Original subtitles

In our fast-paced world, cargo...

Water is the gasoline of this machine.

Resources...

This machine can definitely handle it.

And information are constantly moving

to keep up with the demands of modern life.

The scientists that are using the VLA,

they're from all over the world.

Through great design, skilled engineering,

and state-of-the-art technology,

machines allow humanity to move at the speed of progress.

In the desolate expanse of the New Mexico desert

are the most versatile,

widely used radio telescopes in the world.

This is a really significant location

for lots of different types of science.

The U.S. National Science Foundation's

Very Large Array

is a collection of 27 massive radio telescopes

monitoring the stars.

Working in unison, these 209-tonne antennas

magnify their individual powers

to probe into the farthest recesses of the cosmos,

investigating galaxies, stars,

the sun, and planets, to unlock the secrets of the universe.

The VLA's 27 antennas work together to survey the skies.

Now, a single antenna can do

scientific observation on its own.

But the purpose of the VLA

is to create an array of antennas,

also called an interferometer,

and they're all working together

to do science observation as a whole.

The array is laid out in a massive Y-shape

that stretches across the desert,

and there are nine antennas along each of the three arms.

It's pretty impressive.

Primarily, it ensures that

the telescopes are spread across multiple directions

to get the most optimal coverage of the sky.

The Very Large Array is like the world's first

colour camera for capturing the universe.

And it has done some pretty extraordinary things,

from discovering ice on Mercury, to mapping black holes,

or pinpointing the centre of our galaxy.

It can track the high-speed plasma jets from black holes,

and is even used by NASA and the European Space Agency

to monitor spacecraft in our solar system.

Whether tracking billion-dollar spacecraft

or identifying intergalactic phenomena,

work at the VLA does not stop.

The VLA observed Einstein rings.

That's when the light coming to us from a distant galaxy

gets bent into a ring

by a massive object in the way,

thereby proving Einstein's Theory of General Relativity.

Something as simple as a ring of light

is proof that gravity warps space and time,

bending the light of unseen galaxies

in the distant universe.

The Very Large Array

is one of the most unique tools that scientists can use

to truly understand the wonders of our universe,

both near and far away.

The VLA's location is crucial

to its ability to work smoothly year-round.

We are in South Central New Mexico,

in the plains of San Agustin.

It's a high elevation of over 7,000 feet.

The elevation of the flatlands means the area

experiences dramatically less rain and moisture

than other parts of the country,

weather that would interfere with the VLA's operations.

This antenna is about 100 feet in the air

and is 83 feet across.

The larger the antenna,

the finer the detail the VLA can measure.

What we're standing on right now are panels

that are covered in special white paint to refract

as much extra light as possible,

so that we are only receiving radio waves.

Radio waves have the longest wavelengths

in the electromagnetic spectrum,

billions of times longer than those of visible light.

X-ray and UV light are extremely small,

less than a fraction of a millimetre long.

But radar and TV signals,

like the radio waves coming from space,

can range from a centimetre to metres in length.

They're too big for humans to see.

These radio waves originate in space,

then come down into the dish,

and are bounced up into the sub-reflector.

After hitting the reflector,

they're filtered down into the various feed horns,

also known as feed cones.

Feed horns, or feed cones,

are located at the focal point of the dish,

directly beneath the sub-reflector,

to collect all the incoming radio waves.

The feed horns have to be proportional to the wavelength

of the radio waves they're designed to capture.

Big feed horns for big, low-frequency waves,

and small feed horns for the smaller, higher-frequency waves.

The sensitive electronics and systems required

to translate the radio waves into data are housed

inside the neck of the radio telescope.

Now, we're in the vertex room.

So, we're actually right below the bottom of the dish.

So, if you look up here, you'll see that there's

different sizes of the feed cones.

So, if you think about it,

each feed cone would be almost like a different radio station

because it's a little different frequency.

The different frequencies have a physical size to them.

So, L-band frequency, that,

if we could see that wave of the frequency,

it's about a metre long.

So, we need a very big feed cone

in order for it to physically fit into that cone,

to capture it and squeeze it down.

L-band waves, the largest wavelengths

collected at the VLA, are over 20 centimetres long.

So, the narrow end of the horn is 20 centimetres wide.

But the mouth is much wider to make sure the waves

can enter the receiver without being lost.

Radio waves traveling from distant space are faint,

so any interference,

even from systems powering the antenna,

can affect their collection.

These radio waves are extremely valuable

to a number of projects and researchers.

The team at the VLA can't risk interference with the signal,

so the electronics that receive the radio waves

must be supercooled,

to eliminate any residual noise they make simply by being on.

The result is the cleanest, purest signal they can capture.

Because of its low boiling point,

liquid helium is a cooling agent in many cryogenic systems,

including at the VLA.

These are the compressors that are compressing the helium.

This is high-grade, high-purity helium that we're pumping.

And we need that cold

to clear up those signals that are super,

super weak that we're bringing in.

The VLA uses cryogenic cooling systems

to bring down the temperature

in the receiver to 4 to 12 Kelvin,

which is as low as negative 269 Celsius

or negative 452 Fahrenheit.

What we're getting cold is here inside this can.

So, the helium comes in on these stainless lines.

This is the refrigerator

that's actually doing the heat exchanging.

So, as the signal comes in,

it'll get funnelled in, we're going to capture that signal.

The incoming signals are then amplified and digitized

to travel down fibre optic cables

into the control room's supercomputer.

But none of the science at the VLA would be possible

without an accidental discovery in 1932.

Just like the microwave and Velcro,

the discovery of radio astronomy was unintended.

While investigating radio disturbance

that was interfering with international telephone service

in 1932, engineer Karl Jansky

stumbled upon cosmic interference

that was coming from the centre of our galaxy,

the Milky Way.

A few years later, that discovery inspired a young,

crafty engineer named Grote Reber

to build the world's first radio telescope.

He was a real MacGyver.

The telescope was made of wood, steel,

and model T-truck parts in his mother's backyard.

But still, he was able to identify radio radiation

from the (Unclear) of the Milky Way and from the sun.

Before this, astronomers were limited

to observing at night,

relying solely on what they could see with the naked eye.

Their hard work and extensive research

proved to astronomers around the world

that they could observe objects outside of visible light.

And modern radio telescopes,

like the 27 that make up the Very Large Array,

are the direct result of their achievements.

Over the decades of its use,

the VLA has proved the existence of thousands of new objects

and mapped millions,

capturing an ever larger

and more detailed image of the universe.

MAN (On radio:) Gonna check the site generator real quick.

Copy that.

The VLA is operated by a team

of round-the-clock technicians

who staff a command post on the top floor

of the control building.

When the signal comes into the control building,

and then once the data is taken, it's packaged off

and sent over to the scientists.

The continual activity and output of the VLA

results in an average of 5,000 hours of observation every year.

Our work can be broken up into two parts,

there's operations and science.

An astronomer is trained on science.

They're not trained on actually, like, using the instruments.

That's where the VLA technicians bridge the gap.

Astronomers ask the big questions,

and then it's up to everyone at the VLA

to go hunting for the answers.

Scientists have a research question that they want to solve

and that requires observing at a certain location.

Now, they come up with the targets that they need

and what configuration they need their array to be.

They send those details to the team.

They write a script and then it's up to us

to make sure that the array is doing what it's told.

We keep communication with every technician or scientist

that goes out there because another thing that we have to do

is we have to keep track of everyone's work,

when it's moving and where it's at.

The Very Large Array represents decades of investment

of labour and money, in excess of 200 million US dollars,

all in the pursuit of intergalactic understanding.

It's even been used to survey

for signs of advanced civilization

and extraterrestrial life.

The scientists

that are using the VLA, they're from all over the world.

And some of these scientists,

their whole career has been based on this observing time.

We are talking about millions of dollars of tech

and hundreds of thousands in research funding

to observe what may be

a once-in-a-lifetime moment in space.

If something is delayed

or goes wrong in transit, it could be devastating.

With so much investment

and research on the line,

maintaining and adjusting the array is very serious business.

That's why we have to make sure

that all these antennas are up and running

for this time, to do this observation.

We don't want to miss that source or miss that event.

To gather the right information

at the right time, the VLA's radio telescopes

are repositioned every four months.

The antennas are shifted along the arms of the Y configuration

to predetermined positions.

This is a monumental task

that can take dozens of workers up to seven hours to complete,

depending on the distance

an individual antenna needs to travel.

And moving the whole array can take up to two weeks

in some cases.

When the antennas are closer together,

it's optimized for capturing large, faint objects,

like clouds of gas or nearby galaxies.

Think of it as a wide-angle lens on your phone.

Alternatively, when they're spread out,

it's like using the telephoto zoom lens on your phone.

The capturing area is larger, so you can get finer details,

like the structure of jets from black holes

and distant galaxies and more.

-Ready to go? -Yeah, good to go.

Today, the team is moving an antenna

from one spot along the arm to a position 10.2 kilometres away.

They'll disconnect the antenna

from its current position,

then move and reconnect it within four hours

to make sure the antenna is ready to work.

To move these huge 230-tonne antennas,

the VLA team uses one of two specially designed

hydraulic lifters that ride along a double set of tracks.

Each transport vehicle is 30 metres long,

six metres high, weighs 82 tons,

and is supported by 24 oversized boxcar wheels.

They have one job and one job only -

to safely move the antennas of the array.

The transporters and the antennas that they carry

are not just a wide load.

They are so big, the load has to be split across

two sets of railway track to keep the weight balanced.

When repositioning an antenna,

the team needs to address the mechanical aspects

of the structure and all its sensitive electronics

and high-tech inner workings.

This is where the work transitions from science

to engineering and tools.

Disconnecting the fibres for all the scientific connections

for the information going to the correlator.

The transporter slides under the disconnected antenna

and gets positioned to take its 209-tonne weight.

These are the lifting points.

There's three of them.

Whenever we load the antenna on the transporter,

these are what lock it into the antenna.

And then, we'll bolt it down

with three three-quarter inch bolts.

Once in position, the transporter uses hydraulic jacks

to lift the antenna approximately 15 centimetres,

clearing the platforms

and carrying it out to the main track.

These are the diesel engines that run the transporter.

This engine powers the three Danfoss hydraulic pumps.

These pumps are what keep the transporter rolling,

and it also gives us the power to lift the antenna

and to set it down.

Where are we going, (Unclear)? Eight?

Seven.

-Seven. - Seven.

The value of the transporter

is in its strength and its ability

to provide continuous electric power to the antenna

while in transit.

This is the generator

that keeps the antenna powered up while we're moving.

It's important to keep the VLA powered

to ensure that the cryogenic systems are working

and no sensors or electronics get hot or damaged.

It also ensures that the motors are running

to keep the antenna stable.

Each antenna represents

tens of millions of dollars of active investment,

so extreme caution must be taken.

These transporters travel at a maximum speed

of eight kilometres per hour. That's five miles per hour.

That's to avoid damaging

the sensitive tech or tipping the antenna entirely.

We're talking about the open plains of New Mexico.

If the wind picks up, there's nothing for miles to stop it.

The radio telescopes could transform

from a valuable science instrument

into a dangerous sail in seconds.

It's like holding onto an umbrella during a rainstorm.

It's just too risky to move fast.

The antennas can only be moved closer together

or farther apart along the three arms of the array.

The double rail line

runs parallel to each of these arms to carry out this task.

When designing the array with the flexibility to grow

and shrink along the configuration,

the engineers had to make the best use of space and time.

They added short intersecting lines

that go from the main track to each potential antenna position.

These intersections meet at a 90-degree angle.

While intersecting rail lines are nothing new,

no current model of train or rail car

could be expected to safely navigate a 90-degree turn.

But scientists and engineers are problem solvers.

They invented the transporter to make that turn

safely and consistently every time.

They created a mechanical shortcut by inventing a lifter

that could not only support the weight of a radio telescope,

but could lift itself and the antenna

while repositioning its wheels

in the direction of the next track.

So, right now,

we're gonna raise the machine up to full extension.

We have to get it up high enough

so that we can pick the wheels up.

Working in pairs from one side

of the machine to the next, the six-wheel trucks are lifted

and rotated to switch tracks.

So, he's coming up a little at a time on each corner.

At the same time,

we're gonna start putting the 100-tonne jacks down.

There's 300-tonne jacks.

It'll come down, it'll take the load and stabilize the machine.

Everything is a slow and methodical dance

to ensure the antenna isn't jostled or toppled.

Then, we can move the trucks up,

and we can make the turn.

It's a practiced and painstaking effort

that only ends once the base has been re-bolted

and every cable and hose has been reattached.

Good job, bro.

Yeah, dude, raised another one.

The job is done when the antenna

is back up and running.

However, it's a process

that happens over and over, as the team modifies the VLA

to the research needs of the moment.

The VLA has had a major impact

on every dimension of astronomy.

So, into the future, what I would expect to see

is different telescope technologies working together

to achieve one goal.

And so, I'm absolutely sure that arrays like the VLA

will continue to make discoveries

that we couldn't even imagine today.

With each new discovery,

we get one step closer

to understanding the structure of the universe

and our place within it.

Operating around the clock,

the VLA serves as one of the world's most powerful

links to the stars,

moving information at the speed of light.

The electronics of our world

are fuelled by the minerals

and materials found deep underground...

...where the dirty work of drilling, digging,

and extracting these resources is done by powerful machines.

As miners go deeper into the earth...

Are you okay (Unclear)?

Yeah, yeah.

...the dangers increase.

So, these tools must become smarter and stronger

to meet the evolving demands of the mines.

Historically, underground mining has occurred

just below the surface, near shallow mineral deposits.

But the depletion of those shallow targets

has pushed mining operations deeper and deeper underground.

We're talking about now going deeper below the surface

to chase these ore bodies underground.

Productivity exploded when big machine technology

was driven into the mines.

With bigger and bigger gear,

they could move more rock with ease.

Depending on the type of underground mine,

the machines leading the charge will be different.

Hard rock demands explosive power.

And when mining hard rock,

the work starts at the rock face,

the surface where the mine is advancing.

The Boomer is an impressive

dual-armed hydraulic drilling rig.

Boomer does face drilling for tunnel development.

So, we drill the whole face and then we'll charge it

and then blast the face.

Unlike the stationary drills of the past,

the Boomer can telescope its long arms out

and reposition them however it needs to get the job done.

Those two huge boom arms

drill as many as 75 holes,

up to five metres deep, along the face.

Once positioned, it's not as simple

as just spinning the drill.

The Boomer also packs a punch.

Each boom arm holds a powerful rock drill,

with a rod and piston design

that spins as it pounds the drill into the rock,

giving the machine up to 1,000 hours

of hardcore hammering per drill.

These Booms are super powerful and we also have the 20-kilowatt

rock drill that drills really smooth and really fast,

even in hard rock conditions.

And like Zeus's bolts of lightning,

these drills are electrically charged.

The battery is 150 kilowatt hours,

so it's quite powerful.

Every year, more mines are turning to electric power.

Electric mining equipment is driving change deep underground,

improving air quality and reducing costs over time.

This drill rig is not only powerful, it's super clean.

It's got a battery drive train or transmission system

that delivers the mechanical power

to move the Boomer through the mine.

The flexibility of these machines is very important

because you can control multiple aspects

of the drilling rig by being further back

and having that function more automated.

Once the Boomer has drilled its holes,

they are packed with explosives.

And when they go off, boom!

They fracture the rock, creating space

to move even deeper into the earth.

After the dust settles, the rock is cleared.

Though overshadowed by the giant mining shovels

working aboveground,

with a 100-tonne capacity,

the compact 14-tonne scoop tram

is made to fit the deepest of mines.

Overall, you can see that all of the structures of this machine

are built to last.

Reinforced axles, guardrails

and ground engagement tools

provide 40% more durability to the rig.

You can have a big rock fall on it

and you can bury the loader.

This machine can definitely handle it.

It's the workhorse of the mine,

and it does it all without a driver behind the wheel.

You can see I'm not holding the joystick.

It's completing the mission by itself.

Autonomous shovels like this one

are changing the way mining is done.

They follow a pre-programmed route,

going into sometimes treacherous sections of the shaft

to scoop out the ore.

When people hear autonomy, they think about killer robots.

They think about everything that's been written

in science fiction for generations and generations,

that the robots are going to take over the world.

Heck, even before we had robots, people were afraid of this.

But in the mines, these robots are the good guys.

They're worth their weight in the gold

they're often going after.

Autonomous mining machines aren't coming to kill you.

They are stepping into the danger zones of the mine

to save miners from accidents and death.

Who wants to be in a dangerous environment?

I can just sit back,

grab my cup of coffee,

and the machine can go and dump.

For autonomous mining machines to be put to work,

they need fully wired mines, running electricity,

smart systems, and wireless networks down

to their deepest depths.

Autonomous vehicles are taking

mechanical systems, electrical systems,

and software systems,

linking them together, using sensors

to determine where it's at,

and then using all of that to make decisions

that'll allow it to propel itself

or do whatever actions it's been pre-programmed to do.

Like modern cars and smartphones

use GPS data to provide real-time

positioning information, even the deepest mines

rely on technology that pinpoints

the exact location of their equipment.

It provides machines on autopilot

with precise maps of the mine,

and they're updated in real time.

Not only does it optimize the movement

of the entire fleet of machines,

high-precision navigated drilling

allows operators to locate

programmed drill sites with extreme accuracy.

Autonomous machines are built to withstand extreme conditions.

The engines and body of these machines are fortified to handle

steep routes, heavy loads, and falling rock.

So, their sensors and electronics

are built tough too.

When you go deep, deep underground,

you're talking about different moisture levels,

obviously different temperatures.

They have to be able to withstand

a lot of shock loads and a lot of vibration,

some really extreme conditions that most modern technologies

and devices that we're used to can't.

Deep mines aren't just networks of shafts and tunnels.

They're high-tech networks of data and information, too.

And this is one of the communication box

and modules that connects the machine

on the network, where it can send information of where it is

and what it's doing and receive assignments.

Data-driven advances not only improve

the functionality and efficiency of the mine,

they give mines and operators options

for how they want to use the machines.

Automated mining machines

are working to improve mine safety,

as they move deeper underground.

Globally, mining has been one of the most dangerous

industries to work in,

with more than 15,000 miners lost each year.

But technology is helping to change that.

By having autonomous vehicles,

it gives miners the ability to figure out

what their risk profile is

and if it makes sense for them to be in there.

After the ore is collected

and the path is cleared by the loader,

the tunnel must be structurally secured

before the extraction work can continue.

This is the task the rock reinforcer,

or Boltec, was designed to do.

This rig installs and secures huge sections of loose rock,

using face plates and large anchoring rock bolts

to secure the tunnels and make the area safe.

Blasting and extracting ore

creates instability that could lead to falling rock or,

in the worst cases, tunnel collapse.

So, what we're trying to do by installing rock bolts

is create more or less like a stone bridge around the tunnel,

so it's supporting itself,

and that's the main job of this machine

because rock masses are not just one continuous thing;

there's lots of cracks, there's folds.

When we look at rock, we just assume rock is solid.

But it's important to treat this rock

as a collection of rocks,

and make sure you're locking things together

to ensure that you have safe operation.

The Boltec starts

by drilling these bolts into the rock.

Once there, the machine injects a resin or adhesive

in with them that seals the bolt

and the surrounding rock in place,

cementing the structure of this section of the mine

and preventing the tunnel from crumbling.

We're trying to remove the need

for any operator to come anywhere near

an area of the ground which hasn't been supported already.

Once the eight bolts

of the drill magazine are depleted,

the boom arm will automatically return to the machine to reload.

So, it's a pretty intelligent piece of kit,

actually, considering what it can do.

It seems like we've explored everything on the surface,

but the future is what's underground,

and there's so much there.

But we're not going to be able to do that

without autonomous vehicles.

We're going to go places where no one has gone before,

and isn't that the whole point of everything we're doing?

These machines are part of a seamless

and coordinated effort to work smarter, not harder,

as they gather the vital resources

we need to keep moving forward.

The Panama Canal is considered by many to be

one of the Seven Modern Wonders of the world.

It's a structural marvel and an engineering miracle.

It was the largest construction project in history.

An 80-kilometre shortcut

that slices across Central America

to connect the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans,

saving ships approximately five months at sea...

It was genius.

...and companies billions of dollars.

MAN Just anchors to the water.

No power. Anchors to the water.

With a multitude of moving parts,

the Panama Canal is a complex machine that never stops.

And for the largest ships,

tugboats are what get this machine started.

Can I proceed now?

Cocoli Locks Control Tower: Yes, yes, go ahead, pick up.

Tugboats are an essential part of the canal.

Ships don't have brakes.

It's not a big deal in open water,

but in shallow, narrow areas, like harbours or locks,

it can be a real issue.

A lock usually consists of a watertight basin.

known as a lock chamber,

which is used to raise or lower the water levels and boats,

as needed, by filling or emptying the chamber.

Most locks are gravity-fed systems,

connected to natural waterways.

There are several sets of locks throughout the Panama Canal,

and they are all essential

for moving ships from ocean to ocean.

Ships and boats trying to get to the opposite side of the world,

using the Panama Canal from either ocean,

must use the 64-kilometre, about 40-mile-long system

that features four massive sets of locks

separated by an enormous man-made lake.

And the vessel must ascend and then descend

25 metres or 85 feet on either side of the canal to do it.

The tugs take on the job of manoeuvring,

steering, and stopping the ships

while they're in transit at the Panama Canal.

While tugboats have always been used

for canal operations,

they were introduced to the Cocolí and Agua Clara Locks

in 2016, when these locks were completed.

I have been tug captain here in the Panama Canal

for almost 14 years.

Okay, w're going to send two lines.

One line on each side.

The tugboats use massive ropes or lines

to connect them to the ship.

It's the job of the seamen on deck to manage these lines.

It's a connection that will last until the ship has cleared

the final lock on this side of the system.

We're ready, Jeff.

Excellent, excellent.

It's the link between the vessel and us.

The tugboats need complete control when navigating

ships through this lock.

We've just entered the first chamber of the Cocoli Locks.

The Cocolí Locks are the next part of the canal system.

It's a three-level lock that begins

or ends at the Pacific Ocean.

The Cocolí Locks

and their sister system on the Atlantic side,

the Agua Clara Locks,

are the major artery of the Panama Canal.

They are open to 79%

of all cargo carrying ships on the planet.

Unlike most gravity-fed locks,

the Cocolí Locks use nearby basins

as a three-step lateral filling and emptying system

that recycles water to fill the chambers,

lifting and lowering ships as needed.

This water is supplemented

by the lake at the centre of the system.

A ship is floated to the water level of the next lock,

and so on,

ascending three levels before reaching Gatun Lake.

It takes 26 million gallons of water

to raise and lower one ship.

Okay, now the chamber gate is sliding open, to proceed to the next chamber,

Esta correcto, numero uno.

Operators in the control towers

are in constant communication with ground crews

and tugboat captains.

They open and close gates and valves and adjust water levels,

as needed, for the gears of the machine to keep turning.

There are a total of 16 rolling gates

that cap and seal the new lock chambers

on the Atlantic and Pacific end of the canal.

Their construction required over 50,000 tons of steel.

Each gate is opened and closed by two

300-horsepower electric motors.

The motors spin the drums that ultimately wind

and unwind the steel wire connected to the upper

and lower carriages of the gate.

They use an automatic wire rope hydraulic tensioning system

to pick up the slack on the cables.

The rolling gates keep the machine of the canal moving.

When they're open, the niche they roll into

functions as a drive dock to give maintenance crews

access to the floodgate with zero impact

on the operation of the chambers.

With thousands of ships crossing the Panama Canal

every year, keeping the canal powered

and moving is a top priority.

It's an economic machine that's responsible

for around $270 billion of cargo annually

for the US alone.

There's nothing more important than maintaining

the flow of traffic through the Panama Canal.

A shutdown is not only catastrophic

to the operation of the canal, but it has a direct impact

on the global economy.

, full stop, in line, no power.

While traveling the Cocolí Locks,

it's the job of the tug to keep the ships steady

as water levels change and the gates open.

While huge ships move forward and backward with ease,

they can struggle to move sideways or adjust in smaller,

narrower waterways like the Panama Canal.

Tugboats are an essential

safety measure of the Panama Canal.

Sometimes when the cargo vessel is coming out of the locks,

the bow has a tendency to move away from the wall roughly.

So to avoid that, the tugboat push the bow against the wall.

In order to keep the cargo vessel flat on the wall as possible.

And that way you avoid that the stern hit the wall.

These tugboats might look small next to the enormous

ships they tow, but don't be fooled; they are mighty.

The hulls are basically built around

two eight-cylinder engines

that put out 6,000 horsepower, enough energy to provide

the brute force they need to counter the weight

of some of the world's largest ships.

You have to have a good day, good transit.

MAN Thank you very much.

While the biggest ships use the Cocolí

and Agua Clara Locks,

to keep up with the level of ship traffic

through this huge machine, all the channels and every lock

must be working around the clock.

And that's the way it's always been

since the Panama Canal was created.

Near the end of the 19th century,

the French began building the canal.

The French were ill-prepared

for the tropical conditions and intensive

labour requirements that Panama presented.

They failed, taking a heavy human toll

along the way due to disease

and the harsh environment.

Eight years of building the canal cost

tens of thousands of lives,

and the project was abandoned in 1889.

The U.S. salvaged the project in 1904

by reimagining the approach to the problem.

They built railroad-bounded steam shovels,

enormous steam-powered cranes,

and giant hydraulic rock crushers to make lighter work.

Instead of digging through mountains and rainforests,

they decided to flatten certain areas

and use water to lift ships up and over the land.

It was genius.

In 1913,

President Woodrow Wilson initiated the final stage

of the canal project.

While seated in the comfort of the Oval Office,

he pressed a button that carried the detonation signal

from more than 6,700 kilometres away.

In four seconds, Wilson set off a dynamite charge

that obliterated the last land blockage of the Gamboa Dike

standing in the canal's way.

At the time,

it was the largest construction project in history.

It literally moved mountains

to finally link the major oceans of the world.

To date, there have been few

engineering projects on this scale,

which is why the Panama Canal is still listed,

over a century later,

as one of the Seven Modern Wonders of the World.

Once ships have cleared their first set of locks,

they are released into Gatun Lake,

the centre of the lock system

and the heart of this massive machine.

It makes up 33 kilometres of the journey to the ocean.

Gatun Lake is one of the largest artificial lakes in the world,

and the cruise across it can take a few hours

of the eight to ten-hour total trip.

Here, it's as though

the intricate system has been paused.

Ships traveling in either direction

gather in the scenic lake as they wait for their scheduled

time to enter the last set of locks.

When it's the ship's time, the locking process they began

continues in reverse.

The water levels of the Agua Clara Locks

will be lowered to descend the ship back to sea level,

where it is released into the Atlantic Ocean

to continue its journey.

Water is the key to the canal running smoothly.

It's the crux of the operation.

And making that 33-kilometre journey

across the lake wouldn't be possible without the Gatun Dam.

We are looking at Gatun Dam.

Gatun Dam began build in 1906

and completed in 1910.

We dammed the Chagres River to create the Gatun Lake

for canal operations.

Without a steady flow of water,

the machine that is the Panama Canal cannot operate.

Water is the gasoline of this machine.

The purpose of Gatun Dam

is control the water level of the Gatun Lake.

The Gatun Dam keeps the lake level

between 26 and 27 metres above sea level

to maintain all channels and locks of the canal system.

Without this dam, the canal does not operate.

The heart of Panama Canal is Gatun Dam.

Rain or shine, the Panama Canal is processing

thousands of vessels a year,

successfully moving some of the world's

largest cargo ships overland to connect the Atlantic

and Pacific Oceans.