Original subtitles

ANNOUNCER: WHEN YOU SEE THIS SYMBOL YOU KNOW YOU'RE

WATCHING TELEVISION THAT'S EDUCATIONAL AND INFORMATIONAL.

THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: I'M DYLAN DREYER.

JOIN ME ON AN ADVENTURE TO THE OCEAN FLOOR TO

DISCOVER THE CREATURES LIVING IN THE MOST EXTREME

ENVIRONMENT ON EARTH.

WE'RE HEADING TO DEEP-WATER VOLCANOES TO

SOLVE A MYSTERY MILLIONS OF YEARS IN THE MAKING,

AND LATER, WE'RE HEADING INTO ORBIT, RACING TO

SOLVE THE RIDDLES OF CLIMATE CHANGE, AND WE'LL

TEST A PARACHUTE DESIGNED BY THE GREAT LEONARDO DA

VINCI.

DYLAN: FROM THE GRASS PLAINS OF AFRICA TO THE

FROZEN TUNDRA OF ALASKA, TO THE DENSE JUNGLES OF

THE AMAZON, OUR WORLD IS FULL OF UNIQUE

ENVIRONMENTS THAT ARE HOME TO AMAZING PLANTS AND

ANIMALS, BUT THERE IS ONE ENVIRONMENT SO EXTREME AND

SO REMOTE, THE ANIMALS THAT LIVE THERE SEEM TO

COME FROM ANOTHER PLANET.

TODAY, WE'RE ON A JOURNEY WHERE NO ONE HAS EVER GONE

BEFORE, TO THE DARK, SILENT, FREEZING WATERS AT

THE BOTTOM OF THE OCEAN, A PLACE OF VIOLENT

VOLCANOES, BONE-CRUSHING PRESSURE, AND LIVING

FOSSILS.

THIS ANCIENT AND MYSTERIOUS PATTERN IS

CALLED PALEODICTYON NODOSUM.

IT WAS DISCOVERED BY PALEONTOLOGIST DOLF

SEILACHER ALONG THIS ROCKY SHORELINE ON THE COAST OF

SPAIN.

DR. SEILACHER: I CAME HERE FOR THE FIRST TIME 50

YEARS AGO ON MY HONEYMOON...

... I WAS JUST A YOUNG GEOLOGIST FASCINATED BY

THE LAYER OF ROCKS THRUST UP FROM THE DEEP OCEANS

MILLIONS OF YEARS AGO.

HERE IS WHERE I FOUND THE VERY STRANGE FOSSILIZED

BURROWS OF AN ANIMAL THAT LIVED HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS

OF YEARS BEFORE THE DINOSAURS.

ONLY NOW AFTER 50 YEARS DO WE HAVE A CHANCE TO SOLVE

THIS GREAT MYSTERY AND MAYBE CATCH THE OLDEST

LIVING FOSSIL ON EARTH, PALEODICTYON NODOSUM.

DYLAN: THIS IS THE RESEARCH VESSEL ATLANTIS.

ITS DESTINATION IS THE MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE SYSTEM

FIVE HUNDRED MILES AHEAD AND 12 THOUSAND FEET DOWN.

ON BOARD ARE GEOLOGISTS PETER RONA AND DOLF

SEILACHER.

DOLF BELIEVES THE STRANGE FOSSILS HE DISCOVERED WERE

FROM ANIMALS LIVING IN THE DEEP OCEAN.

TO PROVE HIS THEORY, HE'LL NEED HELP FROM THE WORLD'S

MOST FAMOUS SUBMARINE, ALVIN.

FOR THE UPCOMING JOURNEY, ALVIN IS BEING OUTFITTED

WITH HIGH-RESOLUTION CAMERAS AND FOUR THOUSAND

WATTS OF ILLUMINATION.

ALVIN AND THE CREW ARE BOUND FOR THE MOST EXTREME

PLACE ON EARTH.

DYLAN: ON BOARD THE ALVIN IS PETER RONA, CHIEF PILOT

BRUCE STRICKROT, AND OF COURSE, DOLF SEILACHER.

THERE'S NO TURNING BACK AND NO QUICK RESCUE.

DYLAN: PAST THE FIRST THOUSAND FEET, ALL TRACES

OF SUNLIGHT DISAPPEAR INTO COMPLETE AND TOTAL

DARKNESS.

TRAVELING TO THE SEA FLOOR AND BACK WILL USE UP FIVE

HOURS OF ALVIN'S AIR SUPPLY AND BATTERY POWER.

THAT LEAVES DOLF AND THE OTHER SCIENTISTS ONLY FOUR

HOURS TO FIND THEIR TARGET AND RECOVER A SPECIMEN.

ON THE WAY TO THEIR DESTINATION, THEY FIND

WONDERS OF LIFE IMPOSSIBLE TO BELIEVE.

DR. SEILACHER: EVERYWHERE WE WENT, THE GEOLOGY WAS

AS IF ALIVE, MASSIVE STRUCTURES GROWING NOT IN

MILLIONS OF YEARS, BUT ALMOST BEFORE OUR EYES.

DYLAN: DOLF SEILACHER AND PETER RONA HAVE FINALLY

ARRIVED AT THE EDGE OF A DEAD VOLCANO.

DR. SEILACHER: WE LOOKED IN THE AREA PETER CALLS

THE VALLEY OF PALEODICTYON.

I WAS SURPRISED THAT WE SHOULD BE LOOKING WHERE

THERE WAS NO OBVIOUS LIFE, BUT THAT IS PERHAPS THE

ANIMAL'S SECRET.

DR. SEILACHER: I CERTAINLY HAD NOT EXPECTED TO FIND

SO MANY.

THEY WERE ALL OVER THE PLACE BY THE THOUSANDS.

WE HAD VERY LITTLE TIME LEFT, SO THE SUB PILOT

WENT TO WORK RIGHT AWAY...

... AFTER ALL THE TROUBLE OF FINDING THEM, COLLECTING

SOME SAMPLES WOULD BE FAIRLY EASY.

DOWN, DOWN THERE.

DR. SEILACHER: AT LAST, AFTER EIGHT HOURS IN THE

SUB AND 50 YEARS ON THE CLIFFS OF SPAIN, WE

FINALLY HAD THE PALEODICTYON.

IT WAS A GREAT MOMENT.

DR. SEILACHER: WE FULLY EXPECTED THE CREATURE TO

COME SWIMMING OUT AT ANY MOMENT.

THEN WE WENT IN AFTER IT.

DR. SEILACHER: IT WAS IMPORTANT FOR ME THAT THE

TUNNELS WOULD BE THERE, AND THE TUNNELS WERE

THERE, BUT NOT A CREATURE IN ANY OF THEM.

DYLAN: THERE HAVE BEEN A DOZEN DIVES, BUT THEY HAVE

NOT YET FOUND THE ANIMAL ITSELF.

DYLAN: ALTHOUGH THE CREATURES REMAIN A

MYSTERY, THEY ARE REMARKABLE, AND

FINDING THEIR FOSSILS ON THE CLIFFS OF SPAIN

SUGGEST THEY HAVE OUTLIVED ALMOST

ALL OTHER FORMS OF LIFE ON EARTH.

DR. SEILACHER: THE IMPORTANT THING IS THAT IT

IS STILL ALIVE AND DIGGING ITS WONDERFUL BURROWS, THE

SAME AS THE FOSSILS I FOUND 50 YEARS AGO ON MY

HONEYMOON, BUT SHE IS VERY SHY, AND WE HAVE NOT SEEN

HER, AND I PROBABLY NEVER WILL.

BUT THAT IS BETTER, I THINK, BECAUSE I CAN STILL

IMAGINE ANYTHING I WANT.

DYLAN: WE OFTEN LOOK TO THE STARS AND WONDER IF

LIFE EXISTS.

NOW WE KNOW TO LOOK TO THE DEEP ABYSS AS WELL.

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES RIGHT AFTER THIS.

ANNOUNCER: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

ANNOUCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: ON OCTOBER 4TH, 1957, THE FORMER SOVIET

UNION SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHED THE FIRST

ARTIFICIAL SATELLITE NAMED SPUTNIK 1 INTO ORBIT

AROUND THE EARTH.

NOW AFTER 60 YEARS OF SPACE EXPLORATION, WE'RE

SUDDENLY FACED WITH A GROWING PROBLEM THAT SEEMS

MORE LIKE SOMETHING OUT OF A SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL,

AN ORBITING JUNKYARD OF SPACE DEBRIS THAT HAS THE

POTENTIAL TO CHANGE SPACE EXPLORATION AS WE KNOW IT.

DYLAN: THIS IS METEOR CRATER NEAR

WINSLOW, ARIZONA.

IT'S CONSIDERED THE WORLD'S BEST PRESERVED

METEORITE IMPACT SITE.

FIFTY THOUSAND YEARS AGO, A MASSIVE ROCK FROM SPACE

SLAMMED INTO THE GROUND WITH A FORCE OF TEN

MEGATONS, TEN THOUSAND TIMES MORE POWERFUL THAN

THE ATOMIC BLASTS USED IN WORLD WAR II.

DYLAN: MEET DONALD J. KESSLER, RETIRED HEAD OF

ORBITAL DEBRIS AT NASA.

HIS GUIDE IS EDUARDO GONZALES, A 16-YEAR

VETERAN OF METEOR CRATER AND A MAN WHO SHARES

KESSLER'S PASSION FOR THE WONDERS OF THE UNIVERSE.

EDUARDO: SO, DON, HOW WAS YOUR RIDE UP HERE?

DONALD: OH, IT WAS WONDERFUL.

IT WAS LIKE LANDING ON THE MOON.

EDUARDO: BUT WE'RE ON EARTH.

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?

DYLAN: AT METEOR CRATER, THESE TWO MEN ALWAYS FIND

COMMON GROUND.

FOR DON, THIS PLACE BRINGS SOME OF THE SCIENCE OF

ORBITAL DEBRIS TO LIFE IN A BIG WAY.

NEARLY ONE MILE ACROSS, TWO-AND-A-HALF MILES WIDE,

AND 550 FEET DEEP, METEOR CRATER IS THE ASTOUNDING

OUTCOME OF A NICKEL AND IRON METEORITE HITTING

EARTH WITH THE FORCE OF A HYDROGEN BOMB.

IT KILLED EVERYTHING FOR 20 MILES IN ALL

DIRECTIONS, AND ALL OF THIS HAPPENED IN JUST TEN

SECONDS.

DYLAN: THE METEOR WAS MOST LIKELY THE RESULT OF

A MASSIVE COLLISION NEAR THE EARTH.

ONE OF THE LARGE PIECES BECAME CAUGHT IN THE

EARTH'S GRAVITY AND ROCKETED TOWARDS THE

SURFACE AT SPEEDS OVER ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND MILES PER

HOUR.

DYLAN: SPACE COLLISIONS LED DONALD KESSLER TO ASK

A VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION.

IF COLLISIONS OCCUR SO FREQUENTLY IN NATURE,

WHAT'S TO PREVENT ALL OF THE MANMADE OBJECTS IN

SPACE FROM EVENTUALLY HITTING EACH OTHER?

AT FIRST, KESSLER'S QUESTION WAS THOUGHT TO BE

RIDICULOUS.

UNTIL RECENTLY, MANY SCIENTISTS HAVE EMBRACED

THE BIG SKY THEORY.

THE BIG SKY THEORY HOLDS THAT SPACE IS SO MASSIVE,

YOU COULD LAUNCH ANYTHING INTO ORBIT, AND IT

WOULDN'T COLLIDE WITH ANYTHING ELSE, BUT IT

TURNS OUT THAT SPACE IS SMALLER THAN WE THOUGHT.

DYLAN: LOW EARTH ORBIT, OR LEO AS IT'S CALLED, IS HOME

TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION, THE HUBBLE

TELESCOPE, AND MOST OF OUR SATELLITES.

IN MIDDLE EARTH ORBIT, OR MEO, WE FIND GPS AND

WEATHER SATELLITES.

GEOSYNCHRONOUS ORBIT, OR GEO, THE ORBIT FARTHEST

AWAY FROM THE EARTH, IS CROWDED WITH COMMUNICATION

SATELLITES.

WITH SO MANY OBJECTS CAREENING THROUGH THE SAME

ALTITUDES, IT'S NOT HARD TO IMAGINE THAT SOME WILL

EVENTUALLY COLLIDE.

DONALD KESSLER PREDICATED THAT RANDOM COLLISIONS

BETWEEN MANMADE OBJECTS WOULD CREATE SMALLER

DEBRIS THAT WOULD BECOME INCREASINGLY HAZARDOUS TO

SPACECRAFT.

THE RESULTING CHAIN REACTION WOULD CREATE

EXPONENTIALLY EXPANDING CLOUDS OF DEBRIS.

HIS PREDICTION BECAME KNOWN AS THE KESSLER

SYNDROME, AND IT'S PROVING TO BE CORRECT.

IS IT POSSIBLE THAT WE'RE NOW AT THE TIPPING POINT

OF THIS CASCADING, UNCONTROLLABLE EVENT, AND

ARE THE SATELLITES THAT MAKE OUR MODERN WORLD

POSSIBLE ABOUT TO BE DESTROYED?

THINK ABOUT THIS; HERE ON EARTH WHEN YOU DOWNLOAD A

MUSIC FILE, POST A VIDEO, SEND A TWEET, FRIEND

SOMEONE, OR WATCH YOUR FAVORITE SHOW, THAT SIGNAL

IS COMING FROM A SATELLITE ORBITING AROUND OUR

PLANET.

OUR BUSY LIVES ON EARTH HAVE BECOME DEEPLY

CONNECTED TO A DELICATE NETWORK LOCATED FAR ABOVE

OUR HEADS.

IF THAT SYSTEM GOES DOWN, IT'S LIGHTS OUT.

DYLAN: COMING UP NEXT, WE'LL TEAM UP WITH SCIENTISTS

RACING TO SOLVE THE RIDDLES OF CLIMATE CHANGE.

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES RIGHT AFTER THIS.

ANNOUNCER: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

ANNOUNCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: WELCOME BACK TO "JOURNEY".

WHILE EXPLORING ANTARCTICA, SCIENTISTS

HAVE DISCOVERED DRY VALLEYS HUNDREDS OF MILES

LONG WHERE IT PROBABLY HASN'T RAINED FOR

THOUSANDS OF YEARS.

THE LAND THERE IS SO DRY, ASTRONAUTS COME TO

PRACTICE EXPERIMENTS DESIGNED FOR EXPLORING

MARS.

ANTARCTICA IS THE FIRST PLACE TO LOOK FOR ANSWERS

TO THE GREATEST MYSTERY OF OUR TIME; WHAT MAKES

CLIMATE CHANGE, AND WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT?

DYLAN: ONCE, THESE DRY VALLEYS WERE FULL OF ICE,

BUT THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO, SOMETHING HAPPENED TO THE

CLIMATE, AND THE ICE THAT WAS HERE DISAPPEARED.

IT LEFT BEHIND VAST EMPTY VALLEYS WHERE ALGAE GROWS

INSIDE SOLID ROCK AND THE LAND IS SO ARID, IT HAS

PROBABLY NOT RAINED FOR A MILLION YEARS.

DYLAN: SEA ICE AROUND THE CONTINENT WAXES AND WAINS.

IN WINTER, ANTARCTICA DOUBLES IN SIZE.

THE EXPANSE OF COLDNESS AFFECTS CLIMATE ALL OVER

THE GLOBE, BUT ANTARCTICA NOT ONLY AFFECTS CLIMATE,

IT ALSO RECORDS IT.

DYLAN: FAR FROM CIVILIZATION, A CORE DRILL DIGS

DEEP INTO THE ICE SHEET.

ICE LAYERS CAN BE READ LIKE THE RINGS OF TREES.

THE CLIMATE RECORD GOES BACK OVER A HUNDRED

THOUSAND YEARS.

IN TRAPPED BUBBLES OF ANCIENT AIR, ICE CORES

TELL A SIMPLE STORY.

WHEN THE LEVELS OF CARBON DIOXIDE IN THE ATMOSPHERE

CHANGE, SO DOES THE CLIMATE.

DYLAN: THIS CORE CAME FROM 466 FEET DOWN.

IT'S ICE THAT FELL AS SNOW ABOUT FOUR THOUSAND YEARS

AGO.

IN THIS CRYSTAL BALL OF ICE, THE NEWS FROM

ANTARCTICA IS BAD.

THE COLORS IN THIS ICE MEAN THERE ARE TRACES OF

METHANE, LEAD, AND INCREASED CARBON DIOXIDE.

THIS ICE PROVES THAT HUMANS ARE CHANGING THE

AIR, AND WE ARE STARTING TO SEE THE EFFECTS.

TWENTY YEARS AGO, SCIENTISTS PREDICTED THAT

MANMADE CHEMICALS WOULD THIN THE PLANET'S

PROTECTIVE LAYER OF OZONE.

FOUND IN THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE, THE OZONE

LAYER SHIELDS THE EARTH FROM HARMFUL RADIATION.

RECENTLY, THE THINNING BECAME DRAMATIC, LETTING

DANGEROUS ULTRAVIOLET RAYS FROM THE SUN, SHOWN HERE

IN RED, HIT THE EARTH.

NOBODY NOTICED IT EXCEPT IN ANTARCTICA.

HERE, SCIENTISTS CONDUCTING WEATHER BALLOON

THEORETICAL RESEARCH NOTICED THE CHANGE IN THE

UPPER ATMOSPHERE AND LEARNED THAT MANMADE

CHEMICALS WERE CAUSING IT.

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION MAY SLOW PRODUCTION OF THE

CHEMICAL, BUT THE DAMAGE HAS BEEN DONE.

SO, THE RESEARCH GOES ON TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT

WE ARE DOING TO OUR WORLD AND TRYING TO FIND OUT IN

TIME TO SAVE IT.

DYLAN: COMING UP NEXT, WE'LL TEST A PARACHUTE

DESIGNED BY THE GREAT LEONARDO DA VINCI.

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES RIGHT AFTER THIS.

ANNOUNCER: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

ANNOUNCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: WELCOME BACK TO "JOURNEY".

MORE THAN FIVE CENTURIES AGO, THE FAMOUS

RENAISSANCE MAN LEONARDO DA VINCI DREAMED OF A

DEVICE THAT WOULD ALLOW PEOPLE TO FLOAT DOWN TO

EARTH AFTER JUMPING FROM A SIGNIFICANT HEIGHT.

LEONARDO'S DESIGN WAS MISUNDERSTOOD IN HIS OWN

TIME, SCOFFED AT BY LATER GENERATIONS OF SCIENTISTS,

AND NEVER TESTED UNTIL NOW.

DYLAN: KATARINA OLLIKAINEN AND ADRIAN

NICHOLAS, TOGETHER WITH SCIENTISTS FROM SALFORD

UNIVERSITY AND PROFESSOR NICK AVIS ARE ABOUT TO REACH

BACK IN TIME TO HELP PUSH HUMANITY FORWARD.

DYLAN: LEONARDO DA VINCI'S FASCINATION WITH FLIGHT

LED TO COUNTLESS DRAWINGS OF BIRDS AND HYPOTHETICAL

FLYING MACHINES.

AMONG THEM, ONE SKETCH APPEARS LIKE AN AMAZING

INTUITION, THE PARACHUTE, AN IDEA CENTURIES AHEAD OF

ITS TIME.

ADRIAN: I WAS SURPRISED TO FIND OUT THAT NOBODY HAD

EVER TRIED TO BUILD THIS.

NOBODY HAD EVER TRIED TO FLY IT.

IT WAS CONSIDERED A LEAD BALLOON...

... A NICE TRY, BLESS HIS COTTON SOCKS,

BUT NOT SOMETHING THAT WOULD WORK.

IT JUST TOOK US 515 YEARS TO FIND SOMEBODY WITH A

BRAIN SMALL ENOUGH TO BUILD IT AND TRY IT...

...OXFORD UNIVERSITY GAVE US SO MUCH HELP AND

ENTHUSIASM TO TRY AND SEE THIS THROUGH TO MAKE THIS

-- TO HELP US TO BUILD A PARACHUTE AS AUTHENTICALLY

AS POSSIBLE, AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE TO HOW DA VINCI

WOULD HAVE MADE IT.

DYLAN: CRITICAL GROUND TESTS ARE CONDUCTED THE

DAY BEFORE THE EXPERIMENT TO MINIMIZE THE RISK TO

ADRIAN, WHO WILL BE FLYING THE PARACHUTE.

SINCE NO ONE KNOWS EXACTLY HOW LEONARDO'S PARACHUTE

WILL PERFORM, ADRIAN MUST BE ABLE TO FREE HIMSELF

AND WILL BE OUTFITTED WITH A MODERN PARACHUTE AS A

BACKUP.

ON THE DAY OF THE EXPERIMENT, THE SUN RISES

ON PERFECT CONDITIONS.

THE SKY IS CLEAR WITH ALMOST NO WIND.

DYLAN: A HOT AIR BALLOON IS LIFTING ADRIAN AND

LEONARDO DA VINCI'S PARACHUTE HIGH ABOVE THE

GROUND.

THIS WILL BE THE FIRST TIME LEONARDO'S DESIGN HAS

EVER BEEN TESTED.

NO ONE KNOWS WHAT TO EXPECT.

DYLAN: AT TEN THOUSAND FEET, ADRIAN GIVES

THE COMMAND TO DROP.

DYLAN: LEONARDO'S PARACHUTE FILLS WITH

AIR AND TAKES ON A LIFE OF ITS OWN.

DYLAN: THE PARACHUTE FLOATS AND GLIDES LIKE A DREAM.

FIVE CENTURIES AND 20 GENERATIONS OF DOUBT

DISAPPEAR AMONG THE CLOUDS.

ONE OF THE GREAT MODERN SKYDIVERS HAS RETURNED TO

THE RENAISSANCE AND RECAPTURED THE WONDER OF

FLIGHT.

DYLAN: I HOPE YOU ENJOYED OUR ADRENALINE-FILLED JOURNEY.

UNTIL NEXT TIME, SAFE TRAVELS.

♪ MUSIC ♪