Original subtitles

[ WHIRRING ]

Narrator: FOR OVER 50 YEARS, THE WORLD HAS BEEN ENTHRALLED

BY STRANGE TALES OF ALIEN ENCOUNTERS.

HE SAW A SPACESHIP.

Narrator: SOME BELIEVE THAT EXTRATERRESTRIAL VISITORS

ARE FACT, NOT FICTION.

AND THEY CLAIM THAT A SECRET GOVERNMENT CONSPIRACY

IS HIDING THIS TRUTH FROM THE PUBLIC.

WE HAVE THE GOVERNMENT LYING, REALLY, FROM DAY ONE.

THE GOVERNMENT KNOWS MORE THAN THEY'RE LETTING ON.

Narrator: IN "CONSPIRACIES: THE ALIEN COVER-UP,"

WE INVESTIGATE BRITAIN'S MOST MYSTERIOUS UFO SIGHTINGS.

[ CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS ]

DID THE U.S. MILITARY

ATTEMPT TO COVER UP A UFO ENCOUNTER ON U.K. SOIL?

MAN: It's coming this way.

It is definitely coming this way.

ANYBODY THAT WAS A WITNESS...

WAS TOLD TO TREAT IT AS TOP-SECRET.

Narrator: DID ALIENS ATTACK A MAN IN A SCOTTISH FOREST?

Robinson: THE MARKS THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT COULD'VE BEEN MADE

BY SOMETHING NOT OF THIS WORLD.

Narrator: HAVE BRITISH SCIENTISTS

REALLY MADE CONTACT WITH AN ALIEN CIVILIZATION?

White: THE ROSETTA MISSION IS A MILITARY RECONNAISSANCE MISSION.

THE COMET HAS WHAT SEEM TO BE STRUCTURES ON IT

THAT LOOK INTELLIGENTLY MADE.

Narrator: AND DID THE U.K. GOVERNMENT

DESTROY IRREFUTABLE UFO EVIDENCE?

THE BEST WAY TO KILL THE STORY

IS TO MAKE SURE NO ONE HAS THE PICTURE.

[ LOCK CLICKS ]

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

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

Announcer: DO YOU BELIEVE IN FLYING SAUCERS?

Narrator: FOR OVER 70 YEARS,

WE'VE BEEN GRIPPED BY EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS

OF STRANGE SIGHTINGS AND CLOSE ENCOUNTERS

WITH WHAT ARE CLAIMED TO BE SPACESHIPS

AND EXTRATERRESTRIALS... FROM BEYOND OUR WORLD.

IT WAS ABLE TO MOVE SIDEWAYS TO MANEUVER.

NO AIRCRAFT IN THIS COUNTRY COULD DO THEM SORT OF MANEUVERS.

THE OBJECT WAS LIKENED UNTO A CROSS.

I BELIEVE THE UFO PHENOMENA

AND THE CROP CIRCLES ARE TOTALLY CONNECTED.

Narrator: BUT COULD WE REALLY BE EXPERIENCING ACTUAL CONTACT

WITH BEINGS FROM OTHER PLANETS?

ASTRONOMERS AND SCIENTISTS WHO SPECIALIZE IN THIS AREA

DO BELIEVE THAT, STATISTICALLY SPEAKING,

THERE MUST BE NOT JUST LIFE ELSEWHERE IN THE UNIVERSE

BUT INTELLIGENT LIFE.

Narrator: FOR SOME, THE EVIDENCE GATHERED FROM SIGHTINGS AROUND THE G

POINTS TO ONLY ONE CONCLUSION --

EXTRATERRESTRIALS HAVE ARRIVED.

Friedman: THERE'S NO QUESTION IN MY MIND.

ALIEN VISITORS ARE MONITORING THE WHOLE DARN PLANET.

Narrator: STANTON FRIEDMAN HAS INVESTIGATED UFO ENCOUNTERS

FOR OVER 50 YEARS.

HE NOT ONLY BELIEVES THAT ALIENS HAVE VISITED EARTH,

BUT HE CLAIMS THAT OUR GOVERNMENTS

HAVE SECRETLY CONSPIRED TO COVER UP THIS TRUTH.

Friedman: THERE'S A WHOLE SECRET WORLD OUT THERE --

TOP-SECRET WORLD.

THE NEED TO KNOW IS WHAT'S CRUCIAL HERE,

AND VERY FEW PEOPLE HAVE A NEED TO KNOW

THE MOST CLASSIFIED STUFF.

Narrator: FRIEDMAN AND OTHERS CLAIM THAT, BEHIND OUR BACKS,

TOP-SECRET SECTIONS OF THE MILITARY

ARE SECRETLY STUDYING UFOs

TO LEARN FROM THEIR ADVANCED ALIEN TECHNOLOGIES.

THEY MAKE A WONDERFUL WEAPONS-DELIVERY AND

THE EXTRAORDINARY MANEUVERABILITY,

THE ABILITY TO HOVER,

TO MOVE STRAIGHT UP, STRAIGHT DOWN,

RIGHT ANGLE TURNS, ALL THIS --

BOY, WHAT A GREAT BOMBER THAT WOULD MAKE.

Narrator: BUT DESPITE THIS ALLEGED SECRECY,

THERE HAVE BEEN NUMEROUS DOCUMENTED INCIDENTS

OF ALIEN ENCOUNTERS.

ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS CITED BY THE CONSPIRACY THEORISTS

OCCURRED RIGHT HERE IN THE U.K.

MAN: It's coming this way.

It is definitely coming this way.

Now we're observing

what appears to be a beam coming down to the ground.

This is unreal.

Penniston: ANYBODY THAT WAS A WITNESS...

WAS TOLD TO TREAT IT AS TOP-SECRET.

Narrator: 1980 WAS THE HEIGHT OF THE COLD WAR.

THE U.S. AIR FORCE CONTROLLED MANY AIRFIELDS IN THE U.K.,

INCLUDING TWO ON THE EDGE OF SUFFOLK'S RENDLESHAM FOREST.

AND IT WAS HERE THAT IT'S CLAIMED

THAT THE U.K.'s BIGGEST MILITARY COVER-UP

OF AN ALIEN ENCOUNTER OCCURRED.

[ INSECTS CHIRPING ]

IT WAS THE NIGHT OF THE 26th OF DECEMBER, 1980.

AT 3:00 A.M., BASE SECURITY AT WOODBRIDGE AIR FORCE BASE

SAW A STRANGE LIGHT IN THE SKY

FALLING TOWARDS RENDLESHAM FOREST.

THE ALARM WAS RAISED.

[ Indistinct chatter over walkie-talkie ]

26-YEAR-OLD SERGEANT JIM PENNISTON

LED THE TEAM SENT OUT TO INVESTIGATE

WHAT THEY THOUGHT WAS A CRASHED AIRCRAFT.

WHAT HE BELIEVES HE DISCOVERED CHANGED HIS LIFE FOREVER.

I WENT IN ONE PERSON AND LEFT ANOTHER.

IT WENT AGAINST EVERYTHING I BELIEVED IN

AND WHAT COULD BE TRUE, WHAT COULD BE POSSIBLE.

Narrator: THE TEAM MOVED TOWARDS A FAINT LIGHT

THEY BELIEVED WAS THE CRASH SITE.

AS WE ENTERED THE TREE LINE...

THERE WAS A FLASH OF LIGHT.

I MEAN, A HUGE FLASH OF LIGHT. IT WAS BRIGHT BLUISH-WHITE.

AS THE LIGHT FADED, SERGEANT PENNISTON CLAIMS

HE SAW SOMETHING OUT OF THIS WORLD.

Narrator: MANY PEOPLE CLAIM THAT OUR GOVERNMENTS ARE CONSPIRING

TO COVER UP THE TRUTH ABOUT UFO ENCOUNTERS.

ONE OF THE MOST INCREDIBLE SIGHTINGS

IT'S CLAIMED THEY SUPPRESSED

OCCURRED RIGHT HERE IN THE U.K.,

WHEN SERGEANT JIM PENNISTON OF THE U.S. AIR FORCE

WAS SENT TO INVESTIGATE STRANGE LIGHTS

IN RENDLESHAM FOREST.

Penniston: I WASN'T SURE WHAT I WAS SEEING.

I HAD MY MIND SET THAT IT WAS AN AIRCRAFT CRASH,

AND THERE WAS NO CRASH.

I COULD START SEEING A STRUCTURED CRAFT,

AND IT WAS A TRIANGULAR CRAFT

THAT WAS SITTING ON THE FOREST FLOOR,

AND IT LOOKED LIKE BLACK GLASS.

WHEN I PUSHED IT, IT WAS SOLID.

IT WAS WARM.

THERE WAS SOME TYPE OF MARKINGS ON IT.

THERE WERE GLYPHS ON IT

THAT WERE SOMETHING I'D NEVER SEEN BEFORE.

THERE WAS ANOTHER FLASH OF LIGHT COMING OUT OF IT.

AND THEN IT STARTED TO LIFT OFF THE FOREST FLOOR

AND MOVED A LITTLE BIT THROUGH THESE TREES.

IT MOMENTARILY HOVERED THERE, DID A SLIGHT TURN,

AND WAS GONE IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE.

WHEN I LOOKED, IT HAD MOVED ANOTHER 100 YARDS AWAY.

WE PURSUED IT, AND WE COULD NEVER QUITE CATCH UP WITH IT.

Narrator: FEARING RIDICULE,

PENNISTON DIDN'T DISCLOSE HIS CLOSE ENCOUNTER,

REPORTING ONLY THAT HE SAW UNIDENTIFIED LIGHTS.

BUT RUMORS OF HIS TEAM'S UFO SIGHTING

BEGAN TO CIRCULATE AROUND THE BASE.

AND TWO NIGHTS LATER, THE LIGHTS WERE SEEN AGAIN.

THIS TIME, A LARGER FORCE WAS SENT TO INVESTIGATE,

LED BY DEPUTY BASE COMMANDER, LIEUTENANT COLONEL HOLT.

AT THE SITE OF PENNISTON'S ENCOUNTER,

HOLT'S TEAM RECORDED STRANGE INDENTATIONS IN THE GROUND,

AND DETECTED ABNORMAL RADIATION READINGS.

[ METER CRACKLING ]

THEN, THEY, TOO, SAW THE LIGHTS.

COLONEL HOLT RECORDED EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED.

-What is it? -We don't know, Sir.

There's something very, very strange.

It's coming this way.

It is definitely coming this way.

Now we're observing

what appears to be a beam coming down to the ground.

This is unreal.

Narrator: WHEN THE LIGHTS FINALLY DISAPPEARED,

HOLT RETURNED TO BASE A BELIEVER.

HE SENT AN INTERNAL MEMO UP THE CHAIN OF COMMAND,

DOCUMENTING HIS ENCOUNTER.

I HAVE A LIEUTENANT COLONEL, DEPUTY BASE COMMANDER,

WHO NOW ACKNOWLEDGES AND VALIDATES THE FIRST NIGHT.

IT'S NO LONGER JUST ME TELLING THE STORY.

HE EXPERIENCED SOMETHING THAT HE COULDN'T EXPLAIN EITHER.

Narrator: AFTER COLONEL HOLT REPORTED HIS SIGHTING,

PENNISTON WAS ORDERED

TO GIVE A DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF HIS OWN CLOSE ENCOUNTER

TO GOVERNMENT INSPECTORS.

BUT THEIR RESPONSE WAS UNEXPECTED.

ACCORDING TO PENNISTON, THEY GAVE HIM A COVER STORY

AND ORDERED HIM TO SUPPRESS THE TRUTH.

Penniston: I SAID, "IT'S NOT ACCURATE."

AND THEY SAID, "THIS IS AN OPEN INVESTIGATION

BY THE OFFICE OF SPECIAL INVESTIGATION.

YOU ARE REQUIRED TO GO AHEAD AND USE THIS AS THE COVER STORY

TO ANYBODY THAT ASKS ABOUT THIS."

Narrator: AT THIS POINT, SERGEANT PENNISTON CLAIMS,

THE INTERROGATION TOOK A SINISTER TURN.

AGENTS DRUGGED HIM TO MAKE HIM FORGET THE WHOLE INCIDENT,

EXPLAINING WHY HE'S BEEN SILENT ABOUT HIS ENCOUNTER FOR YEARS.

I CAN UNDERSTAND THEIR NEED FOR THAT.

I CAN UNDERSTAND IT.

I DON'T -- I DON'T AGREE WITH THE METHODS.

SODIUM PENTOTHAL WAS USED.

AND, YOU KNOW, IT WAS -- IT WAS REALLY...BAD.

[ CHUCKLES ] I MEAN BAD.

Narrator: SERGEANT PENNISTON SAYS THAT IT WAS YEARS

BEFORE HE REGAINED THE MEMORIES OF HIS CLOSE ENCOUNTER.

BOTH HE AND COLONEL HOLT CLAIM THE RENDLESHAM INCIDENT

IS A HUGE U.S. GOVERNMENT COVER-UP OF A UFO ENCOUNTER.

BUT WHY DID UFOs CHOOSE TO LAND IN RENDLESHAM FOREST,

AND WHY WOULD THE MILITARY COVER IT UP?

CONSPIRACISTS CLAIM THAT IT'S ALL ABOUT NUCLEAR WEAPONS.

THEY SAY THAT THERE IS NO COINCIDENCE

THAT UFO SIGHTINGS HAVE SHOT UP

AFTER WE ENTERED THE NUCLEAR ERA.

FROM AN ALIEN PERSPECTIVE, MANKIND HAD COME OF AGE.

Friedman: AT THE END OF WORLD WAR II, I

THAT SOON THESE IDIOT EARTHLINGS WOULD BE ABLE TO GO OUT THERE

AND BOTHER THEM WITH NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY.

Narrator: IT'S CLAIMED THAT,

IN THE 1980s, STRATEGIC NUCLEAR WEAPONS

WERE SECRETLY HOUSED AT U.S. BASES IN BRITAIN,

INCLUDING THE TWO MILITARY BASES

ON THE EDGE OF RENDLESHAM FOREST.

BUT IT'S NEVER BEEN CONFIRMED.

BELIEVERS CLAIM

THAT THE UFO HAD COME TO SPY ON THESE MUNITIONS.

IN HIS ACCOUNT, COLONEL HOLT STATES

THAT THE UFO SHONE A BEAM ONTO THE HANGAR

WHERE THE NUKES WERE ALLEGEDLY STORED.

Friedman: WHEN YOU'VE GOT NUCLEAR WEAPONS,

I WOULD THINK ALIENS WOULD WANT TO KNOW

WHAT WAS GOING ON HERE.

Narrator: THE CONSPIRACY THEORISTS

POINT TO THE FACT THAT THE U.S. MILITARY

KEPT THE RENDLESHAM FOREST INCIDENT UNDER WRAPS

FOR OVER TWO YEARS.

THE STORY OF THE UFO ENCOUNTER ONLY HIT THE HEADLINES IN 1983,

WHEN COLONEL HOLT'S OFFICIAL MEMO

BECAME THE SUBJECT OF A FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST

AND THE MILITARY WAS FORCED TO RELEASE IT.

BUT SKEPTICS CLAIM THAT THE RENDLESHAM INCIDENT

WAS NO CLOSE ENCOUNTER.

THEY SAY THERE IS A SIMPLE EXPLANATION

FOR THE STRANGE LIGHTS.

A LIGHTHOUSE -- SPECIFICALLY ORFORDNESS LIGHTHOUSE,

ON THE COAST A FEW MILES FROM THE FOREST.

IF YOU'RE STANDING IN RENDLESHAM FOREST AT THE RIGHT POSITION,

YOU CAN ACTUALLY SEE THE LIGHTHOUSE STICKING OUT.

I'VE SEEN IT.

IT'S PERFECTLY VISIBLE FROM WHERE COLONEL HOLT WAS

AT THE TIME HE WAS MAKING THE RECORDING.

Narrator: THE LIGHTHOUSE FLASHES EVERY FIVE SECONDS,

A FACT SKEPTICS SAY PROVES THERE WAS NO UFO.

YOU PLAY COLONEL HOLT'S RECORDING,

AND YOU CAN HEAR HIM.

YOU CAN ACTUALLY TIME IT AGAINST THE FLASHES.

THERE IT GOES AGAIN.

NOW, HE DIDN'T DESCRIBE IN ANY STATE RECORDING

SEEING A UFO AND A LIGHTHOUSE

HE DESCRIBES SEEING A UFO.

HE DOESN'T MENTION THE LIGHTHOUSE

AT ANY POINT IN THAT RECORDING.

SO, HIM SAYING YEARS LATER

HE COULDN'T POSSIBLY HAVE GOT THE TWO MIXED UP --

I'M SORRY, DOES NOT COOK ANY...WITH ME.

OH, IF THEY WANT TO SAY IT'S A LIGHTHOUSE, THEY CAN.

I DON'T CARE.

IT WAS A STRUCTURED CRAFT. IT WAS ON THE GROUND.

THAT IS WHAT THEY'RE TRYING TO HIDE.

Narrator: THE SKEPTICS ALSO DOUBT BOTH PENNISTON'S ACCOUNT

OF HIS CLOSE ENCOUNTER WITH THE CRAFT

AND THE DRUG-FUELED COVER-UP,

BECAUSE THESE KEY REVELATIONS WERE ONLY REPORTED BY PENNISTON

YEARS AFTER THE EVENT.

Clarke: NONE OF THAT WAS MENTIONED IN 1981.

THE RIGHT WAY OF LOOKING AT IT IS TO SAY,

THOSE PEOPLE MAKING THOSE CLAIMS,

LET'S SEE YOUR EVIDENCE.

WHERE IS YOUR EVIDENCE?

THERE ISN'T ANY, JUST STORIES.

AND THOSE STORIES BECOME BIGGER AND BIGGER AND BIGGER

AND MORE ELABORATE EVERY YEAR.

Narrator: SKEPTICS BELIEVE THERE WAS ANOTHER REASON

FOR THE MILITARY COVERING UP THE ALLEGED ENCOUNTER.

IF NUCLEAR WEAPONS WERE SECRETLY KEPT AT THE BASES,

THE AUTHORITIES WOULD'VE BEEN KEEN TO HUSH UP ANY INCIDENT

THAT CAST DOUBT ON THE SECURITY AND INTEGRITY

OF THE BASE DEFENSES.

THE IDEA THAT THE GOVERNMENT IS COVERING UP

SOMETHING IT'S EMBARRASSED ABOUT IS A LOT LESS INTERESTING

THAN IT'S COVERING UP SOMETHING THAT IT'S FRIGHTENED ABOUT.

BUT THE FORMER, OF COURSE, IS MUCH MORE LIKELY TO BE THE CASE.

Narrator: WHETHER OR NOT THE U.S. MILITARY

WERE ATTEMPTING TO HIDE IMPORTANT SECRETS

REMAINS UNKNOWN TO THIS DAY.

BUT WE NOW KNOW FOR A FACT

THAT FOR DECADES, ON BOTH SIDES OF THE ATLANTIC,

THE MILITARY HAD BEEN SECRETLY STUDYING UFOs.

BY THE EARLY 1950s, BOTH THE U.S. AND U.K. MILITARIES

HAD SET UP TOP-SECRET TASK FORCES

TO INVESTIGATE THE POSTWAR BOOM

IN SIGHTINGS OF UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECTS.

Pope: THE CENTRAL PURPOSE OF THE UFO PROJECT

WAS TO ASCERTAIN WHETHER OR NOT ANY OF THESE SIGHTINGS

CONSTITUTED A THREAT TO THE DEFENSE OF THE U.K.

IN OTHER WORDS, WE LOOKED TO THIS STRICTLY

AS A DEFENSE AND NATIONAL-SECURITY ISSUE.

Narrator: THE BRITISH AND U.S. GOVERNMENTS' FEAR

WAS THAT UFOs WERE IN FACT ENEMY SOVIET AIRCRAFT.

Pope: CONCERNS ABOUT

PARTICULARLY WHAT RECONNAISSANCE AND BOMBER AIRCRAFT

THE SOVIET UNION POSSESSED

WAS REALLY A HUGE QUESTION.

SO, THESE SIGHTINGS OF UFOs, PEOPLE WERE THINKING,

"MAYBE THE SOVIETS HAVE MADE A QUANTUM LEAP."

Narrator: THE M.O.D.'s UFO PROJECT SPENT DECADES

INVESTIGATING THOUSANDS OF REPORTED SIGHTINGS.

AND IN 2009, THEIR FILES WERE FINALLY DECLASSIFIED.

THE OFFICIAL LINE --

THEY NEVER FOUND ANY EVIDENCE OF EXTRATERRESTRIALS.

BUT SOME CLAIM THE TRUTH IS VERY DIFFERENT

AND THAT SOME SIGHTINGS WERE NEVER EXPLAINED.

Pope: AROUND 80% OF THE SIGHTINGS

COULD BE EXPLAINED SATISFACTORILY

AS MISIDENTIFICATIONS.

ANOTHER 15% -- REALLY, THERE WAS INSUFFICIENT DATA

TO COME TO A FIRM CONCLUSION,

LEAVING 5% UNKNOWN.

Narrator: MANY UFOLOGISTS CLAIM THAT THE TRUTH ABOUT THIS 5%

HAS BEEN KNOWN FOR DECADES

AND THAT THE HIGHEST LEVELS OF THE U.K. MILITARY

ARE COVERING UP ALIEN CONTACT.

I DON'T BELIEVE FOR A MINUTE

THAT ENGLAND HAS RELEASED ALL OF THEIR FILES.

THAT'S THE KICKER HERE --

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SECRET AND TOP-SECRET, FOR EXAMPLE.

Robinson: I DO BELIEVE THAT MAYBE THE GOVERNMENT KNOWS MORE

THAN THEY'RE LETTING ON.

THAT'S WITH UFO SIGHTINGS IN BRITAIN AS A WHOLE.

I DO BELIEVE THEY'VE GOT A LOT MORE TO ANSWER FOR.

Narrator: MALCOLM ROBINSON

HAS BEEN INVESTIGATING UFO SIGHTINGS FOR OVER 30 YEARS.

HE BELIEVES THAT THE ABSENCE FROM THE M.O.D. RECORDS

OF CERTAIN KNOWN UFO ENCOUNTERS

POINTS TO A CONTINUING CONSPIRACY.

[ BIRDS CHIRPING ]

ONE SUCH ENCOUNTER OCCURRED IN 1979 IN DECHMONT WOODS,

NEAR THE TOWN OF LIVINGSTON IN SCOTLAND,

WHEN FORESTRY WORKER ROBERT TAYLOR

CLAIMED TO HAVE BEEN ASSAULTED BY EXTRATERRESTRIALS

IN BROAD DAYLIGHT.

IT WAS SUNDAY MORNING OF NOVEMBER 9th, 1979,

THAT ROBERT TAYLOR WAS WALKING DOWN

THIS FORESTRY PATH BEHIND ME.

AND AS HE WALKED DOWN THIS PATH, HE CAME TO THIS CLEARING.

AND AS HE STOOD THERE,

HE WAS ABSOLUTELY GOBSMACKED BY WHAT HE SAW.

Narrator: ACCORDING TO HIS LATER TESTIMONY,

HOVERING ABOVE THE CLEARING WAS A UFO.

Robinson: HE WAS ABSOLUTELY TRANSFIXED.

HE'S NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS BEFORE.

HE WAS ABSOLUTELY ASTONISHED.

AND HE NOTICED THAT PARTS OF THE OBJECT

DEMATERIALIZED AND SOLIDIFIED AGAIN.

AND JUST THEN, WHAT RESEMBLED TWO SECOND-WORLD-WAR SEA MINES

DESCENDED FROM BENEATH THIS OBJECT

AND STARTED ROLLING ACROSS THE GRASS TOWARDS HIM.

THEY STOPPED, AND THEY PROJECTED THESE ROD-LIKE PROJECTIONS

TOWARDS BOTH OF HIS HIPS AND PULLED HIM,

AND AT THAT POINT...

...HE LOST CONSCIOUSNESS.

Narrator: IN NOVEMBER 1979,

WHEN 61-YEAR-OLD ROBERT TAYLOR WAS WALKING THROUGH WOODLANDS

NEAR LIVINGSTON IN CENTRAL SCOTLAND,

THE LAST THING HE EXPECTED TO SEE WAS A UFO.

WHATEVER HE ENCOUNTERED,

HE CLAIMED HE WAS ATTACKED BY IT AND LEFT UNCONSCIOUS.

ACCORDING TO TAYLOR'S TESTIMONY,

WHEN HE CAME TO, THE UFO WAS NOWHERE TO BE SEEN,

BUT HE CLAIMED THE AIR WAS FULL OF A CHOKING GAS.

IN A DAZE, TAYLOR STUMBLED BACK TO HIS HOUSE

AND CALLED THE POLICE.

WHEN THEY ARRIVED,

THEY DISCOVERED THE FORESTRY WORKER

BATTERED AND BRUISED, WITH TORN CLOTHING.

IT'S GONE DOWN IN HISTORY, THIS CASE,

AS BEING THE ONLY EXAMPLE OF A POLICE INVESTIGATION

INTO A SUSPICIOUS ATTACK BY A UFO ON AN INDIVIDUAL.

Narrator: ROBERT TAYLOR WAS THE ONLY WITNESS

TO THE EVENTS HE DESCRIBED,

BUT HIS ACCOUNT WAS JUDGED TO BE RELIABLE.

Dash: EVERYBODY WHO'S INVESTIGATED THE CASE

SAYS BOB TAYLOR HIMSELF WAS A VERY CREDIBLE WITNESS.

HE DIDN'T TRY TO MAKE MONEY OUT OF THE CASE.

HE WAS VERY PHLEGMATIC ABOUT IT,

AND DIDN'T SEEM PARTICULARLY PERTURBED OR EXCITED ABOUT IT.

AND HE WAS NOT SOMEBODY WHO WAS KNOWN

FOR MAKING UP STORIES OR MAKING INCREDIBLE CLAIMS.

HE BELIEVED -- AND HE ALWAYS, TILL HIS DYING DAY,

HE BELIEVED THAT HE SAW A SPACESHIP,

FOR WANT OF A BETTER WORD.

IN FACT, THAT'S THE WORDS HE USED.

HE SAW A SPACESHIP.

Narrator: UNLIKE MANY UFO SIGHTINGS,

TAYLOR'S EYEWITNESS STATEMENT

WAS SUPPORTED BY PHYSICAL EVIDENCE.

WHEN THE POLICE VISITED THE CLEARING

WHERE TAYLOR CLAIMED HE WAS ATTACKED,

THEY FOUND THE GROUNDS SCARRED WITH STRANGE INDENTATIONS.

ON EXAMINING THE AREA, I FOUND TWO TREAD MARKS

AND APPROXIMATELY 40 HOLES IN THE GROUND.

SINCE THEN, I'VE PHOTOGRAPHED THE HOLES.

YOU CAN ACTUALLY SEE THE TREAD MARKS,

WHICH CORRESPOND TO THE MARKS HERE.

THIS IS THE AREA IN QUESTION

WHERE ROBERT TAYLOR SAID HE SAW THIS FANTASTIC OBJECT.

THIS AREA HERE -- WE HAVE OVER 40 HOLES IN THE GRASS.

AND IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS SLOPING FIELD,

AT THE TIME, WERE THESE TRACK-LIKE MARKS.

REALLY BAFFLING STUFF, BECAUSE THERE WERE NO TRACKS

ACTUALLY RUNNING TO THE CLEARING OR RUNNING AWAY FROM IT.

Robinson: WITH THE TESTIMONY OF ROBERT TAYLOR,

WITH THESE SPIKY BALLS

THAT DESCENDED FROM BENEATH THIS OBJECT

AND ROLLED ACROSS THE GRASS,

PERHAPS IT WAS THAT, THOSE DEVICES,

THAT MAY HAVE MADE THESE INDENTATIONS,

THESE MARKS IN THE GRASS.

Narrator: THE POLICE PHOTOGRAPHS AND SKETCHES

ARE NOT THE ONLY EVIDENCE THAT REMAINS FROM THE INCIDENT.

Robinson: WHAT I'M HOLDING HERE IS THE ACTUAL TROUSERS

THAT ROBERT TAYLOR WORE ON THAT EVENTFUL MORNING.

AND THEY CLEARLY SHOW THE RIPS ON THE TROUSERS HERE.

WE HAVE QUITE A SUBSTANTIAL RIP ON THE RIGHT LEG OF THE TROUSER.

AND ALSO, IF WE TURN THE TROUSERS ONTO THIS SIDE,

ON THE LEFT LEG, WE HAVE QUITE A MORE SUBSTANTIAL TEAR,

AS WE CAN SEE HERE.

THE TESTIMONY WAS THAT THESE RIPS WERE MADE

BY THESE SEA-MINE DEVICES

THAT FELL FROM BENEATH THE OBJECT

THAT ROBERT TAYLOR SAW ON THAT EVENTFUL MORNING.

THE MARKS THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT

COULD'VE BEEN MADE BY SOMETHING NOT OF THIS WORLD.

Clarke: THEY FOUND EVIDENCE

THAT SOMETHING HAD ATTACHED ITSELF TO HIS TROUSERS.

ALMOST LIKE HAVING HAVING ALMOST TRIED TO LIFT HIM UP

AND MADE RIPS IN THE SIDE OF THE TROUSERS,

AND THESE WERE FOUND IN THE FORENSIC LAB.

Narrator: BUT ULTIMATELY,

DESPITE ALL THE EYEWITNESS AND PHYSICAL EVIDENCE,

THE POLICE INVESTIGATION GROUND TO A HALT.

AND WHEN THE GOVERNMENT'S UFO FILES

WERE FINALLY RELEASED IN 2009,

THERE WAS NO FILE ON ROBERT TAYLOR'S ENCOUNTER.

FOR MALCOLM ROBINSON,

THIS IS EVIDENCE OF A DELIBERATE COVER-UP

OF WHAT REALLY HAPPENED IN DECHMONT WOODS.

IT'S MY BELIEF

THAT THE GOVERNMENT WERE AWARE OF THIS CASE.

IT WAS ON THEIR RADAR. IT WAS ON THEIR AGENDA.

IT'S MY CONTENTION

THAT THEY UNDERTOOK THEIR OWN INVESTIGATION

THIS WAS MAJOR.

I BELIEVE THAT WE ARE DEALING

WITH A VERY REAL -- A VERY TANGIBLE -- ALIEN PRESENCE

HERE ON PLANET EARTH.

THAT SOUNDS FANTASTIC,

BUT JUST BECAUSE SOMETHING SOUNDS AND LOOKS RIDICULOUS,

WE SHOULDN'T LAUGH AT IT.

Narrator: ROBERT TAYLOR'S ACCOUNT GOES DOWN

AS ONE OF THE MOST MYSTERIOUS BRITISH UFO SIGHTINGS EVER.

BUT SKEPTICS BELIEVE THERE IS A MORE MUNDANE EXPLANATION

FOR HIS ALLEGED ENCOUNTER.

MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH THESE THINGS IS THAT,

IN ALMOST ALL CASES,

ONE TENDS TO FIND THAT IT'S EITHER A HOAX

OR SOMETHING'S HAPPENED IN SOMEBODY'S BRAIN.

Narrator: THE THEORY IS THAT, IN THE FOREST THAT DAY,

ROBERT TAYLOR MAY HAVE EXPERIENCED

SOME KIND OF EPILEPTIC SEIZURE.

ONE OF THE COMMON SYMPTOMS OF AN EPILEPTIC ATTACK

IS PEOPLE SEEING A BALL OF LIGHT RUSHING TOWARDS THEM

OR SUDDENLY LOSING CONSCIOUSNESS.

AND THE SMELL THAT ROBERT TAYLOR SAID HE SMELLED --

THIS HORRIBLE CHOKING SMELL --

THAT'S THE SORT OF THING YOU WOULD EXPECT

FROM SOMEBODY HAVING A SEIZURE.

Narrator: BUT IF ROBERT'S UFO EXPERIENCE

THERE IS STILL NO EXPLANATION FOR THE MARKS IN THE CLEARING

OR THE RIPS IN HIS TROUSERS.

THE POLICE CASE REMAINS OPEN AND UNSOLVED,

AND THE RUMORS OF CONSPIRACY CONTINUE.

THE ROBERT TAYLOR AND RENDLESHAM INCIDENTS

ARE NOT THE ONLY ENCOUNTERS

CONSPIRACY THEORISTS CLAIM THE GOVERNMENT IS COVERING UP.

MANY BELIEVE ONE PARTICULAR ACCOUNT

RECORDED IN THE U.K. UFO FILES

POINTS TO THE WILLFUL DESTRUCTION

OF THE BEST EVIDENCE EVER PRODUCED

[ CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING ] OF A UFO OVER BRITAIN.

THE BEST WAY TO KILL THE STORY

IS TO MAKE SURE NO ONE HAS THE PICTURE.

Narrator: ACCORDING TO THE UFO FILES,

IN AUGUST 1990,

TWO HIKERS WERE WALKING IN THE SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS,

CLOSE TO CALVINE, NORTH OF PITLOCHRY.

SUDDENLY, THEY SAW SOMETHING INCREDIBLE.

[ CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING ]

IT WAS A CHANCE FOR THE PICTURE OF A LIFETIME.

THE HIKERS IMMEDIATELY CONTACTED JOURNALISTS

FROM THE SCOTTISH DAILY RECORD NEWSPAPER.

AFTER VIEWING THEIR PHOTOS,

THE JOURNALISTS CHOSE TO SHARE BOTH PICTURES AND NEGATIVES

WITH THE MINISTRY OF DEFENCE.

THE UFO DESK FILES SAY THAT THE IMAGES WERE THEN ANALYZED

BY THE BEST TEAM IN THE BUSINESS.

THE DEFENCE INTELLIGENCE STAFF SENT THESE IMAGES TO JARIC.

THAT'S THE JOINT AIR RECONNAISSANCE AND INTE

NOW, THIS IS THE U.K.'s MILITARY CENTER OF EXPERTISE

WHEN IT COMES TO IMAGERY ANALYSIS.

Narrator: THEY IDENTIFIED A SMALL JET IN THE BACKGROUND.

BUT THE LARGE DIAMOND-SHAPED CRAFT IN THE FOREGROUND

DEFIED CLASSIFICATION.

THESE INTELLIGENCE PERSONNEL COME TO THE CONCLUSION

THAT THESE PHOTOGRAPHS ARE REAL.

IT'S A SOLID CRAFT,

AND NO ONE HAS THE FAINTEST IDEA WHAT IT IS.

Narrator: AT THE TIME,

NICK POPE WAS A JUNIOR MEMBER OF THE UFO TEAM.

HE REMEMBERS THE RESPONSE OF THE M.O.D.'s TOP UFO EXPERT.

HE STARTED GESTICULATING,

AND HE SAID, "WELL, WE KNOW IT'S NOT THE AMERICANS,"

AND HE POINTED HIS FINGER THAT WAY.

AND HE FLIPPED IT THE OTHER WAY,

AND HE SAID, "IT'S NOT THE RUSSIANS."

AND HE SAID, "THAT ONLY LEAVES..."

AND HE DID THAT.

AND MY BOSS LOOKED AT HIS FINGER,

LOOKED UP AT THE CEILING,

AND WE ALL JUST LOOKED AT EACH OTHER,

AND NOTHING FURTHER WAS SAID.

I MEAN, THERE WERE CERTAINLY PEOPLE IN THE M.O.D.

WHO WERE PREPARED TO THINK THE UNTHINKABLE AND SAY,

"YEAH. MAYBE, JUST MAYBE, IT COULD BE EXTRATERRESTRIAL."

Narrator: BEHIND NICK'S UFO PROJECT DESK,

THE CALVINE PICTURE HAD PRIDE OF PLACE.

Pope: PEOPLE WOULD COME INTO OUR SECTION,

THEY WOULD SEE THIS THING,

AND SAY, "WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?"

AND WE'D TELL THE STORY.

IT'S THE BEST UFO PHOTO WE EVER RECEIVED.

Narrator: THEN, SUDDENLY, THINGS CHANGED.

ACCORDING TO NICK POPE, AN INTERNAL COVER-UP BEGAN.

Pope: ONE DAY, MY HEAD OF DIVISION CAME IN

AND HE REMOVED IT.

I DON'T KNOW WHETHER IT WAS SENT SOMEWHERE ELSE FOR SAFEKEEPING

OR SOMEONE ELSE ON HIS BEHALF PUT IT THROUGH THE SHREDDER.

BUT WHATEVER HAPPENED, WHEN THE M.O.D. OPENED ITS UFO FILES,

QUESTIONS WERE ASKED ABOUT THAT PICTURE,

AND THE ANSWER WAS, "WELL, WE DON'T KNOW. IT'S GONE."

[ LOCK CLICKS ]

Narrator: OUTSIDE EVIDENCE OF THE PHOTOGRAPH'S EXISTENCE

HAD ALSO DISAPPEARED.

THE DAILY RECORD NEVER PUBLISHED THE PICTURES,

AND NOW THEIR JOURNALISTS CLAIM NO KNOWLEDGE OF THE STORY.

NOW TO ME, IF YOU'D BEEN GIVEN A PHOTOGRAPH LIKE THAT,

WHAT A FANTASTIC SCOOP.

I JUST THOUGHT,

WHY WAS IT THAT THE SCOTTISH DAILY RECORD

DIDN'T PUBLISH THESE PHOTOGRAPHS?

AND I SPOKE TO ALL THE CHIEF REPORTERS

WHO WERE AROUND AT THAT TIME.

THEY KNEW ALL THE PEOPLE WHO WERE THERE BACK TO 1990.

NONE OF THEM COULD REMEMBER THE STORY AT ALL.

Pope: I CAN ONLY ASSUME

INTELLIGENCE SPECIALISTS IN THE MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

CONVINCED THE PAPER NOT TO RUN THIS,

MAYBE THROUGH USE OF A D-NOTICE,

BUT MAYBE THROUGH SOME OTHER MEANS.

AND FOR WHATEVER REASON,

THE PAPER COMPLIED WITH THIS REQUEST,

AND THE STORY WAS DROPPED.

Narrator: WITHOUT THE JOURNALISTS,

THE HIKERS COULD NOT BE TRACED,

AND THEY HAVE NEVER COME FORWARD.

ALL THAT NOW SURVIVES IN THE UFO DESK'S CALVINE IMAGE FILE

ARE A COUPLE OF CRUDE LINE DRAWINGS.

THE ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPH HAS DISAPPEARED WITHOUT TRACE,

AND MANY BELIEVE THIS POINTS TO A COVER-UP.

WELL, IF IT WAS AN EXTRATERRESTRIAL CRAFT,

THAT'S A BIG, BIG STORY FOR THE GOVERNMENT,

NOT ONLY OF THE U.K., BUT ANY GOVERNMENT,

TO OPENLY PUT A HAND UP AND ADMIT THAT WE ARE DEALING

WITH A RECOGNIZABLE ALIEN TECHNOLOGY PRESENCE HERE

SURROUNDING PLANET EARTH.

IN THIS SORT OF SITUATION,

IT REALLY IS THE CASE THAT A PICTURE PAINTS 1,000 WORDS.

YOU KNOW, THE BEST WAY TO KILL THE STORY

IS TO MAKE SURE NO ONE HAS THE PICTURE.

Narrator: BUT COULD THERE BE ANOTHER EXPLANATION

FOR A GOVERNMENT CONSPIRACY --

ONE THAT DOES NOT INVOLVE ALIENS?

WELL, I THINK THIS IS ONE OF THOSE RARE OCCASIONS

WHERE THERE ACTUALLY IS A CONSPIRACY OF SORT,

THOUGH MAYBE IT'S NOT QUITE THE CONSPIRACY

THAT PEOPLE THINK IT IS.

Narrator: THE TRUTH IS THAT, DURING THE COLD WAR,

THE U.S. MILITARY HAD MANY SECRETS TO HIDE,

INCLUDING THE STEALTH AND SPY AIRCRAFT TECHNOLOGY

THAT HAD LED TO THE F-117 FIGHTER

AND B-2 BOMBER.

RUMORS THAT THE AMERICANS

WERE WORKING ON AN EVEN MORE ADVANCED SPY PLANE

HAD CIRCULATED

IN THE MONTHS LEADING UP TO THE CALVINE INCIDENT.

A LOT OF STUFF ON TV AND RADIO

ABOUT THIS NEW HYPERSONIC AIRCRAFT

THAT THE AMERICANS WERE SUPPOSED TO BE TESTING --

CODE-NAMED AURORA --

WHICH WAS SUPPOSED TO BE DIAMOND-SHAPED,

AND IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE NEXT GENERATION

OF STEALTH AIRCRAFT

AFTER THE F-117 AND THE B-2 BOMBER.

Narrator: SKEPTICS BELIEVE THAT THE HEAD

ALTHOUGH NOT CLEARED TO KNOW ABOUT AURORA,

WOULD HAVE HAD THE INCENTIVE

TO PROTECT AN AMERICAN MILITARY SECRET.

THEY'D NOT GOT ANY CONFIRMATION

THAT THIS WAS FLYING IN BRITISH AIRSPACE,

BUT THEY SUSPECTED IT MIGHT BE.

SO, TO THEM, THIS WAS POTENTIALLY, YOU KNOW,

A PICTURE OF A TOP-SECRET AIRCRAFT.

SO, YOU CAN IMAGINE THERE WOULD BE A LOT OF SORT OF, "MM."

YOU KNOW, "THIS IS NOT SOMETHING WE WANT TO SAY MUCH ABOUT."

Narrator: THE DESIRE TO PROTECT TECHNOLOGICAL SECRETS

COULD EXPLAIN WHY ALL TRACES OF THE CALVINE PHOTOGRAPH

WERE REMOVED.

THE INHERENT SECRECY OF THE GOVERNMENT AND THE MILITARY

HAS LED TO A SITUATION

WHERE PEOPLE THINK WE DO HAVE A SPACESHIP HIDDEN

IN AN AIR-FORCE HANGAR SOMEWHERE.

IF WE DID HAVE A SPACESHIP HIDDEN,

I'M AFRAID THEY DIDN'T TELL ME.

Narrator: BUT UFO BELIEVERS REMAIN UNCONVINCED.

AND THEY CLAIM GOVERNMENT COVER-UPS NOW EXTEND INTO SPACE.

THEY ALLEGE THAT A RECENT SPACE PROBE

IS JUST A COVER FOR A MORE SINISTER MISSION

TO RENDEZVOUS WITH ALIENS.

White: IT WAS PRETTY OBVIOUS STRAIGHTAWAY

THAT THERE WERE STRUCTURES ON THERE.

AND THERE WAS EVEN A UFO HOVERING JUST ABOVE THE SURFACE,

ABOUT THE SIZE OF A FAMILY CAR.

[ WHIRRING ]

Narrator: WITH ADVANCES IN ROBOTIC TECHNOLOGY,

SPACE EXPLORATION HAS ENTERED A NEW ERA.

UNMANNED PROBES ARE NOW AT THE FOREFRONT

OF OUR EXPLORATION OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM.

[ Man speaking indistinctly over radio ]

BUT SOME BELIEVE THAT OUR FORAYS INTO SPACE

HAVE A MORE SINISTER PURPOSE.

THE LATEST SPACE MISSION

TO FALL UNDER THE CONSPIRACY SPOTLIGHT

IS THE EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY'S ROSETTA MISSION.

Man: 2014 LEAVES ONE NAME WRITTEN IN SPACE -- ROSETTA.

A SCIENTIFIC EXPERIMENT 20 YEARS IN THE MAKING,

AND SO FAR, IT'S WORKED PERFECTLY.

Narrator: THE EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY

PORTRAYS THE ROSETTA MISSION AS PURE SCIENCE --

A 10-YEAR VOYAGE ACROSS MILLIONS OF MILES OF SPACE

TO SURVEY THE DISTANT COMET 67P.

Man: ROSETTA'S IMAGES AND MEASUREMENTS

ARE HELPING SCIENTISTS

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ROLE OF COMETS

IN THE EVOLUTION OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM.

Narrator: BUT SOME BELIEVE THIS MISSION IS A SMOKE SCREEN.

JOE WHITE RUNS THE UFO SPOTTERS' WEB CHANNEL ArtAlien.

IN AUGUST 2014, HE RECEIVED A MYSTERIOUS E-MAIL.

White: I ACTUALLY READ IT OUT TO MY WIFE.

SHE INSTANTLY RECOGNIZED IT

AS SOUNDING VERY OFFICIAL, AND AUTHENTIC, AS WELL,

BECAUSE THE WORDING IS DONE IN A VERY SORT OF MILITARY WAY.

Narrator: THE E-MAIL'S ANONYMOUS AUTHOR

CLAIMED THEY WORKED AT THE SPACE AGENCY

AND THAT ROSETTA'S SCIENTIFIC MISSION WAS A COVER.

"DO NOT THINK FOR ONE MOMENT THAT THE SPACE AGENCY

WOULD SUDDENLY DECIDE TO SPEND BILLIONS OF DOLLARS

TO BUILD AND SEND A SPACECRAFT ON A 12-YEAR JOURNEY

TO SIMPLY TAKE CLOSE-UP IMAGES

OF A RANDOMLY PICKED-OUT COMET FLOATING THROUGH SPACE."

Narrator: THE E-MAIL ALLEGED THAT THE REAL AIM OF THE PROBE

WAS TO CARRY OUT A MILITARY MISSION

TO MAKE CONTACT WITH ALIENS.

IT STATES THAT, DECADES AGO, A MYSTERIOUS RADIO SIGNAL

HAD BEEN RECEIVED FROM THE DISTANT COMET 67P.

[ SIGNAL PLAYING ]

White: MY UNDERSTANDING OF IT IS

IS ONE OF OUR DEEP-SPACE SATELLITES OR PROBES

MAY HAVE PICKED UP THIS SIGNAL AS FAR BACK AS 20 YEARS AGO.

[ SIGNAL CONTINUES ]

Narrator: CONSPIRACISTS BELIEVE THE SIGNAL IS A MESSAGE

FROM INTELLIGENT EXTRATERRESTRIALS.

THIS SIGNAL IS ACTUALLY MUSICAL,

AND CONTAINS SOME SORT OF INTELLIGENT STRUCTURE

WHICH COULD POSSIBLY BE DECODED.

THIS MISSION WAS NEVER REALLY ABOUT

JUST RANDOMLY LANDING ON A COMET 350 MILLION MILES AWAY.

IT WAS ACTUALLY -- AND IS -- A MILITARY RECONNAISSANCE MISSION.

Narrator: CONSPIRACISTS CLAIM THAT ROSETTA IS DESIGNED

TO RENDEZVOUS WITH THE ALIENS WHO SENT THE SIGNAL.

JOE BELIEVES THE FINAL CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE

IS HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT IN THE PHOTOGRAPHS

ROSETTA IS NOW BEAMING BACK TO EARTH.

White: IT'S A LARGE ROCK. IT'S 4.5 KILOMETERS LONG.

AND IT HAS WHAT SEEM TO BE STRUCTURES ON IT

THAT THE LOOK INTELLIGENTLY MADE.

AND THERE IS EVEN A UFO HOVERING JUST ABOVE THE SURFACE

WITH A SHADOW UNDERNEATH IT ABOUT THE SIZE OF A FAMILY CAR.

THERE IS A TOWER ALSO,

WHICH LOOKS LIKE A COMMUNICATIONS TOWER.

IN FACT, IT LOOKS VERY MUCH LIKE A LIGHTHOUSE,

AND IT STICKS STRAIGHT UP LIKE THIS.

I THINK THE ESA KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THIS IS,

AND...THIS IS EXACTLY WHY WE WENT THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE.

AND I THINK THAT THE E-MAIL STATING AS SUCH

IS BANG ON THE MONEY,

BECAUSE EVERYTHING THAT THAT PERSON SAID IN THE E-MAIL

HAS TURNED OUT TO BE TRUE.

Narrator: BUT MANY SKEPTICS

CHALLENGE EVEN THE BASIC PREMISES OF THIS CONSPIRACY.

Dash: IF YOU LOOK AT THE CONSPIRACY

YOU KNOW, WHAT THEY'RE SAYING IS THAT THE ENTIRE MISSION

HAS BEEN PUT TOGETHER OVER A 20-YEAR PERIOD

TO INVESTIGATE THIS ONE COMET, AND IT'S SIMPLY NOT TRUE.

IT WAS ACTUALLY SUPPOSED

TO INVESTIGATE A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT COMET.

Narrator: UNTIL ITS ORIGINAL LAUNCH WAS DELAYED,

THE ROSETTA MISSION WAS DESTINED FOR COMET 46P.

COMET 67P WAS THE BACKUP OPTION.

AND SKEPTICS SAY

THE ARGUMENT THAT ROSETTA WAS MUCH TOO EXPENSIVE

TO BE A SIMPLE SCIENCE MISSION

IS JUST NOT TRUE.

Dash: A LOT IS MADE ABOUT THE EXPENSE OF THIS MISSION.

"IT WAS A BILLION-POUND MISSION!"

A BILLION POUNDS IN NOTHING, ESSENTIALLY,

IN THE BUDGETS OF THESE TYPES OF MISSIONS.

IT'S THE COST OF FOUR JUMBO JETS.

IF YOU LOOK AT IT FROM THAT POINT OF VIEW,

THIS IS NOT A VERY EXOTIC OR WELL-FUNDED MISSION.

[ SIGNAL PLAYS ]

Narrator: THE SCIENTISTS ALSO HAVE A RATIONAL EXPLANATION

FOR THE RADIO SIGNAL.

IT WAS RECORDED VERY RECENTLY

BY ROSETTA'S PHILAE PROBE ON ITS APPROACH, AND WAS CREATED

BY THE COMET'S OWN FLUCTUATING ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS.

THAT STILL LEAVES THE BUILDINGS ON THE SURFACE,

BUT THE SKEPTICS ARE NOT CONVINCED.

Clarke: THERE IS A PSYCHOLOGICAL PHENOMENA CALLED PAREIDOLIA,

WHERE A HUMAN BEING LOOKS AT A RANDOM PATTERN,

WHATEVER IT IS -- DARK SMUDGES, WHATEVER --

AND YOU SEE PATTERNS IN THAT,

BECAUSE WE ARE ALL PROGRAMMED TO FIND PATTERNS IN RANDOMNESS.

AND PEOPLE ARE LOOKING AT LANDSCAPES,

AND BECAUSE THEY BELIEVE IN ALIENS

AND THEY BELIEVE IN UFOs,

AND THEY'RE SEEING RANDOM OBJECTS AS ALIEN FACES

AND FLYING SAUCERS AND EVIDENCE OF TECHNOLOGY, ET CETERA.

IS PAREIDOLIA. THAT'S WHAT IT IS.

Narrator: SO, SHOULD WE BELIEVE

IN THE EXISTENCE OF ALIEN CONTACT?

IS THERE ANY EVIDENCE TO BACK UP THE IDEA

THAT THERE IS A GLOBAL CONSPIRACY

TO KEEP THE TRUTH HIDDEN?

OR IS THERE ANOTHER EXPLANATION

FOR THE GRIP OF THIS IDEA ON THE POPULAR CONSCIENCE?

PSYCHOLOGISTS BELIEVE

ALIEN-COVER-UP CONSPIRACIES EXIST

BECAUSE THEY TAP INTO A DEEP HUMAN NEED.

Persaud: THE UNIVERSE IS SUCH A VERY, VERY, VERY LARGE PLACE

THAT IT IS ENTIRELY POSSIBLE

FOR INTELLIGENCES TO EXIST ELSEWHERE,

AND EVEN BE HIGH-TECHNOLOGY INTELLIGENCES,

BUT THE VAST SPACES THAT SEPARATE US

LEAVE US TO BE MAROONED FROM EACH OTHER,

IF NOT PERMANENTLY MAROONED.

THAT IS VERY DIFFICULT FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE TO ACCEPT.

SO, THEREFORE, THEY HAVE TO BELIEVE THAT

CONTACT IS NOT JUST POSSIBLE, IT MUST'VE HAPPENED.

AND IF IT MUST'VE HAPPENED, THERE MUST BE A COVER-UP.

AND, AGAIN, YOU SEE THE INEVITABLE LOGICAL STEPS

IN CONSPIRACY THINKING.

IT WAS ANGELS HUNDREDS OF YEARS AGO.

IT'S ALIENS NOW.

ANOTHER FEW HUNDRED YEARS, IT WILL BE SOMETHING ELSE.

PEOPLE WANT TO THINK THERE ARE CREATURES OUT THERE

THAT ARE INTELLIGENT, THAT ARE INTERESTED IN US,

THAT WANT TO STOP US FROM DESTROYING OURSELVES

WITH ATOMIC WEAPONS.

AND NOTHING I CAN SAY WILL CONVINCE THEM OTHERWISE.

AND PEOPLE WILL CONSTANTLY LOOK FOR EVIDENCE OF THOSE THINGS

AND FIND IT.

Narrator: BELIEVERS ARE NOT DISSUADED BY THESE ARGUMENTS.

FOR THEM, THE SEARCH FOR TRUTH CONTINUES.

I CAN'T IMAGINE ANYBODY IN THE GOVERNMENT

WANTING TO ADMIT, "OH, BY THE WAY,

WE HAVEN'T BEEN TELLING YOU THE TRUTH FOR ALL THESE YEARS."

WE HAVE THE GOVERNMENT LYING, REALLY, FROM DAY ONE.

THEY LIED ABOUT IT AND GOT AWAY WITH IT.

White: WHETHER THE ESA WILL AGREE

TO MENTION THIS TO THE PUBLIC OR NOT

IS UP TO THEM.

BUT IF THEY DON'T DO SOMETHING FAIRLY SOON,

THEY'RE GONNA LOOK INCREASINGLY MORE OUT-OF-TOUCH

WITH WHAT RESEARCHERS ARE FINDING

AND WHAT THE PUBLIC ARE SEEING.

Robinson: THE VOLUME OF EVIDENCE THAT HAS BEEN GATHERED

FROM ALL CONTINENTS OF THIS PLANET

IS SIMPLY OVERWHELMING,

I HONESTLY BELIEVE I WOULDN'T BE SITTING HERE TODAY

IF I DIDN'T BELIEVE

WE ARE DEALING WITH A REAL, HONEST-TO-GOODNESS PHENOMENON.

Narrator: WHEREVER SIGHTINGS REMAIN UNEXPLAINED,

ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.

[ WHOOSHING ]

THERE'S ALWAYS THE CHANCE THAT MAYBE, JUST MAYBE,

THERE IS SOMEONE OUT THERE.