Original subtitles

♪

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.

♪