY ROCKS COULD HAVE DELIVERED MORE THAN ENOUGH WATER
TO FILL THE OCEANS.
[RUMBLING]
Oberg: HAVING AN EARLY INSTABILITY
IN YOUR PLANETARY SYSTEM
AND PLANETS MOVING AROUND, STIRRING THINGS UP,
MIGHT BE VERY IMPORTANT TO DELIVER WATER
TO OTHERWISE DRY, ROCKY PLANETS.
AND I THINK FROM A CHEMISTRY POINT OF VIEW,
WHAT’S REALLY INTERESTING ABOUT THAT
IS THAT THE WATER DID NOT COME ALONE.
Narrator: BURIED IN THEIR ICE WERE ORGANIC MOLECULES--
THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF LIFE.
WHEN ORGANIC MOLECULES ENCOUNTERED LIQUID WATER,
MIRACLES COULD HAPPEN.
♪
HIGH IN THE MOUNTAINS OF CHILE LIES EL TATIO,
A VOLCANIC GEYSER FIELD.
DR. MARIA EUGENIA FARIAS
IS AN EXPERT IN THIS UNIQUE ECOSYSTEM.
Maria Eugenia Farias: TATIO IS A BEAUTIFUL PLACE,
BUT ALSO IT IS LIKE A TIME MACHINE.
THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT PLACE
TO STUDY THE EARLY EARTH CONDITIONS.
BECAUSE HERE WE ARE OVER 4,000 METERS OVER THE SEA LEVEL,
HERE THERE IS A LOT OF UV RADIATION,
AND WE HAVE THESE GEYSERS
PRODUCED BECAUSE OF VOLCANIC ACTIVITY.
THOSE ARE SIMILAR CONDITIONS TO THE EARLY EARTH.
♪
Narrator: FOUR BILLION YEARS AGO
THE SURFACE OF THE YOUNG EARTH
WAS ALIVE WITH VOLCANIC ACTIVITY.
ORGANIC MOLECULES OF CARBON, HYDROGEN, NITROGEN, AND OXYGEN
MIX WITH TRACES OF PHOSPHORUS, SULFUR,
AND OTHER MINERALS BLED FROM THE HOT ROCKS.
THIS INHOSPITABLE COCKTAIL OF CHEMISTRY
IS READY TO TRANSFORM THE UNIVERSE.
Farias: IN PLACES LIKE THIS, CHEMISTRY BECAME BIOLOGY.
Narrator: BUT JUST HOW IT HAPPENED
REMAINS A MYSTERY.
McKay: WE UNDERSTAND LIFE FROM BIOLOGY LOOKING DOWN.
AND WE UNDERSTAND LIFE FROM CHEMISTRY LOOKING UP.
BUT WE HAVEN’T YET GOT THOSE TWO ENDS TO MEET.
THERE’S STILL A GAP IN THE MIDDLE
CALLED "THE ORIGIN OF LIFE."
♪
Narrator: CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND.
IN THE LABORATORIES OF THE MEDICAL RESEARCH COUNCIL,
DR. JOHN SUTHERLAND LEADS A TEAM DEDICATED TO CLOSING THAT GAP.
John Sutherland: LIFE MUST COME FROM CHEMISTRY.
IT MUST BE POSSIBLE TO PRODUCE LIFE FROM CHEMISTRY.
AND WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO RECREATE THAT PROCESS
IN A LABORATORY.
Narrator: SCIENTISTS LIKE DR. SUTHERLAND
BELIEVE THAT THE SECRET TO THE ORIGIN OF LIFE
AND ITS EVOLUTION
LIES WITH A CERTAIN FRAGILE, FLEXIBLE,
SELF-REPLICATING MOLECULE
CALLED RIBONUCLEIC ACID,
OR RNA.
Sutherland: DNA BEARS ALL THE HALLMARKS
OF BEING THE PRODUCT OF EVOLUTION,
ITS ANCESTOR BEING RNA.
AND RNA LOOKS TO US LIKE THE PRODUCT OF CHEMISTRY.
Narrator: THE LARGE RNA MOLECULE
NATURALLY SELF-ASSEMBLES FROM MUCH SIMPLER MOLECULAR RUNGS.
BUT FOR YEARS,
SUTHERLAND’S TEAM HAVE TRIED TO DETERMINE
HOW AN ANCIENT PREBIOTIC CHEMICAL SOUP
COULD NATURALLY GENERATE RNA RUNGS
FROM EVEN SIMPLER MOLECULES.
FINDING THE CORRECT BALANCE OF CHEMICAL INGREDIENTS,
TEMPERATURES, AND RADIATION LEVELS
REMAINS A CHALLENGE.
BUT SUTHERLAND BELIEVES
THAT AT THE HEART OF THE KEY REACTIONS
LIES ONE MOLECULE--
HYDROGEN CYANIDE.
Sutherland: HYDROGEN CYANIDE HAS CERTAIN CHEMICAL PROPERTIES
WHICH ARE HIGHLY CONDUCIVE
TO PRODUCE MORE COMPLEX STRUCTURES.
Narrator: THE PROBLEM IS
THAT TO FORM ENOUGH HYDROGEN CYANIDE
REQUIRES A HUGE BURST OF ENERGY,
EQUIVALENT TO AN ENDLESS LIGHTNING STORM.
THIS HAD LONG BEEN THOUGHT UNREALISTIC.
BUT THE TEAM HAS RECENTLY DISCOVERED
THE ANSWER MAY LIE BEYOND THE CLOUDS,
IN ANOTHER GIFT FROM OUTER SPACE.
IN THEIR SEARCH FOR THE ORIGINS OF LIFE ON EARTH,
SOME SCIENTISTS NOW BELIEVE
VITAL CHEMICAL REACTIONS ON THE SURFACE
MAY HAVE BEEN TRIGGERED BY METEOR STRIKES
THAT WERE COMMONPLACE EVENTS FOUR BILLION YEARS AGO.
[EXPLOSION]
NEW EXPERIMENTS HAVE DEMONSTRATED
THAT WHEN THE LARGEST METEORS VAPORIZE ON IMPACT,
THE INCREDIBLE TEMPERATURES
GENERATE A HIGH-ENERGY CHEMISTRY,
CREATING HUGE QUANTITIES OF A KEY REACTIVE MOLECULE--
HYDROGEN CYANIDE--
WHILE THE IMPACT CRATER
FORMS THE PERFECT HYDROTHERMAL VOLCANIC ENVIRONMENT
FOR ORGANIC CHEMISTRY.
♪
WHEN JOHN SUTHERLAND’S TEAM IN ENGLAND
RECENTLY SIMULATED THIS CHEMICAL SCENARIO,
THE INGREDIENTS SPONTANEOUSLY PRODUCED
MANY KEY MOLECULES THEY HAD BEEN STRUGGLING TO FORM.
♪
Sutherland: WE WERE LITERALLY GOBSMACKED
AT THE RESULTS WE GOT.
IT COULD BE THAT LIFE STARTS
AS A RESULT OF REALLY AGGRESSIVE EVENTS TAKING PLACE
IN THE EARLY SOLAR SYSTEM HISTORY.
THESE INCESSANT IMPACTS WERE ACTUALLY GIVING RISE
TO A VERY, VERY INTERESTING CHEMISTRY
THAT WOULD ULTIMATELY GIVE RISE
TO THE MOLECULES REQUIRED FOR LIFE
AND LIFE ITSELF.
Narrator: IT LOOKED LIKE THEY MIGHT HAVE HIT UPON THE PROCESS
THAT HAD GENERATED THE FIRST RNA MOLECULES.
THE EVIDENCE IS COMPELLING, BUT THE PROOF REMAINS ELUSIVE.
WHAT WE DO KNOW IS THAT AT SOME STAGE
BETWEEN 4 BILLION AND 3.5 BILLION YEARS AGO,
SINGLE-CELLED ORGANISMS, THE SIMPLEST FORM OF LIFE,
EVOLVED FROM THE CHEMICAL SOUP
AND GAINED A FOOTHOLD,
SUCCESSIVE GENERATIONS
BECOMING INCREASINGLY ROBUST AND ADAPTIVE.
THE VOLCANIC STREAMS OF EL TATIO
ARE SOME OF THE MOST INHOSPITABLE ENVIRONMENTS
ON THE PLANET.
BUT EVEN HERE,
THESE SIMPLE FORMS OF LIFE CAN THRIVE.
Farias: I LOVE BACTERIA. THEY ARE AMAZING.
THEY ARE SO SIMPLE,
AND THIS IS THEIR MAIN ADVANTAGE.
BECAUSE IF YOU ARE SIMPLE, YOU CAN ADAPT QUICKLY,
AND YOU CAN LIVE IN THESE EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS.
YOU CAN SEE YELLOW, GREEN, PINK.
ALL ARE SURVIVING AT HIGH TEMPERATURE,
HIGH UV RADIATION.
AND, IN FACT, THEY ARE MAKING STONES,
JUST IN THE SAME WAY THEY DID 3.5 BILLIONS OF YEARS AGO.
Narrator: OVER TIME,
THE MINERAL EXCRETIONS FROM MATS OF BACTERIA
CAN FORM DISTINCTIVE STONY STRUCTURES--
STROMATOLITES.
3.7 BILLION-YEAR-OLD FOSSILIZED STROMATOLITES
ARE THE EARLIEST RECORD OF LIFE ON EARTH.
BUT MICROBE-MADE STRUCTURES
MAY ALSO HAVE LEFT A RECORD OF LIFE ON MARS.
♪
FOR OVER A DECADE,
NASA’S MARS ROVERS
HAVE BEEN EXPLORING THE RED PLANET.
NEW OBSERVATIONS HAVE NOTED REMARKABLE SIMILARITIES
BETWEEN EL TATIO’S GEYSER FIELD STROMATOLITES
AND ROCK FORMATIONS PHOTOGRAPHED BY THE MARS SPIRIT ROVER.
♪
THESE APPEAR TO SUPPORT THE IDEA
THAT FOUR BILLION YEARS AGO
THERE WERE TWO LIVING PLANETS IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.
McKay: I DON’T SEE WHY LIFE WOULDN’T HAVE STARTED ON MARS.
EARLY EARTH, EARLY MARS ARE VERY SIMILAR.
AND THEY’RE SIMILAR DURING THE TIME
WHEN WE KNOW LIFE FIRST APPEARS ON EARTH.
THE MOST IMPORTANT FEATURE OF EARTH
IS THAT IT HAS LIQUID WATER.
THE MOST CLEAR EVIDENCE WE HAVE OF EARLY MARS
IS THAT IT HAD LIQUID WATER.
♪
SO WHATEVER YOU FANCY IS NECESSARY
FOR THE ORIGIN OF LIFE ON EARTH,
MARS WOULD HAVE HAD THE SAME ENVIRONMENTS.
♪
Narrator: BUT TODAY, MARS IS COLD AND DRY.
WATER PREDOMINANTLY EXISTS IN THE POLES AS ICE.
SO WHAT HAPPENED TO HER OCEANS?
A CLUE LIES IN HER ATMOSPHERE.
IT’S A HUNDRED TIMES THINNER THAN THAT OF EARTH.
McKay: THE THICKNESS OF THE ATMOSPHERE
IS LIKE A SWITCH.
IF IT FALLS BELOW A CERTAIN LEVEL,
WATER WILL NOT STAY AS LIQUID;
IT WILL JUST BOIL.
♪
Narrator: SOMETHING DESTROYED THE ATMOSPHERE OF MARS.
MANY BELIEVE THE CULPRIT WAS THE SUN.
♪
ALONGSIDE LIGHT AND HEAT, OUR STAR RADIATES
INVISIBLE WAVES OF SUB-ATOMIC CHARGED PARTICLES,
CAPABLE OF IMMENSE DESTRUCTION.
WE CALL THIS THE SOLAR WIND.
Drake: THE SOLAR WIND
IS ESSENTIALLY THE VERY OUTER ATMOSPHERE OF THE SUN
THAT’S JUST FLUNG OUT INTO SPACE
WITH ENERGY GENERATED FROM MAGNETIC FIELDS.
IT IS GOING FROM 500 KILOMETERS A SECOND
TO A THOUSAND KILOMETERS A SECOND.
WHEN IT IMPACTS A PLANET,
THAT’S GONNA HAVE SOME EROSION POWER
ON THE PLANETARY ATMOSPHERE.
Narrator: FOUR BILLION YEARS AGO,
EVEN AS MARS’ OCEANS WERE TAKING HOLD...
THE PARTICLES OF THE SOLAR WIND
WERE SMASHING INTO THE GASES OF HER ATMOSPHERE.
OVER HALF A BILLION YEARS, THEY SCOURED IT AWAY,
AND THE PLANET’S OCEANS EVAPORATED INTO SPACE.
THIS POSES A BIG QUESTION.
HOW DID LIFE ON EARTH SURVIVE?
♪
LIKE ALL STARS IN THE UNIVERSE,
OUR SUN CONTINUALLY SPRAYS OUT
A STELLAR WIND OF CHARGED PARTICLES.
BILLIONS OF YEARS AGO,
ITS CONSTANT SCOURING DESTROYED THE ATMOSPHERE ON MARS,
ENDING ANY CHANCE OF LIFE DEVELOPING ON ITS SURFACE,
WHICH POSES THE QUESTION,
HOW DID LIFE ON EARTH SURVIVE ITS ONSLAUGHT?
♪
THE ISLAND OF SVALBARD, HIGH IN THE ARCTIC CIRCLE.
♪
DR. LISA BADDELEY IS HEADING TO THE OFFICE.
♪
Lisa Baddeley: WE ARE ABOUT A THOUSAND KILOMETERS
SOUTH OF THE NORTH POLE.
IT CAN GET QUITE DIFFICULT SOMETIMES
WHEN, YOU KNOW, IT’S MINUS 40 DEGREES.
AND THEN SOMETIMES YOU CAN GET A COMPLETE WHITE-OUT.
SO, YOU KNOW, I HAVE TO RELY COMPLETELY ON THE GPS UNIT.
Narrator: LISA BRAVES THE CONDITIONS
BECAUSE THIS IS THE BEST LOCATION
TO STUDY A UNIQUE SPECTACLE
VISIBLE FROM JUST A FEW POINTS ON EARTH.
Baddeley: AND HERE WE ARE.
Narrator: SHE’S HERE TO WITNESS A BATTLE
BETWEEN OUR PLANET AND OUR STAR.
♪
Baddeley: WELL, YOU MAY NOTICE
THAT WE’VE GOT THE DOMES AND THE CAMERAS
ARE ALL POINTING UPWARDS.
SO WE’RE HERE TO STUDY A VERY UNIQUE PHENOMENA
THAT WE SEE IN THE SKY OVERHEAD.
Narrator: IN THE HIGH ATMOSPHERE ABOVE,
THE CONFLICT PLAYS OUT,
24 HOURS A DAY, 365 DAYS A YEAR.
THE CORE OF THE EARTH IS MOLTEN IRON.
AS THE CORE ROTATES,
IT GENERATES A POWERFUL MAGNETIC FIELD.
THIS CREATES A PROTECTIVE BUBBLE,
DIVERTING THE CHARGED PARTICLES OF THE SOLAR WIND
AWAY FROM THE ATMOSPHERE.
THE BATTLE IS CONTINUOUS.
BUT THE PROTECTIVE EFFECT IS WEAKEST NEAR THE POLES,
AND SOME PARTICLES SHOOT THROUGH...
TO IMPACT ATOMS IN THE ATMOSPHERE,
CREATING ONE OF THE GREATEST SHOWS ON EARTH--
THE AURORA BOREALIS.
♪
Baddeley: WHEN THE WHOLE SKY IS LIT UP
GREEN AND RED AND DANCING,
YOU CAN SIT OUT THERE FOR HOURS WITHOUT REALIZING.
IT’S AN AMAZING THING TO SEE.
YOU CAN SEE HOW, HOW DYNAMIC IT IS,
AND YOU CAN ALSO SEE,
IT LOOKS LIKE YOU CAN SEE LIKE LITTLE PATHS.
AND THAT IS ACTUALLY THE EARTH’S MAGNETIC FIELD LINES.
AND THESE PARTICLES ARE TRAVELING DOWN
THESE MAGNETIC FIELD LINES AND INTO THE ATMOSPHERE.
Narrator: WHAT THEY HIT AND WHAT ENERGY THEY HAVE
DETERMINES THE COLOR OF THE LIGHT PRODUCED.
IT’S BEAUTIFUL,
BUT SCIENTISTS BELIEVE THAT AN AURORA ALL OVER THE PLANET
WOULD EVENTUALLY BRING AN END TO LIFE ON EARTH.
MARS’ DRAMATIC DECLINE
SHOWS JUST HOW VITAL THIS SHIELD CAN BE.
McKay: EARLY IN ITS HISTORY,
MARS DID HAVE A MAGNETIC FIELD.
WE KNOW THAT FROM OBSERVATIONS ON THE GROUND
AND FROM ORBIT.
IT WAS PROTECTED, THEN IT LOST ITS PROTECTION.
Narrator: MANY BELIEVE
THAT MARS’ FAILURE TO RETAIN HER WATERY ENVIRONMENT
WAS THE RESULT OF HER SIZE.
McKay: MARS IS TEN TIMES LESS MASSIVE THAN THE EARTH.
IT’S A SMALL GUY.
AS A RESULT OF THAT,
IT CANNOT MAINTAIN THE ACTIVE CONVECTIVE MOLTEN CORE
THAT EARTH HAS.
ALL OF MARS’ TROUBLES
REALLY TRACE BACK TO THE FACT THAT IT’S TOO SMALL.
Drake: THE EXAMPLE OF MARS IS VERY INSTRUCTIVE.
SO LIFE-SUSTAINING ENVIRONMENTS ON PLANETS
ARE NOT NECESSARILY FOREVER,
THEY’RE NOT NECESSARILY FOR BILLIONS OF YEARS.
THEY MAY ONLY LAST A FEW HUNDRED MILLION YEARS.
LIFE ON CERTAIN PLANETS COULD BE A VERY TRANSIENT PHENOMENON.
♪
Narrator: BUT IF A PLANET DOES STAY STABLE,
THE LIFE IT NURTURES CAN TRANSFORM ITS ENVIRONMENT,
WHICH IS USEFUL,
BECAUSE INITIALLY, LIFE WAS FORCED TO STAY SMALL.
McKay: WHEN WE TALK ABOUT LIFE ON EARTH,
WE USUALLY MEAN TREES AND ANIMALS AND BIRDS
AND THE THINGS THAT WE CAN SEE.
BUT, IN FACT, THAT’S JUST MINOR DETAIL.
LIFE ON EARTH IS MICRO-ORGANISMS.
Narrator: FOR NEARLY THREE BILLION YEARS,
SINGLE-CELLED MICRO-ORGANISMS WERE THE ONLY LIFE ON EARTH.
THEY STAYED SIMPLE BECAUSE THEY LACKED A SOURCE OF ENERGY
THAT WOULD ALLOW THEM TO GROW MORE STRUCTURALLY COMPLEX.
BUT BY CHANCE, A SPECIES OF BACTERIA EVOLVED
THAT WOULD CHANGE THE GAME.
ITS DESCENDANTS STILL POPULATE THE LAKES OF THE ATACAMA DESERT
IN CHILE.
Farias: THIS MAT, IT’S MADE OF BACTERIAS.
EACH LAYER HAS A COLOR,
AND IT MEANS A DIFFERENT BACTERIAL COMMUNITY.
IF WE KEEP ON TAKING AWAY,
WE WILL FIND THIS GREEN LAYER.
Narrator: THESE ARE CYANOBACTERIA.
AS A BY-PRODUCT OF THEIR LIFE CYCLE,
THEY PRODUCE OXYGEN.
Farias: YOU CAN SEE HERE,
THESE BUBBLES ARE OXYGEN.
♪
Narrator: 2.45 BILLION YEARS AGO,
THE CYANOBACTERIA BECAME SO ABUNDANT,
THEY BEGAN TO FILL THE AIR WITH OXYGEN.
THE GREAT OXYGENATION EVENT HAD PROFOUND CONSEQUENCES.
FREE OXYGEN WOULD BE THE ENERGY SUPPLY
THAT ALLOWED LIFE TO GROW
INTO COMPLEX MULTI-CELLULAR ORGANISMS.
WITH ACCESS TO OXYGEN,
LIFE WENT FROM BUILDING ROCKS...
♪
TO BUILDING SKYSCRAPERS.
McKay: WE WOULDN’T BE HERE
IF THOSE LITTLE GREEN MICRO-ORGANISMS
HADN’T PRODUCED ALL THIS POLLUTION
AND CONTAMINATED THE PLANET IRREVERSIBLY WITH OXYGEN.
WE NOW RELY ON IT.
WE CALL IT FRESH AIR.
Narrator: MANKIND HAS COME A LONG WAY.
BUT EVER SINCE WE FIRST LOOKED UP,
WE HAVE SEARCHED FOR SIGNS IN THE STARS
THAT WE ARE NOT ALONE.
NOW, 21st-CENTURY TECHNOLOGY
ALLOWS US TO TAKE THAT SEARCH TO THE NEXT LEVEL.
[RUMBLING]
THE QUEST FOR LIFE IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM
HAS ALREADY BEGUN.
TODAY, PROBES SCOUR MARS,
AND SOON, NASA MAY SEND OTHERS FURTHER.
Oberg: THERE ARE A COUPLE OF MOONS
IN THE OUTER SOLAR SYSTEM
THAT HAVE LIQUID WATER
AND THEY HAVE ORGANICS.
AND I SEE NO REASON
WHY THEY SHOULDN’T HAVE LIFE ON THEM
IF THAT IS ALL THAT IS NEEDED FOR LIFE TO ORIGINATE.
McKay: ENCELADUS, IN PARTICULAR--
MOON OF SATURN
WITH A GEYSER OF ORGANIC-RICH WATER COMING OUT.
WE CAN JUST FLY THROUGH IT AND SEARCH FOR EVIDENCE OF LIFE.
I WANT TO DO THAT.
WE’RE GONNA LOOK FOR THE MOLECULAR SKYSCRAPERS,
THESE MOLECULES OF DESIGN
THAT ARE BUILT BY LIFE
AND THAT WILL BE PRESERVED
EVEN AFTER THE ORGANISMS ARE DEAD.
WE’LL FIND THEM IN THE SOILS ON MARS,
WE’LL FIND THEM IN THE ICE IN EUROPA,
WE’LL FIND THEM IN THE PLUME OF ENCELADUS,
AND THEY WILL TELL US THAT THERE WAS LIFE HERE.
Narrator: BUT IF IT TURNS OUT
THAT LIFE REQUIRES A PLANET LIKE OUR OWN,
WITH SURFACE WATER,
WE NEED TO LOOK FURTHER AFIELD.
THE KEPLER SPACE TELESCOPE WAS LAUNCHED IN 2009.
IT AIMED TO DETERMINE
IF ANY PLANETS ORBITED NEARBY STARS.
INCREDIBLY, IT DETECTED THEM ALMOST EVERYWHERE IT LOOKED.
WE NOW BELIEVE THAT IN OUR GALAXY
ONE IN FIVE STARS HOSTS A POTENTIALLY HABITABLE PLANET.
Batalha: THE FIELD OF EXOPLANET RESEARCH
HAS TRANSFORMED COMPLETELY.
WHEN I GO OUT AT NIGHT AND LOOK AT THE SKY,
I DON’T SEE THOSE PINPOINTS OF LIGHTS AS STARS;
I SEE THEM AS PLANETARY SYSTEMS.
KEPLER HAS FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGED THE WAY I PERCEIVE THE UNIVERSE.
Narrator: THE CHALLENGE IN THE COMING DECADES
IS TO DISCOVER SIGNS OF LIFE ON THESE ALIEN WORLDS.
A NEW GENERATION OF GROUND AND SPACE-BASED TELESCOPES
IS SET TO TRANSFORM THE SEARCH.
Oberg: THE NEXT BIG EXCITING TELESCOPE TO COME ALONG
IS THE JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE, OR JWST.
THIS TELESCOPE WILL BE ABLE TO LOOK VERY CLOSE TO THE STAR
AND REALLY SEE WHAT THE CHEMISTRY LOOKS LIKE
RIGHT WHERE ROCKY PLANETS ARE FORMING.
Narrator: ON EARTH, ONE OF THE MOST AMBITIOUS PROJECTS
IS THE GIANT MAGELLAN TELESCOPE.
Drake: THE GIANT MAGELLAN TELESCOPE
SHOULD BE ABLE TO LOOK AT THE ATMOSPHERES
OF NEARBY PLANETS.
AND THIS IS CRUCIAL FOR SEARCHING BOTH
FOR SIGNS OF LIFE, FOR SIGNS OF OXYGENATION
THAT WE THINK IS THE SIGNPOST FOR LIFE,
BUT ALSO TO DETERMINE WHETHER PLANETS ARE ACTUALLY HABITABLE.
Narrator: BREAKTHROUGHS IN MANY FIELDS OF SCIENCE
HAVE MEANT THERE IS NEW CONFIDENCE IN THE QUEST
FOR EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL LIFE.
Drake: THE FACT THAT WE’RE NOW FINDING PLANETS
AROUND MOST STARS
AND THE FACT THAT WE’RE NOW SEEING THAT CHEMICAL PROCESSES
THAT BUILD UP ORGANIC MOLECULES IN SPACE
SEEM TO BE QUITE COMMON...
ALL THIS SEEMS TO BE POINTING TOWARD THE DIRECTION
THAT LIFE IS MAYBE MUCH MORE COMMON IN THE UNIVERSE
THAN WE MAY HAVE PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT.
McKay: EARTH AND LIFE ON EARTH IS NOT UNIQUE.
ALL THE CLUES ARE POINTING IN THAT DIRECTION.
♪
Oberg: IF ALL THAT’S NEEDED
IS A ROCKY PLANET AND WATER AND ORGANICS,
LIFE SHOULD BE ABUNDANT IN THE UNIVERSE.
♪