1
00:00:02,268 --> 00:00:04,536
Narrator:
SCIENCE'S TOP ALIEN HUNTERS
2
00:00:04,538 --> 00:00:09,041
BELIEVE OUR GALAXY IS FILLED
WITH EXTRATERRESTRIAL BEINGS
3
00:00:09,043 --> 00:00:12,177
WHO COULD ARRIVE ON EARTH
ANY SECOND.
4
00:00:17,050 --> 00:00:20,019
THE ALIENS ARE WATCHING US.
5
00:00:20,021 --> 00:00:22,254
WE COULD BE SURROUNDED
BY ALIEN PROBES
6
00:00:22,256 --> 00:00:23,922
WITHOUT EVEN KNOWING ABOUT IT.
7
00:00:23,924 --> 00:00:27,092
Narrator: THEY'RE MASTERS
OF INTERGALACTIC TRAVEL.
8
00:00:27,094 --> 00:00:29,661
WARP DRIVE IS ALLOWING ALIENS
9
00:00:29,663 --> 00:00:33,465
TO TAKE SHORTCUTS THROUGH
THE FABRIC OF SPACE AND TIME.
10
00:00:34,434 --> 00:00:35,868
Narrator:
BUT WHEN THEY GET HERE,
11
00:00:35,870 --> 00:00:41,940
WILL THE EXTRATERRESTRIAL
VISITORS COME AS OUR FRIENDS...
12
00:00:41,942 --> 00:00:45,611
Marcy: HOPEFULLY THEY HAVE FOUND
A WAY TO INTERACT WITH US
13
00:00:45,613 --> 00:00:50,015
IN A PEACEFUL WAY
AND A MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL WAY.
14
00:00:50,017 --> 00:00:52,985
THEY WOULD MAKE CONTACT IN ORDER
TO LEARN ABOUT OUR CULTURE.
15
00:00:52,987 --> 00:00:56,055
Narrator:
...OR AS OUR CONQUERORS?
16
00:00:56,057 --> 00:00:59,758
AS SOON AS THE ALIENS
SPOT THAT WE'RE HERE,
17
00:00:59,760 --> 00:01:01,960
THEY'RE PROBABLY
GONNA DESTROY US.
18
00:01:01,962 --> 00:01:03,829
Kaku:
IF IT COMES TO BLOWS,
19
00:01:03,831 --> 00:01:07,099
IT'S GONNA BE LIKE
KERMIT THE FROG VERSUS A T-REX.
20
00:01:10,070 --> 00:01:13,072
-- Captions by VITAC --
www.vitac.com
21
00:01:13,074 --> 00:01:16,075
CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY
DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS
22
00:01:19,012 --> 00:01:22,681
Narrator: OUR GALAXY CONTAINS
AROUND 60 BILLION PLANETS
23
00:01:22,683 --> 00:01:26,351
EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE
COULD CALL HOME.
24
00:01:27,487 --> 00:01:30,856
ASTRONOMERS ARE SENDING MESSAGES
INTO SPACE,
25
00:01:30,858 --> 00:01:32,491
TRYING TO REACH THEM,
26
00:01:32,493 --> 00:01:36,295
AND IT MAY ONLY BE
A MATTER OF TIME UNTIL WE DO.
27
00:01:36,297 --> 00:01:37,763
[ ALARM BLARING ]
28
00:01:37,765 --> 00:01:42,101
BUT WHEN ALIENS DO SAY
HELLO BACK, WHAT THEN?
29
00:01:51,044 --> 00:01:52,478
THIS IS PAUL DAVIES,
30
00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:55,848
CHIEF OF THE POST-DETECTION
TASK GROUP FOR SETI --
31
00:01:55,850 --> 00:01:58,917
THE SEARCH FOR
EXTRATERRESTRIAL INTELLIGENCE.
32
00:01:58,919 --> 00:02:04,223
IT'S HIS JOB TO FIGURE OUT WHAT
TO DO WHEN ALIENS REACH OUT.
33
00:02:06,659 --> 00:02:08,427
IF WE DID HAVE
SOME SORT OF CONTACT
34
00:02:08,429 --> 00:02:09,728
WITH AN ALIEN CIVILIZATION,
35
00:02:09,730 --> 00:02:11,463
THEN IT'S NOT GONNA BE LIKE
IN THE MOVIES,
36
00:02:11,465 --> 00:02:12,464
LIKE "MEN IN BLACK."
37
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IT BASICALLY BOILS DOWN
TO A TINY GROUP OF PEOPLE.
38
00:02:17,571 --> 00:02:20,139
THERE'S THE SETI SCIENTISTS
THEMSELVES
39
00:02:20,141 --> 00:02:23,442
WHO ARE LISTENING FOR SIGNALS,
AND THEN THERE'S ME.
40
00:02:27,480 --> 00:02:29,648
MY JOB IS TO COME UP
WITH SOME SORT OF PROTOCOL,
41
00:02:29,650 --> 00:02:33,118
A PLAN, IN EVENT THAT THERE IS
IRREFUTABLE EVIDENCE
42
00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:34,553
OF "WE ARE NOT ALONE
IN THE UNIVERSE."
43
00:02:34,555 --> 00:02:35,988
WHAT DO WE DO NEXT?
44
00:02:35,990 --> 00:02:38,323
WHO DO WE TELL?
HOW DO WE RESPOND?
45
00:02:38,325 --> 00:02:39,625
SHOULD WE RESPOND?
46
00:02:39,627 --> 00:02:41,226
AND WHO SPEAKS FOR EARTH?
47
00:02:42,695 --> 00:02:46,832
Narrator: BUT NO MATTER WHICH
VIP GETS TO SPEAK FOR MANKIND,
48
00:02:46,834 --> 00:02:50,702
BE IT THE PRESIDENT,
THE QUEEN, OR OPRAH,
49
00:02:50,704 --> 00:02:54,540
DON'T EXPECT TO SEE THE MOMENT
OF FIRST CONTACT LIVE ON TV.
50
00:02:56,576 --> 00:02:59,344
ANY SORT
OF FIRST-CONTACT SCENARIO --
51
00:02:59,346 --> 00:03:02,648
IT'S LIKELY TO HAPPEN IN A WAY
THAT NOBODY ANTICIPATED.
52
00:03:02,650 --> 00:03:04,383
SO IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT
53
00:03:04,385 --> 00:03:08,153
TO TRY TO PREVENT THIS
LEAKING OUT TO THE MEDIA
54
00:03:08,155 --> 00:03:09,788
BEFORE THE SCIENTISTS
ARE REALLY READY
55
00:03:09,790 --> 00:03:11,990
TO EVALUATE
WHAT THEY'RE DEALING WITH,
56
00:03:11,992 --> 00:03:14,459
AND THESE STEPS
INVOLVE ALL SORTS OF CHECKS
57
00:03:14,461 --> 00:03:15,561
TO MAKE SURE
THE SIGNAL IS GENUINE
58
00:03:15,563 --> 00:03:17,129
AND THEN INFORMING
59
00:03:17,131 --> 00:03:19,331
VARIOUS SCIENTIFIC
AND GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATIONS
60
00:03:19,333 --> 00:03:20,799
IN A CERTAIN SEQUENCE.
61
00:03:20,801 --> 00:03:23,001
[ SIRENS WAILING ]
62
00:03:32,612 --> 00:03:36,081
Narrator:
IF ALIENS BREAK RADIO SILENCE,
63
00:03:36,083 --> 00:03:38,450
NASA WILL MOBILIZE
ITS MEN IN WHITE --
64
00:03:38,452 --> 00:03:41,286
THE OFFICE
OF PLANETARY PROTECTION.
65
00:03:53,233 --> 00:03:55,934
HERE, DR. CARLTON ALLEN
HAS THE CRUCIAL TASK
66
00:03:55,936 --> 00:03:59,204
OF ANALYZING
THE CONTAMINATION RISK TO EARTH
67
00:03:59,206 --> 00:04:01,273
FROM EXTRATERRESTRIAL EXPOSURE
68
00:04:01,275 --> 00:04:05,143
AND PINPOINT ANY BIOLOGICAL
THREAT WE MIGHT POSE TO THEM.
69
00:04:05,145 --> 00:04:07,980
THE IDEA
FROM "WAR OF THE WORLDS"
70
00:04:07,982 --> 00:04:12,217
THAT MARTIANS CAME TO EARTH
AND DIED FROM THE COMMON COLD
71
00:04:12,219 --> 00:04:15,654
SOUNDS BIZARRE, BUT IN FACT,
WE DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENS
72
00:04:15,656 --> 00:04:18,757
WHEN ECOSYSTEMS
COLLIDE LIKE THAT.
73
00:04:21,461 --> 00:04:24,329
AND THAT'S WHAT THE FIELD OF
PLANETARY PROTECTION IS ABOUT --
74
00:04:24,331 --> 00:04:28,333
TO PROTECT THE EARTH FROM
MATERIALS COMING FROM SPACE.
75
00:04:31,237 --> 00:04:33,872
Narrator: KEEPING EARTH SAFE
FROM ALIEN GERMS,
76
00:04:33,874 --> 00:04:35,374
THE PLANETARY
PROTECTION DEPARTMENT
77
00:04:35,376 --> 00:04:37,976
HAS BEEN BUSY SINCE THE 1960s.
78
00:04:40,380 --> 00:04:42,281
WHEN NASA WENT TO THE MOON,
79
00:04:42,283 --> 00:04:45,117
ITS RETURNING HEROES
WERE QUARANTINED.
80
00:04:45,119 --> 00:04:46,818
[ CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ]
81
00:04:46,820 --> 00:04:52,190
AND TODAY, ALLEN'S FOCUS IS ON
CONTAGION FROM THE RED PLANET.
82
00:04:54,527 --> 00:04:56,695
Allen:
WE'RE LOOKING NOW AT MISSIONS
83
00:04:56,697 --> 00:05:00,332
TO BRING BACK SAMPLES
FROM THE PLANET MARS.
84
00:05:00,334 --> 00:05:03,268
THE STORY
OF PLANETARY PROTECTION
85
00:05:03,270 --> 00:05:05,437
GOES TO A WHOLE NEW LEVEL.
86
00:05:05,439 --> 00:05:06,938
THERE MAY BE PLACES ON MARS
87
00:05:06,940 --> 00:05:11,677
WHERE SOME EXTREME FORMS
OF MARTIAN LIFE COULD EXIST.
88
00:05:11,679 --> 00:05:14,479
AS WE EXPLORE MARS,
89
00:05:14,481 --> 00:05:16,848
WE CERTAINLY DON'T WANT
TO CONTAMINATE
90
00:05:16,850 --> 00:05:18,283
ANY PARTS OF THE PLANET,
91
00:05:18,285 --> 00:05:20,652
BUT WE ALSO,
AS WE BRING BACK SAMPLES,
92
00:05:20,654 --> 00:05:24,890
WANT TO MAKE VERY SURE
THAT WE DON'T CONTAMINATE EARTH
93
00:05:24,892 --> 00:05:26,825
WITH ANY KIND
OF MARTIAN ORGANISMS.
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00:05:33,232 --> 00:05:37,836
Narrator: AN ALIEN PLAGUE SPREAD
BY INTERPLANETARY MICROBES
95
00:05:37,838 --> 00:05:41,506
COULD DECIMATE HUMANITY AS
VICIOUSLY AS ANY ALIEN INVADER
96
00:05:41,508 --> 00:05:43,008
DREAMED UP BY SCIENCE FICTION.
97
00:05:49,182 --> 00:05:52,718
BUT AS MINERALOGIST
MIKE ZOLENSKY KNOWS,
98
00:05:52,720 --> 00:05:54,219
THESE MINI E.T.s
99
00:05:54,221 --> 00:06:00,025
COULD UNLOCK THE BIGGEST
QUESTIONS IN ASTROBIOLOGY.
100
00:06:01,361 --> 00:06:03,729
Zolensky:
SO, ARE ALIENS HERE ALREADY?
101
00:06:03,731 --> 00:06:05,097
I DON'T KNOW.
102
00:06:05,099 --> 00:06:07,799
BUT WHAT I DO KNOW IS THAT
THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF LIFE
103
00:06:07,801 --> 00:06:10,302
ARE ARRIVING ON EARTH EVERY DAY,
104
00:06:10,304 --> 00:06:14,139
AND THEY'VE BEEN ARRIVING
ON EARTH FOR 4½ BILLION YEARS.
105
00:06:15,808 --> 00:06:19,311
THEY'RE ARRIVING IN METEORITES,
ASTEROIDS, AND COMETS.
106
00:06:19,313 --> 00:06:23,181
Narrator: METEORITES ARE FLAMING
BALLS OF INTERPLANETARY ROCK
107
00:06:23,183 --> 00:06:26,485
THAT HAVE SMASHED INTO EARTH
SINCE THE DAWN OF TIME.
108
00:06:29,822 --> 00:06:31,790
ONCE, THEY WERE A MYSTERY,
109
00:06:31,792 --> 00:06:34,960
BUT NOW THANKS TO
NEW IMAGING TECHNOLOGY,
110
00:06:34,962 --> 00:06:38,430
ZOLENSKY CAN SEE WHAT'S INSIDE
METEORITE FRAGMENTS.
111
00:06:38,432 --> 00:06:41,867
THE RESULTS ARE AMAZING.
112
00:06:44,070 --> 00:06:46,471
IT'S VERY EXCITING TO HAVE THESE
SAMPLES AVAILABLE FOR STUDY.
113
00:06:46,473 --> 00:06:49,341
ONLY NOW HAVE TECHNIQUES
DEVELOPED TO THE POINT
114
00:06:49,343 --> 00:06:52,310
WHERE WE CAN ANALYZE SUCH
TINY AMOUNTS OF ORGANICS.
115
00:06:53,613 --> 00:06:56,014
THIS IS A METEORITE
THAT FELL IN WEST TEXAS,
116
00:06:56,016 --> 00:06:58,083
AND AMAZINGLY,
INSIDE THIS METEORITE,
117
00:06:58,085 --> 00:07:01,253
THERE ARE
LITTLE CRYSTALS OF SALT.
118
00:07:01,255 --> 00:07:03,121
AND THE INTERESTING THING
ABOUT THESE CRYSTALS
119
00:07:03,123 --> 00:07:06,191
IS THAT THEY CONTAIN TINY,
LITTLE DROPLETS
120
00:07:06,193 --> 00:07:09,828
OF LIQUID WATER -- THE ONLY
SAMPLES WE HAVE OF WATER
121
00:07:09,830 --> 00:07:11,263
FROM OFF THE EARTH.
122
00:07:12,832 --> 00:07:16,301
Narrator: ZOLENSKY KNOWS
THAT WHERE THERE'S WATER,
123
00:07:16,303 --> 00:07:19,204
THERE'S OFTEN LIFE.
124
00:07:19,206 --> 00:07:23,308
Man: WE HAVE MAIN ENGINE START,
ZERO, AND LIFTOFF.
125
00:07:28,981 --> 00:07:30,882
Narrator:
AND TO GATHER MORE EVIDENCE
126
00:07:30,884 --> 00:07:32,184
FROM AN INTACT SPACE ROCK,
127
00:07:32,186 --> 00:07:36,488
NASA SENT A ROBOTIC PROBE CALLED
STARDUST TO STUDY A COMET
128
00:07:36,490 --> 00:07:39,491
AS IT HURTLED
THROUGH OUR SOLAR SYSTEM
129
00:07:39,493 --> 00:07:42,527
AT OVER 13 MILES PER SECOND.
130
00:07:43,663 --> 00:07:46,865
THE STARDUST MISSION
BROUGHT BACK DUST GRAINS
131
00:07:46,867 --> 00:07:51,169
FROM THE CLOUD OF DUST AND GAS
THAT SURROUNDS THE COMET WILD 2,
132
00:07:51,171 --> 00:07:52,504
WHICH IS A COMET
THAT COMES PRETTY CLOSE TO EARTH
133
00:07:52,506 --> 00:07:53,538
EVERY FEW YEARS.
134
00:07:53,540 --> 00:07:57,275
AND AS THE COMET
PASSED BY THE SPACECRAFT,
135
00:07:57,277 --> 00:08:00,145
THE SPACECRAFT OPENED UP
A LITTLE DUST COLLECTOR,
136
00:08:00,147 --> 00:08:01,780
SHAPED LIKE A TENNIS RACKET,
137
00:08:01,782 --> 00:08:06,885
AND THOUSANDS OF GRAINS OF DUST
SMASHED INTO THE TENNIS RACKET.
138
00:08:07,820 --> 00:08:09,988
WE'RE STILL JUST BEGINNING
TO SCRATCH THE SURFACE
139
00:08:09,990 --> 00:08:11,523
ON WHAT THESE SAMPLES ARE.
140
00:08:11,525 --> 00:08:13,992
AND, FOR INSTANCE,
WE'VE FOUND AMINO ACIDS,
141
00:08:13,994 --> 00:08:15,627
AND THESE ARE IN ALL OF US --
142
00:08:15,629 --> 00:08:17,095
YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE FIRST STEPS
TOWARDS LIFE,
143
00:08:17,097 --> 00:08:18,663
AND HERE THEY ARE IN THE COMET.
144
00:08:20,666 --> 00:08:24,269
Narrator: ZOLENSKY HAS
AN ASTONISHING THEORY
145
00:08:24,271 --> 00:08:27,472
THAT AMINO ACIDS
CRASHING INTO PLANETS
146
00:08:27,474 --> 00:08:33,478
COULD HAVE SEEDED LIFE BOTH ON
EARTH AND THROUGHOUT THE GALAXY.
147
00:08:35,147 --> 00:08:37,849
IT'S THIS IDEA THAT
ONCE A LIFE ARISES IN ONE PLACE,
148
00:08:37,851 --> 00:08:39,818
IT SPREADS
THROUGHOUT THE UNIVERSE.
149
00:08:39,820 --> 00:08:42,387
WE KNOW
THAT THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF LIFE
150
00:08:42,389 --> 00:08:45,390
ARE IN COMETS AND ASTEROIDS
IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM,
151
00:08:45,392 --> 00:08:48,693
AND WE SEE EVIDENCE
FOR THESE SAME OBJECTS
152
00:08:48,695 --> 00:08:50,929
AROUND OTHER STAR SYSTEMS.
153
00:08:52,732 --> 00:08:55,634
SO, PROBABLY, LIFE IS EVERYWHERE
IN SPACE IF IT'S HERE.
154
00:08:58,771 --> 00:09:01,172
Narrator:
LIFE COULD BE FLOURISHING
155
00:09:01,174 --> 00:09:02,641
THROUGHOUT THE GALAXY,
156
00:09:02,643 --> 00:09:05,944
AND IF WE'RE SENDING PROBES
TO STUDY THEM,
157
00:09:05,946 --> 00:09:09,281
COULD INTELLIGENT ALIENS
BE DOING THE SAME?
158
00:09:09,283 --> 00:09:13,919
ARE EXTRATERRESTRIALS
WATCHING US ALREADY?
159
00:09:23,262 --> 00:09:25,864
Narrator:
SINCE THE 1970s,
160
00:09:25,866 --> 00:09:29,401
NATIONS HAVE SENT PROBES
TO STUDY SPACE
161
00:09:29,403 --> 00:09:33,905
AND SEARCH FOR EVIDENCE
OF EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE.
162
00:09:35,074 --> 00:09:37,742
SO IF WE'VE BEEN DOING IT,
HAVE THEY?
163
00:09:43,349 --> 00:09:47,619
IS THERE, OR WAS THERE, ALIEN
TECHNOLOGY IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM?
164
00:09:47,621 --> 00:09:49,020
AND BY TECHNOLOGY,
165
00:09:49,022 --> 00:09:52,757
THE FIRST THAT COMES TO MIND
ARE THINGS LIKE PROBES.
166
00:09:52,759 --> 00:09:56,094
AN ALIEN PROBE MIGHT HAVE
167
00:09:56,096 --> 00:09:58,730
FANTASTIC INFORMATION PROCESSING
CAPABILITY
168
00:09:58,732 --> 00:10:00,532
OF ENORMOUS INTELLECTUAL POWER.
169
00:10:00,534 --> 00:10:03,702
AND IT'S NOT INCONCEIVABLE, BUT
OVER THE HISTORY OF THE EARTH,
170
00:10:03,704 --> 00:10:05,604
THERE'S BEEN
SOME ALIEN TECHNOLOGY
171
00:10:05,606 --> 00:10:06,671
IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM
172
00:10:06,673 --> 00:10:08,673
OR RIGHT HERE
ON OUR HOME PLANET.
173
00:10:10,242 --> 00:10:13,845
Narrator: PAUL DAVIES BELIEVES
AN INTELLIGENT ALIEN SPECIES
174
00:10:13,847 --> 00:10:16,114
COULD BE
ANALYZING EARTH RIGHT NOW
175
00:10:16,116 --> 00:10:18,617
USING MICROSCOPIC TECHNOLOGY.
176
00:10:20,987 --> 00:10:23,622
IF WE START THINKING
NOT IN TERMS OF A PROBE
177
00:10:23,624 --> 00:10:26,424
LIKE OUR PROBES -- YOU KNOW,
A BIG CHUNK OF METAL --
178
00:10:26,426 --> 00:10:28,393
BUT IN TERMS
OF NANOTECHNOLOGY --
179
00:10:28,395 --> 00:10:30,795
BECAUSE AFTER ALL,
YOU CAN ACCOMPLISH A LOT
180
00:10:30,797 --> 00:10:33,331
WITH TINY,
LITTLE ROBOTIC DEVICES,
181
00:10:33,333 --> 00:10:35,233
WHICH MAY BE NO BIGGER
THAN A BACTERIUM.
182
00:10:35,235 --> 00:10:36,935
WE CAN BE SURROUNDED
BY SUCH THINGS
183
00:10:36,937 --> 00:10:38,303
WITHOUT EVEN KNOWING ABOUT IT.
184
00:10:39,872 --> 00:10:43,375
Narrator:
IT SOUNDS LIKE A SCI-FI FANTASY,
185
00:10:43,377 --> 00:10:47,812
BUT EXTRATERRESTRIALS COULD BE
WATCHING US IN REAL LIFE.
186
00:10:51,651 --> 00:10:56,354
AND CYBERNETICIST KEVIN WARWICK
THINKS THE ALIENS' NEXT STEP
187
00:10:56,356 --> 00:11:00,592
WOULD BE TO LAUNCH A
MORE SOPHISTICATED RECON MISSION
188
00:11:00,594 --> 00:11:03,962
IN THE FORM
OF CYBERNETIC AVATARS.
189
00:11:03,964 --> 00:11:05,363
IT MAY WELL BE ROBOTS
190
00:11:05,365 --> 00:11:08,333
THAT ACTUALLY APPEAR ON EARTH
TO START WITH...
191
00:11:11,504 --> 00:11:13,071
...NOT THE ALIENS THEMSELVES.
192
00:11:13,073 --> 00:11:15,774
THE ALIENS WOULD BE
ON A DISTANT PLANET
193
00:11:15,776 --> 00:11:18,076
MAYBE GALAXIES, EONS AWAY,
194
00:11:18,078 --> 00:11:21,813
AND CONTROLLING THE ROBOTS
THAT WE SEE HERE DIRECTLY
195
00:11:21,815 --> 00:11:24,849
AS EXTENSIONS OF THEMSELVES,
IF YOU LIKE.
196
00:11:24,851 --> 00:11:28,386
SO THEIR THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS
ARE CONTROLLING THE ROBOTS,
197
00:11:28,388 --> 00:11:30,588
AND INFORMATION'S
BEING FED BACK.
198
00:11:32,158 --> 00:11:34,726
I THINK WE SHOULD BE ABLE
TO GET SOME IDEA
199
00:11:34,728 --> 00:11:37,062
OF WHAT THE ALIEN LIFE FORM
ACTUALLY IS LIKE
200
00:11:37,064 --> 00:11:38,930
FROM THE ROBOTS
THAT APPEAR HERE.
201
00:11:38,932 --> 00:11:43,068
AS WE HAVE ROBOT HANDS
ON OUR ROBOTS THAT WE SEND OUT,
202
00:11:43,070 --> 00:11:45,670
THEY MAY HAVE
SOME SORT OF MANIPULATION
203
00:11:45,672 --> 00:11:48,757
THAT IS SIMILAR
TO THE ORIGINAL ALIEN LIFE FORM.
204
00:11:50,826 --> 00:11:53,928
Narrator:
IF OTHER-WORLDLY BEINGS
205
00:11:53,930 --> 00:11:57,198
SEND PROBES
AND EVEN ROBOT AVATARS TO EARTH
206
00:11:57,200 --> 00:11:59,801
AND THEY LIKE WHAT THEY SEE,
207
00:11:59,803 --> 00:12:04,072
IT WON'T BE LONG UNTIL
INTELLIGENT EXTRATERRESTRIALS
208
00:12:04,074 --> 00:12:07,876
DECIDE TO COME SEE OUR PLANET
FOR THEMSELVES.
209
00:12:15,484 --> 00:12:17,552
THIS IS LES JOHNSON,
210
00:12:17,554 --> 00:12:21,656
A PHYSICIST WITH NASA'S
ADVANCED CONCEPTS OFFICE.
211
00:12:21,658 --> 00:12:23,758
HE THINKS ALIEN ENGINEERS
212
00:12:23,760 --> 00:12:26,461
MIGHT APPROACH THE CHALLENGE
OF TRAVERSING THE GALAXY
213
00:12:26,463 --> 00:12:28,797
THE SAME WAY WE DO.
214
00:12:31,300 --> 00:12:32,901
Johnson:
AS A PHYSICIST,
215
00:12:32,903 --> 00:12:35,904
I HAVE TO MAKE ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT
THE WAY THE UNIVERSE WORKS.
216
00:12:35,906 --> 00:12:37,372
THE WAY IT WORKS IN MY LAB --
217
00:12:37,374 --> 00:12:39,974
IT HAS TO BE ABOUT THE SAME WAY
IT WORKS IN THE LAB
218
00:12:39,976 --> 00:12:43,778
ACROSS THE STREET, ACROSS TOWN,
SOMEWHERE ELSE ON THE PLANET,
219
00:12:43,780 --> 00:12:46,381
OR SOMEWHERE ELSE
ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE GALAXY.
220
00:12:46,383 --> 00:12:48,683
AND WHEN
YOU START THINKING ABOUT THAT
221
00:12:48,685 --> 00:12:51,986
AND WHAT IT'S GOING TO REQUIRE
TO TRAVEL BETWEEN THE STARS,
222
00:12:51,988 --> 00:12:53,321
YOU HAVE TO THINK BIG.
223
00:12:53,323 --> 00:12:56,391
YOU HAVE TO THINK BIGGER
THAN THE SATURN V ROCKET,
224
00:12:56,393 --> 00:12:58,193
WHICH TOOK PEOPLE TO THE MOON.
225
00:13:03,165 --> 00:13:05,300
Narrator:
THE LIQUID-PROPELLENT-FUELED
226
00:13:05,302 --> 00:13:09,838
SATURN V IS STILL THE MOST
POWERFUL ROCKET EVER BUILT.
227
00:13:13,859 --> 00:13:18,596
IT ALLOWED ASTRONAUTS TO TRAVEL
618,000 KILOMETERS TO THE MOON
228
00:13:18,598 --> 00:13:22,367
IN JUST FOUR DAYS.
229
00:13:23,936 --> 00:13:26,304
BUT FOR ALIENS TO GET TO EARTH,
230
00:13:26,306 --> 00:13:30,608
FROM EVEN PROXIMA CENTAURI,
OUR NEIGHBORING STAR SYSTEM,
231
00:13:30,610 --> 00:13:34,913
MEANS A JOURNEY
OF 25 TRILLION MILES.
232
00:13:34,915 --> 00:13:38,583
TO GET THIS ENORMOUS BEAST
OFF THE GROUND,
233
00:13:38,585 --> 00:13:41,653
THESE ENGINES HAD TO PRODUCE
MILLIONS OF POUNDS OF THRUST
234
00:13:41,655 --> 00:13:43,087
USING CHEMICAL PROPULSION.
235
00:13:46,592 --> 00:13:48,960
IF WE WERE GOING TO TRY
TO GO TO THE STARS,
236
00:13:48,962 --> 00:13:51,062
AND THE DISTANCES ARE JUST HUGE,
237
00:13:51,064 --> 00:13:53,565
RIGHT NOW WITH
A CHEMICAL ROCKET LIKE THIS,
238
00:13:53,567 --> 00:13:56,501
IT WOULD TAKE 73,000 YEARS.
239
00:13:56,503 --> 00:14:00,638
Narrator: FACED WITH THOUSANDS
OF YEARS IN THE COCKPIT,
240
00:14:00,640 --> 00:14:04,242
JOHNSON THINKS EXTRATERRESTRIALS
MIGHT CONSIDER
241
00:14:04,244 --> 00:14:07,679
USING A MORE EXPLOSIVE
FUEL SYSTEM.
242
00:14:12,351 --> 00:14:15,486
YOU KNOW, INSTEAD OF A SATURN V,
IMAGINE A BATTLESHIP,
243
00:14:15,488 --> 00:14:18,923
SOMETHING REALLY BIG WITH BIG
PRESSURE PLATES UNDERNEATH IT,
244
00:14:18,925 --> 00:14:20,758
AND INSTEAD OF CHEMICAL ROCKETS,
245
00:14:20,760 --> 00:14:26,598
YOU EXPLODE SMALL HYDROGEN
BOMBS, ONE EVERY FEW SECONDS.
246
00:14:26,600 --> 00:14:29,000
AND AS THE BOMB EXPLODES,
IT GIVES IT A KICK
247
00:14:29,002 --> 00:14:30,268
AND IT STARTS IT MOVING
248
00:14:30,270 --> 00:14:32,704
AND IT KEEPS IT GOING FASTER
AND FASTER.
249
00:14:32,706 --> 00:14:34,505
AND IF YOU ACCELERATE FOR HOURS
250
00:14:34,507 --> 00:14:37,175
INSTEAD OF THE MINUTES
THAT A CHEMICAL ROCKET DOES,
251
00:14:37,177 --> 00:14:40,111
YOU COULD POTENTIALLY PROPEL
A SPACECRAFT TO ANOTHER STAR
252
00:14:40,113 --> 00:14:43,248
IN A FEW CENTURIES INSTEAD
OF 73,000 YEARS.
253
00:14:43,250 --> 00:14:47,118
Narrator:
HYDROGEN-BOMB-POWERED SPACECRAFT
254
00:14:47,120 --> 00:14:50,955
WOULD BE FAST BUT DANGEROUS,
255
00:14:50,957 --> 00:14:54,025
SO JOHNSON THINKS
ADVANCED ALIENS
256
00:14:54,027 --> 00:14:57,061
COULD DEVELOP SOMETHING
MUCH FASTER AND SAFER
257
00:14:57,063 --> 00:14:58,730
USING ALTERNATIVE ENERGY.
258
00:15:00,799 --> 00:15:03,568
Johnson: MY PERSONAL
FAVORITE TECHNOLOGY --
259
00:15:03,570 --> 00:15:06,804
IT'S CALLED A SOLAR SAIL.
260
00:15:06,806 --> 00:15:08,439
WHAT A SOLAR SAIL DOES IS,
261
00:15:08,441 --> 00:15:11,009
IT REFLECTS THE LIGHT
TO GET PROPULSION.
262
00:15:11,011 --> 00:15:13,344
YOU CAN'T REALLY FEEL IT
HERE ON THE GROUND,
263
00:15:13,346 --> 00:15:15,546
BUT THE SUNLIGHT,
AS THE LIGHT REFLECTS FROM YOU,
264
00:15:15,548 --> 00:15:16,547
ARE PUSHING ON YOU.
265
00:15:16,549 --> 00:15:17,715
THEY EXERT A FORCE.
266
00:15:17,717 --> 00:15:19,484
IF YOU GET OUT INTO DEEP SPACE,
267
00:15:19,486 --> 00:15:22,353
THIS FORCE CAN BE SIGNIFICANT,
AND IT'S PLENTIFUL.
268
00:15:22,355 --> 00:15:23,488
IT'S ALWAYS THERE.
269
00:15:23,490 --> 00:15:25,156
WELL, THIS PROTOTYPE SOLAR SAIL,
270
00:15:25,158 --> 00:15:27,325
WHICH IS ACTUALLY ONE
THAT WE DEVELOPED
271
00:15:27,327 --> 00:15:28,960
FOR SOLAR-SAIL APPLICATIONS,
272
00:15:28,962 --> 00:15:31,296
IS A VERY THIN,
LIGHTWEIGHT REFLECTOR.
273
00:15:33,299 --> 00:15:37,568
NOW, IMAGINE SOMETHING LIKE THIS
ONLY SCALED UP DRAMATICALLY,
274
00:15:37,570 --> 00:15:41,973
SOMETHING THE SIZE OF TEXAS WITH
THE THICKNESS OF A HUMAN HAIR.
275
00:15:41,975 --> 00:15:45,410
IF THAT WERE TO BE DEPLOYED
IN SPACE BY US OR SOMEONE ELSE,
276
00:15:45,412 --> 00:15:48,446
THEY COULD USE THAT
TO GET A BIG KICK FROM SUNLIGHT
277
00:15:48,448 --> 00:15:50,381
TO TRAVEL VERY, VERY FAST.
278
00:15:50,383 --> 00:15:51,683
NOW, THIS TECHNOLOGY
279
00:15:51,685 --> 00:15:54,786
DOESN'T REQUIRE MANY FUNDAMENTAL
BREAKTHROUGHS IN PHYSICS.
280
00:15:54,788 --> 00:15:57,055
IT'S MORE
OF AN ENGINEERING CHALLENGE.
281
00:15:57,057 --> 00:15:59,691
WE DON'T KNOW
HOW TO BUILD SOMETHING LIKE THIS
282
00:15:59,693 --> 00:16:01,092
THE SIZE OF TEXAS TODAY,
283
00:16:01,094 --> 00:16:02,894
BUT WE COULD PROBABLY,
WITHIN A FEW YEARS,
284
00:16:02,896 --> 00:16:05,196
BUILD ONE
THAT'S A FEW KILOMETERS IN SIZE,
285
00:16:05,198 --> 00:16:07,231
AND WITHIN THE NEXT
50 TO 100 YEARS,
286
00:16:07,233 --> 00:16:10,268
SCALE THAT UP
TO THE SIZE AS YOU MIGHT NEED,
287
00:16:10,270 --> 00:16:13,604
OR ANYONE MIGHT NEED,
TO TRAVEL BETWEEN THE STARS.
288
00:16:15,674 --> 00:16:17,976
Narrator:
BUT EVEN USING SOLAR SAILS,
289
00:16:17,978 --> 00:16:20,411
TRAVELING THE FOUR LIGHT YEARS
TO EARTH
290
00:16:20,413 --> 00:16:23,147
COULD TAKE A CENTURY OR MORE.
291
00:16:24,450 --> 00:16:28,486
FOR A REALLY EXPRESS JOURNEY
OF JUST A FEW DECADES,
292
00:16:28,488 --> 00:16:31,522
ALIENS NEED TO HARNESS
THE INCREDIBLE POWER
293
00:16:31,524 --> 00:16:36,761
OF A MYSTERIOUS SUBSTANCE
CALLED ANTIMATTER.
294
00:16:38,530 --> 00:16:40,898
NOW, ANTIMATTER
IS REALLY THE ULTIMATE FUEL
295
00:16:40,900 --> 00:16:42,367
FOR INTERSTELLAR TRAVEL.
296
00:16:42,369 --> 00:16:44,836
AND JUST TO BE CLEAR, IT'S NOT
THE STUFF OF SCIENCE FICTION.
297
00:16:44,838 --> 00:16:46,304
IT'S VERY REAL.
298
00:16:46,306 --> 00:16:50,341
Narrator: ANTIMATTER CONSISTS
OF SUBATOMIC-SCALED PARTICLES
299
00:16:50,343 --> 00:16:53,778
THAT ARE A MIRROR IMAGE
OF THE ORDINARY PARTICLES
300
00:16:53,780 --> 00:16:57,215
THAT MAKE UP ALL MATTER
IN THE UNIVERSE.
301
00:16:59,551 --> 00:17:03,721
BUT WHEN MATTER AND ANTIMATTER
COME TOGETHER,
302
00:17:03,723 --> 00:17:09,060
THE EXPLOSIVE RESULT
IS PERFECT FOR SPACE TRAVEL.
303
00:17:12,631 --> 00:17:14,032
THE REASON IT'S A GOOD FUEL
304
00:17:14,034 --> 00:17:16,634
IS BECAUSE WHEN A PARTICLE
OF MATTER AND ANTIMATTER
305
00:17:16,636 --> 00:17:17,702
COME INTO CONTACT,
306
00:17:17,704 --> 00:17:19,570
THEY ANNIHILATE
AND PRODUCE ENERGY.
307
00:17:19,572 --> 00:17:22,240
NOW, TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA
OF HOW MUCH ENERGY THAT IS,
308
00:17:22,242 --> 00:17:24,242
TAKE A LOOK
AT THE SHUTTLE BEHIND ME.
309
00:17:24,244 --> 00:17:27,145
THAT EXTERNAL ORANGE TANK
CONTAINS ALL THE FUEL NECESSARY
310
00:17:27,147 --> 00:17:28,579
TO GET THE SHUTTLE TO ORBIT.
311
00:17:32,251 --> 00:17:34,919
IT WOULD TAKE 50 OF THOSE TANKS
312
00:17:34,921 --> 00:17:40,258
TO PRODUCE THE SAME AMOUNT OF
ENERGY AS 3 GRAMS OF ANTIMATTER.
313
00:17:40,260 --> 00:17:43,261
Narrator:
JUST A TINY AMOUNT OF ANTIMATTER
314
00:17:43,263 --> 00:17:46,764
COULD HELP ALIEN EXPLORERS
CRUISE ACROSS THE GALAXY
315
00:17:46,766 --> 00:17:50,735
AT UP TO 67 MILLION MILES
PER HOUR,
316
00:17:50,737 --> 00:17:55,273
REACHING EARTH IN A RELATIVELY
SPEEDY 42 YEARS.
317
00:17:57,109 --> 00:18:00,278
AND UNLIKE THE FLYING SAUCERS
OF SCIENCE FICTION,
318
00:18:00,280 --> 00:18:04,382
AN ALIEN SPACECRAFT COULD
SURVIVE SUCH UNIMAGINABLE SPEEDS
319
00:18:04,384 --> 00:18:07,385
NO MATTER WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE.
320
00:18:09,555 --> 00:18:10,988
Johnson:
WHEN WE THINK ABOUT SPACESHIPS,
321
00:18:10,990 --> 00:18:12,924
WE USUALLY THINK ABOUT
THE SHAPE OF A ROCKET --
322
00:18:12,926 --> 00:18:14,826
TALL AND THIN
AND VERY AERODYNAMIC --
323
00:18:14,828 --> 00:18:17,061
AND THAT'S REALLY
BECAUSE WE LIVE ON A PLANET
324
00:18:17,063 --> 00:18:18,963
AND WE'VE GOT AN ATMOSPHERE
ABOVE US.
325
00:18:18,965 --> 00:18:20,898
WELL, ONCE YOU
GET OUT OF THAT ATMOSPHERE,
326
00:18:20,900 --> 00:18:22,867
YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORRY
ABOUT THAT ANYMORE.
327
00:18:22,869 --> 00:18:25,470
YOU DON'T HAVE DRAG,
SO YOU CAN HAVE A SPACECRAFT
328
00:18:25,472 --> 00:18:27,905
THAT HAS LOTS OF THINGS
STICKING OUT ON IT OR NOT.
329
00:18:27,907 --> 00:18:30,942
IT CAN BE A CUBE,
LIKE A BORG CUBE.
330
00:18:30,944 --> 00:18:32,743
BASICALLY, ONCE YOU'RE IN SPACE
IN A VACUUM,
331
00:18:32,745 --> 00:18:34,846
THE SHAPE
JUST DOESN'T MATTER ANYMORE.
332
00:18:38,450 --> 00:18:41,085
Narrator: BUT ONCE ALIENS HAVE
BUILT THE PERFECT THE VESSEL
333
00:18:41,087 --> 00:18:43,154
FOR GETTING FROM "A" TO "B,"
334
00:18:43,156 --> 00:18:47,325
THEY FACE
A MUCH BIGGER CHALLENGE --
335
00:18:47,327 --> 00:18:49,227
TRAVELING TO EARTH
336
00:18:49,229 --> 00:18:53,598
ACROSS THE INFINITE
AND DEADLY VOID OF SPACE
337
00:18:53,600 --> 00:18:55,833
WITHOUT GETTING LOST.
338
00:19:06,411 --> 00:19:10,548
Narrator: EVERYTHING
ABOUT OUR GALAXY IS MASSIVE.
339
00:19:10,550 --> 00:19:18,055
IT'S 100,000 LIGHT YEARS ACROSS,
CONTAINS 100 BILLION STARS
340
00:19:18,057 --> 00:19:23,127
AND AS MANY PLANETS
ALL IN CONSTANT MOTION,
341
00:19:23,129 --> 00:19:26,531
JUST 1 OF 200 BILLION GALAXIES
342
00:19:26,533 --> 00:19:29,667
BELIEVED TO EXIST
IN THE KNOWN UNIVERSE.
343
00:19:30,769 --> 00:19:33,671
SO WHEN
EXTRATERRESTRIAL EXPLORERS
344
00:19:33,673 --> 00:19:36,941
SET OFF ON THE LONG JOURNEY
TO EARTH...
345
00:19:45,984 --> 00:19:49,086
DR. JOHN PYE
IS AN ASTROPHYSICIST
346
00:19:49,088 --> 00:19:52,523
WHO THINKS ALIENS COULD PLOT
A COURSE THROUGH SPACE
347
00:19:52,525 --> 00:19:55,459
IN THE SAME WAY
SAILORS NAVIGATE THE SEA.
348
00:19:58,463 --> 00:20:01,566
IMAGINE THIS BOAT
IS AN ALIEN SPACECRAFT.
349
00:20:01,568 --> 00:20:05,303
THE OCEAN IS THE GALAXY THROUGH
WHICH IT'S TRYING TO NAVIGATE.
350
00:20:10,008 --> 00:20:13,044
WE'VE BEEN USING LIGHTHOUSES
FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS
351
00:20:13,046 --> 00:20:14,445
TO NAVIGATE THE OCEANS.
352
00:20:14,447 --> 00:20:17,248
WE CAN USE THE LIGHTHOUSE
TO SHOW
353
00:20:17,250 --> 00:20:20,084
HOW AN ALIEN
MIGHT NAVIGATE THE GALAXY
354
00:20:20,086 --> 00:20:21,786
USING PULSARS.
355
00:20:21,788 --> 00:20:24,622
Narrator:
PULSARS ARE A RARE TYPE OF STAR
356
00:20:24,624 --> 00:20:27,625
THAT SPIN AROUND
HUNDREDS OF TIMES A SECOND,
357
00:20:27,627 --> 00:20:30,261
SHOOTING OUT CHARACTERISTIC
FLASHES OF RADIATION
358
00:20:30,263 --> 00:20:33,798
AT REGULAR INTERVALS,
EXACTLY LIKE A LIGHTHOUSE.
359
00:20:38,604 --> 00:20:40,304
Pye:
FROM OUR SPACECRAFT HERE,
360
00:20:40,306 --> 00:20:44,575
WE CAN USE THE LIGHT FROM
THE TWO PULSARS HERE AND HERE
361
00:20:44,577 --> 00:20:46,777
TO TRIANGULATE OUR POSITION.
362
00:20:46,779 --> 00:20:49,347
Narrator: PYE BELIEVES
AN ALIEN NAVIGATOR
363
00:20:49,349 --> 00:20:52,450
COULD USE THE FLASHING BEAMS
OF TWO OR MORE PULSARS
364
00:20:52,452 --> 00:20:54,518
AS A KIND OF GALACTIC MARKER
365
00:20:54,520 --> 00:20:58,389
TO CONSTANTLY GAUGE THE POSITION
OF THEIR SPACECRAFT.
366
00:21:02,394 --> 00:21:05,296
Pye: WE NEED TO BE ABLE
TO MEASURE VERY ACCURATELY
367
00:21:05,298 --> 00:21:07,865
THE TIME IT TAKES
EACH PULSE OF LIGHT
368
00:21:07,867 --> 00:21:10,735
TO TRAVEL FROM THE LIGHTHOUSE
TO THE BOAT.
369
00:21:10,737 --> 00:21:12,370
USING THE KNOWN SPEED OF LIGHT,
370
00:21:12,372 --> 00:21:15,740
WE CAN THEN DRAW A CIRCLE
ON THE MAP.
371
00:21:15,742 --> 00:21:17,308
WE'VE GOT A SECOND LIGHTHOUSE --
372
00:21:17,310 --> 00:21:21,012
WE CAN DRAW A SECOND CIRCLE
WHERE THE TWO INTERSECT.
373
00:21:21,014 --> 00:21:22,780
THAT'S WHERE OUR BOAT IS.
374
00:21:22,782 --> 00:21:24,915
AN ALIEN CAN DO THE SAME
375
00:21:24,917 --> 00:21:29,520
USING PULSARS TO TRIANGULATE
THE POSITION OF THE SPACECRAFT.
376
00:21:29,522 --> 00:21:33,758
IN SPACE, AN ALIEN WOULD NEED
THREE PULSARS, AT LEAST,
377
00:21:33,760 --> 00:21:37,094
TO MEASURE A POSITION
BECAUSE, OBVIOUSLY,
378
00:21:37,096 --> 00:21:39,230
SPACE IS THREE-DIMENSIONAL.
379
00:21:39,232 --> 00:21:41,666
ON THE SEA,
IT'S TWO-DIMENSIONAL,
380
00:21:41,668 --> 00:21:45,169
SO WE ONLY NEED TWO LIGHTHOUSES
TO FIX OUR POSITION.
381
00:21:48,240 --> 00:21:49,840
Narrator:
WITH PULSARS
382
00:21:49,842 --> 00:21:52,143
TRIANGULATING
THEIR EXACT LOCATION,
383
00:21:52,145 --> 00:21:53,711
THE EXTRATERRESTRIAL SHIP
384
00:21:53,713 --> 00:21:56,781
CAN STEER A PERFECT COURSE
FOR EARTH.
385
00:21:56,783 --> 00:21:59,884
BUT TO AVOID OBSTACLES
ALONG THE WAY,
386
00:21:59,886 --> 00:22:02,620
ALIENS COULD TRY
ANOTHER TECHNOLOGY
387
00:22:02,622 --> 00:22:05,556
THAT'S BEEN USED BY SAILORS
FOR YEARS.
388
00:22:05,558 --> 00:22:10,127
THIS BOAT HAS RADAR TO AVOID
ANY OBSTACLES IN ITS PATH
389
00:22:10,129 --> 00:22:14,565
IN THE SAME WAY OUR
ALIEN SPACECRAFT WILL NEED RADAR
390
00:22:14,567 --> 00:22:17,568
TO AVOID ANY SPACE DEBRIS
OR OTHER OBSTACLES.
391
00:22:17,570 --> 00:22:19,570
WE ALREADY HAVE RADAR ON EARTH,
392
00:22:19,572 --> 00:22:22,673
WHICH CAN DETECT SPACE DEBRIS
IN EARTH'S ORBIT,
393
00:22:22,675 --> 00:22:26,544
SO IT'S HIGHLY LIKELY
THAT ANY ADVANCED CIVILIZATION
394
00:22:26,546 --> 00:22:31,782
WILL HAVE SOMETHING AT LEAST
AS ADVANCED AS OUR RADAR TODAY.
395
00:22:32,918 --> 00:22:35,086
Narrator: BUT EVEN IF
THE EXTRATERRESTRIALS
396
00:22:35,088 --> 00:22:37,254
DON'T GET LOST ALONG THE WAY,
397
00:22:37,256 --> 00:22:41,359
THE VOYAGE TO EARTH
WILL TAKE DECADES.
398
00:22:58,677 --> 00:23:01,512
ASTRONAUT MICHAEL BARRATT
HAS SPENT MONTHS
399
00:23:01,514 --> 00:23:04,548
LIVING ABOARD
THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
400
00:23:04,550 --> 00:23:06,484
AND UNDERSTANDS THE CHALLENGES
401
00:23:06,486 --> 00:23:08,886
LONG-DISTANCE TRAVELERS
WILL FACE.
402
00:23:14,626 --> 00:23:17,294
SO, EVERY CIVILIZATION
THAT WANTS TO TRAVEL
403
00:23:17,296 --> 00:23:20,331
HAS TO THINK ABOUT
MIMICKING SOME OF THE CONDITIONS
404
00:23:20,333 --> 00:23:23,401
ON THEIR HOME PLANET
THAT WOULD SUSTAIN THEIR BODY.
405
00:23:23,403 --> 00:23:26,470
REMEMBER THAT THEIR BODIES
DEVELOPED UNDER GRAVITY,
406
00:23:26,472 --> 00:23:29,373
SO THEY WOULD HAVE TO
THINK ABOUT THEIR TRANSIT --
407
00:23:29,375 --> 00:23:31,409
IN PARTICULAR,
BONES AND MUSCLES,
408
00:23:31,411 --> 00:23:33,811
WHICH WOULD DETERIORATE
IN ZERO GRAVITY.
409
00:23:33,813 --> 00:23:38,082
Narrator: FOR BEINGS WITH
CARBON-BASED BODIES LIKE OURS,
410
00:23:38,084 --> 00:23:41,685
YEARS SPENT IN WEIGHTLESSNESS
WOULD BE DEADLY.
411
00:23:41,687 --> 00:23:45,289
BUT BARRATT THINKS
THAT UNLIKE OUR SPACECRAFT,
412
00:23:45,291 --> 00:23:48,192
AN ADVANCED
EXTRATERRESTRIAL VESSEL
413
00:23:48,194 --> 00:23:51,529
WOULD BE EQUIPPED
WITH ARTIFICIAL GRAVITY.
414
00:23:54,032 --> 00:23:55,599
YOU CAN SPIN THE SHIP,
415
00:23:55,601 --> 00:23:58,736
AND A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE THE
NOTION OF A BIG SPINNING WHEEL,
416
00:23:58,738 --> 00:23:59,904
à LA STANLEY KUBRICK.
417
00:23:59,906 --> 00:24:01,906
Narrator:
A SPINNING CRAFT
418
00:24:01,908 --> 00:24:04,675
WOULD CREATE
OUTWARD CENTRIFUGAL FORCE,
419
00:24:04,677 --> 00:24:08,379
PULLING THE ALIEN CREW
TOWARDS THE SIDES OF THEIR SHIP,
420
00:24:08,381 --> 00:24:13,150
JUST AS GRAVITY ON EARTH
KEEPS OUR FEET ON THE GROUND.
421
00:24:13,152 --> 00:24:16,987
Barratt: SPINNING A SHIP
HAS ITS PROBLEMS.
422
00:24:16,989 --> 00:24:18,722
IT CAN ACTUALLY BE
SOMEWHAT DISORIENTING.
423
00:24:18,724 --> 00:24:22,827
A MORE ELEGANT SOLUTION WOULD BE
TO HAVE A PROPULSION SYSTEM
424
00:24:22,829 --> 00:24:26,464
THAT CONTINUALLY THRUSTS
AND GIVES YOU A LINEAR G-FORCE,
425
00:24:26,466 --> 00:24:27,731
SO TO SPEAK.
426
00:24:27,733 --> 00:24:31,001
Narrator:
WITH NO FRICTION IN SPACE,
427
00:24:31,003 --> 00:24:35,573
ROCKETS DON'T NEED TO
FIRE CONTINUALLY TO KEEP MOVING.
428
00:24:35,575 --> 00:24:39,243
BUT IF THEY DID,
THE RESULTING LINEAR G-FORCE
429
00:24:39,245 --> 00:24:41,212
COULD CREATE ARTIFICIAL GRAVITY
430
00:24:41,214 --> 00:24:43,414
THE SAME WAY
ACCELERATING IN A CAR
431
00:24:43,416 --> 00:24:46,417
PUSHES A DRIVER
BACK INTO THE SEAT.
432
00:24:46,419 --> 00:24:47,785
[ ENGINE REVS ]
433
00:24:47,787 --> 00:24:50,287
NOW, IF YOU HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY,
434
00:24:50,289 --> 00:24:54,758
PERHAPS YOU'VE MASTERED THE
ABILITY TO MANIPULATE GRAVITY,
435
00:24:54,760 --> 00:24:56,627
AND THEN YOU REALLY COULD HAVE
436
00:24:56,629 --> 00:24:58,863
AN ARTIFICIAL GRAVITY FIELD
ON YOUR SHIP.
437
00:24:58,865 --> 00:25:01,265
SO IT REALLY DEPENDS
ON THE TECHNOLOGY LEVEL
438
00:25:01,267 --> 00:25:04,802
THAT A CIVILIZATION'S ATTAINED
BEFORE IT VENTURES OUTWARD.
439
00:25:06,304 --> 00:25:09,173
Narrator: GRAVITY WILL MAKE
THE SHIP COMFORTABLE
440
00:25:09,175 --> 00:25:11,175
AND HELP THE ALIENS STAY FIT.
441
00:25:11,177 --> 00:25:14,545
BUT TO SURVIVE
THE TRIP TO EARTH,
442
00:25:14,547 --> 00:25:20,351
THEY'LL NEED SOMETHING
MUCH MORE LOW-TECH -- FOOD.
443
00:25:20,353 --> 00:25:22,953
Barratt:
YOU HAVE TO CARRY ENOUGH FOOD
444
00:25:22,955 --> 00:25:24,455
TO SUSTAIN YOUR VOYAGE
445
00:25:24,457 --> 00:25:26,891
AND BE AS REGENERATIVE
AS POSSIBLE.
446
00:25:26,893 --> 00:25:29,927
THAT MEANS EVERY WASTE PRODUCT
IN THE BODY GETS REUSED.
447
00:25:29,929 --> 00:25:33,264
AS IT IS, WE RECYCLE
ABOUT 70% OF OUR WATER
448
00:25:33,266 --> 00:25:35,699
ON THE SPACE STATION,
SO WHATEVER YOU SWEAT,
449
00:25:35,701 --> 00:25:38,602
WHATEVER YOU PEE, YOU MAY BE
DRINKING THAT IN YOUR COFFEE
450
00:25:38,604 --> 00:25:40,104
IN THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS.
451
00:25:40,106 --> 00:25:44,475
AND THE SAME WOULD BE TRUE OF
ANY RACE WHO COMES TO VISIT US.
452
00:25:44,477 --> 00:25:48,846
NOW, THE SCALE REQUIRED
FOR REALLY LONG FLIGHTS
453
00:25:48,848 --> 00:25:51,582
MIGHT REQUIRE
A REGENERATIVE BIOMASS SYSTEM,
454
00:25:51,584 --> 00:25:54,251
WHERE YOU'RE ACTUALLY
GROWING GREEN PLANTS,
455
00:25:54,253 --> 00:25:57,588
WHICH WE KNOW ABSORB CARBON
DIOXIDE AND GIVE OFF OXYGEN,
456
00:25:57,590 --> 00:25:59,323
BECOME FOOD SOURCES.
457
00:25:59,325 --> 00:26:01,659
SO THAT IMPLIES A LARGER SHIP
458
00:26:01,661 --> 00:26:04,695
WITH A MORE SOPHISTICATED
AND CLOSED ECOLOGY.
459
00:26:09,834 --> 00:26:12,202
Narrator: BUT COULD A RACE
OF INTERSTELLAR ALIENS
460
00:26:12,204 --> 00:26:16,941
BE SO ADVANCED THAT OUR IDEA
OF FUTURISTIC TECHNOLOGY
461
00:26:16,943 --> 00:26:19,143
IS THEIR ANCIENT HISTORY
462
00:26:19,145 --> 00:26:24,915
AND INSTEAD, EXTRATERRESTRIALS
ARE MASTERS OF SPACE AND TIME,
463
00:26:24,917 --> 00:26:31,855
TRAVELING THROUGH THE COSMOS
IN WAYS WE THINK IMPOSSIBLE?
464
00:26:39,297 --> 00:26:41,365
Narrator:
IN SCIENCE FICTION,
465
00:26:41,367 --> 00:26:45,102
ALIEN SPACECRAFT
ZIP ACROSS GALAXIES
466
00:26:45,104 --> 00:26:48,072
FASTER THAN THE SPEED OF LIGHT.
467
00:26:48,074 --> 00:26:52,242
UNFORTUNATELY, IN SCIENCE FACT,
468
00:26:52,244 --> 00:26:56,146
THE LAWS OF PHYSICS SAY NOTHING
CAN GO QUICKER THAN LIGHT.
469
00:26:56,148 --> 00:27:00,584
BUT PHYSICIST MICHIO KAKU
THINKS THE LAW HAS A LOOPHOLE
470
00:27:00,586 --> 00:27:04,521
THAT COULD ALLOW ALIENS
TO TRAVEL THROUGH SPACE
471
00:27:04,523 --> 00:27:06,724
USING THE SAME PROPULSION SYSTEM
472
00:27:06,726 --> 00:27:09,426
THAT POWERS
THE STARSHIP ENTERPRISE.
473
00:27:16,534 --> 00:27:18,569
WARP DRIVE IS SCIENCE FICTION,
474
00:27:18,571 --> 00:27:21,805
BUT IT'S BASED ON
A KERNEL OF SCIENTIFIC TRUTH.
475
00:27:21,807 --> 00:27:23,841
IN EINSTEIN'S EQUATIONS,
THERE ARE SOLUTIONS
476
00:27:23,843 --> 00:27:25,476
ALLOWING YOU TO TAKE SHORTCUTS
477
00:27:25,478 --> 00:27:27,611
THROUGH THE FABRIC
OF SPACE AND TIME.
478
00:27:27,613 --> 00:27:30,180
YOU CAN COMPRESS SPACE
IN FRONT OF YOU.
479
00:27:30,182 --> 00:27:32,616
SO INSTEAD OF GOING
TO A NEARBY STAR,
480
00:27:32,618 --> 00:27:33,951
THE STAR COMES TO YOU
481
00:27:33,953 --> 00:27:36,186
BECAUSE YOU COMPRESS
THE DISTANCE
482
00:27:36,188 --> 00:27:37,755
BETWEEN YOU AND THE STAR.
483
00:27:37,757 --> 00:27:40,591
Narrator:
BY ENGAGING WARP DRIVE,
484
00:27:40,593 --> 00:27:43,694
FASTER-THAN-LIGHT TRAVEL
IS POSSIBLE,
485
00:27:43,696 --> 00:27:46,196
MEANING ALIENS COULD REACH EARTH
486
00:27:46,198 --> 00:27:50,601
FROM THE NEAREST SOLAR SYSTEM
TO OURS IN JUST TWO WEEKS.
487
00:27:50,603 --> 00:27:54,905
BUT HOW COULD A SPACESHIP
SURVIVE THE UNIMAGINABLE FORCES
488
00:27:54,907 --> 00:27:58,575
OF BENDING THE GALAXY
WITHOUT BEING TORN APART?
489
00:28:03,081 --> 00:28:06,750
PHYSICIST HAROLD WHITE THINKS
AN EXTRATERRESTRIAL SPACESHIP
490
00:28:06,752 --> 00:28:10,587
WOULD PROTECT ITSELF
USING A COCOON OF SPACE
491
00:28:10,589 --> 00:28:12,923
THAT ISN'T COMPRESSED.
492
00:28:15,527 --> 00:28:17,695
WHAT DOES SOMETHING LIKE THIS
ACTUALLY LOOK LIKE?
493
00:28:17,697 --> 00:28:20,364
YOU'VE GOT THIS CENTRAL SHIP
494
00:28:20,366 --> 00:28:23,200
THAT WOULD BE SURROUNDED
BY SOME TYPE OF EQUATORIAL RING
495
00:28:23,202 --> 00:28:25,569
THAT WOULD HAVE
ALL THE NEGATIVE VACUUM ENERGY
496
00:28:25,571 --> 00:28:27,738
THAT'S NECESSARY
TO MAKE THIS TRICK WORK.
497
00:28:27,740 --> 00:28:30,774
SO WHAT HAPPENS IS, THIS RING
THAT GOES AROUND THE SPACECRAFT
498
00:28:30,776 --> 00:28:32,743
ACTUALLY KIND OF CREATES
THIS BUBBLE
499
00:28:32,745 --> 00:28:34,344
THAT ENCAPSULATES THE SPACECRAFT
500
00:28:34,346 --> 00:28:37,948
SO THE SPACECRAFT SITS INSIDE
OF THIS WELL-BEHAVED REGION
501
00:28:37,950 --> 00:28:39,283
OF SPACE-TIME.
502
00:28:42,787 --> 00:28:45,122
THE PROPER ACCELERATION
IS FORMERLY ZERO,
503
00:28:45,124 --> 00:28:46,724
SO WHEN YOU TURN THE FIELD ON,
504
00:28:46,726 --> 00:28:49,226
RATHER THAN EVERYBODY
SMACKING AGAINST THE BULKHEAD
505
00:28:49,228 --> 00:28:51,662
AND MAKING FOR A VERY SAD
EPISODE OF "DOCTOR WHO,"
506
00:28:51,664 --> 00:28:52,663
THEY DON'T FEEL ANYTHING.
507
00:28:52,665 --> 00:28:53,931
THE PROPER ACCELERATION IS ZERO.
508
00:28:53,933 --> 00:28:55,866
SO, WHAT WE'RE DOING NOW IS,
509
00:28:55,868 --> 00:28:59,269
WE'RE TRYING TO ACTUALLY
GENERATE A MICROSCOPIC INSTANCE
510
00:28:59,271 --> 00:29:01,004
OF THIS PHENOMENON IN THE LABS.
511
00:29:01,006 --> 00:29:02,573
IT'S A VERY SCIENTIFIC PURSUIT.
512
00:29:02,575 --> 00:29:04,074
YOU KNOW, DON'T GET TOO EXCITED.
513
00:29:04,076 --> 00:29:06,076
IT'S NOT ANYTHING
WE'RE GONNA BOLT TO A SPACECRAFT
514
00:29:06,078 --> 00:29:07,211
ANYTIME SOON,
515
00:29:07,213 --> 00:29:11,148
BUT IT COULD BE EXISTENCE-PROOF,
AS IT WERE.
516
00:29:12,550 --> 00:29:16,787
Narrator: BUT IF AN ALIEN
SPACECRAFT HAD WARP DRIVE,
517
00:29:16,789 --> 00:29:21,558
THEY NEED A LOT OF GAS IN THE
TANK BECAUSE TO MAKE THE TRIP,
518
00:29:21,560 --> 00:29:25,095
IT WOULD REQUIRE THE ENERGY
OF 300 EARTHS.
519
00:29:25,097 --> 00:29:27,798
IT SOUNDS IMPOSSIBLE,
520
00:29:27,800 --> 00:29:32,936
AT LEAST FOR A PRIMITIVE
CIVILIZATION LIKE OURS.
521
00:29:32,938 --> 00:29:35,973
WHEN PHYSICISTS TALK ABOUT
CIVILIZATIONS IN OUTER SPACE,
522
00:29:35,975 --> 00:29:38,108
WE DON'T TALK ABOUT
LITTLE GREEN MEN,
523
00:29:38,110 --> 00:29:40,711
WE TALK ABOUT SCALES OF ENERGY.
524
00:29:40,713 --> 00:29:44,148
NOW, WHAT ARE WE
ON THIS ENERGY SCALE?
525
00:29:44,150 --> 00:29:45,749
WE ARE TYPE ZERO.
526
00:29:45,751 --> 00:29:48,452
WE DON'T EVEN RATE ON THE SCALE.
527
00:29:48,454 --> 00:29:51,955
A TYPE I CIVILIZATION
IS PLANETARY.
528
00:29:51,957 --> 00:29:54,358
THEY HARVEST ALL FORMS
OF PLANETARY ENERGY.
529
00:29:54,360 --> 00:29:55,893
THEY CAN CONTROL THE WEATHER.
530
00:29:55,895 --> 00:29:58,796
PERHAPS THEY CAN MANIPULATE
EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANOES,
531
00:29:58,798 --> 00:30:00,998
THEY HAVE CITIES ON THE OCEAN.
532
00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:03,534
EVENTUALLY, THEY EXHAUST
THE POWER OF A PLANET
533
00:30:03,536 --> 00:30:05,702
AND THEY BECOME TYPE II,
STELLAR,
534
00:30:05,704 --> 00:30:09,439
CONSUMING THE ENERGY
OF THE MOTHER STAR ITSELF.
535
00:30:09,441 --> 00:30:12,509
THEY HAVE THE ABILITY
TO DEFLECT METEORS AND COMETS
536
00:30:12,511 --> 00:30:13,744
AND DELAY ICE AGES.
537
00:30:13,746 --> 00:30:16,213
AN EXAMPLE MIGHT BE
THE FEDERATION OF PLANETS
538
00:30:16,215 --> 00:30:17,548
IN "STAR TREK,"
539
00:30:17,550 --> 00:30:20,551
WHERE THEY COLONIZE
A FEW NEIGHBORING STAR SYSTEMS.
540
00:30:20,553 --> 00:30:23,187
EVENTUALLY,
THEY EXHAUST THE POWER OF A STAR
541
00:30:23,189 --> 00:30:24,421
AND BECOME GALACTIC.
542
00:30:24,423 --> 00:30:26,890
THEY ROAM
THE GALACTIC SPACE LANES.
543
00:30:26,892 --> 00:30:30,360
THEY HAVE COLONIES IN HUNDREDS
OF BILLIONS OF PLANETS
544
00:30:30,362 --> 00:30:31,662
WITHIN THE GALAXY,
545
00:30:31,664 --> 00:30:35,566
SORT OF LIKE THE EMPIRE
IN THE "STAR WARS" SAGA.
546
00:30:39,070 --> 00:30:42,673
Narrator: TRAVELING IN
IMPERIAL-CLASS STAR CRUISERS
547
00:30:42,675 --> 00:30:45,676
AND BENDING SPACE AND TIME
TO THEIR WILL,
548
00:30:45,678 --> 00:30:50,113
A GALACTIC ALIEN EMPIRE
EONS MORE ADVANCED THAN US
549
00:30:50,115 --> 00:30:53,150
MIGHT REACH EARTH
ANY MINUTE NOW.
550
00:30:53,152 --> 00:30:57,421
AND WHEN THE EXTRATERRESTRIALS
LAND ON OUR PLANET,
551
00:30:57,423 --> 00:31:01,892
THE VERY FUTURE OF HUMANITY
WILL HANG IN THE BALANCE.
552
00:31:03,461 --> 00:31:05,596
[ GROWLS ]
553
00:31:12,237 --> 00:31:15,172
Narrator: LEADING PHYSICISTS
AND ASTRONOMERS
554
00:31:15,174 --> 00:31:18,675
THINK EXTRATERRESTRIALS
COULD REACH EARTH AT ANY TIME.
555
00:31:18,677 --> 00:31:20,244
[ INDISTINCT SHOUTING ]
556
00:31:22,313 --> 00:31:24,915
BUT WHEN THE BIG MOMENT ARRIVES
557
00:31:24,917 --> 00:31:27,384
AND ALIENS
EMERGE FROM THEIR SPACECRAFT
558
00:31:27,386 --> 00:31:30,888
TO STAND FACE-TO-FACE
WITH HUMANITY...
559
00:31:41,432 --> 00:31:43,100
ASTROBIOLOGIST LEWIS DARTNELL
560
00:31:43,102 --> 00:31:45,335
THINKS
THE KIND OF EXTRATERRESTRIALS
561
00:31:45,337 --> 00:31:46,937
LIKELY TO COME TO EARTH
562
00:31:46,939 --> 00:31:49,706
WOULD HAVE A PHYSIOLOGY
SIMILAR TO OURS.
563
00:31:53,044 --> 00:31:56,213
Dartnell:
IF AN ALIEN WERE TO VISIT US,
564
00:31:56,215 --> 00:32:00,284
TO LAND HIS OR HER SPACECRAFT
ON THE LAWN OF THE WHITE HOUSE
565
00:32:00,286 --> 00:32:01,585
AND TO STEP DOWN,
566
00:32:01,587 --> 00:32:05,522
WE'D EXPECT
THAT IT WOULD BLINK BACK AT US
567
00:32:05,524 --> 00:32:08,659
WITH A PAIR
OF UNCANNILY FAMILIAR EYES.
568
00:32:12,964 --> 00:32:15,432
WE'D EXPECT
AN INTELLIGENT SPECIES
569
00:32:15,434 --> 00:32:18,969
TO PROBABLY HAVE DESCENDED
FROM A PREDATOR ANCESTOR,
570
00:32:18,971 --> 00:32:20,671
TO BE CARNIVOROUS.
571
00:32:20,673 --> 00:32:22,940
AND YOU WANT TO HAVE
THROUGH-FLOW GUTS
572
00:32:22,942 --> 00:32:24,574
WITH AN ENTRANCE AND AN EXIT.
573
00:32:24,576 --> 00:32:26,910
IT'S A VERY EFFECTIVE WAY
AND EFFICIENT WAY
574
00:32:26,912 --> 00:32:28,211
OF EXTRACTING NUTRIENTS
575
00:32:28,213 --> 00:32:30,981
OF THE FOOD THAT YOU TAKE
INTO YOUR BODY WHEN YOU EAT.
576
00:32:30,983 --> 00:32:34,751
THE INTELLIGENT ALIEN
WOULD NEED TO HAVE ITS BRAIN,
577
00:32:34,753 --> 00:32:36,453
ITS PROCESSING CENTER,
578
00:32:36,455 --> 00:32:40,223
AT THE FRONT OF ITS BODY WHERE
ITS SENSE ORGANS ARE, AS WELL,
579
00:32:40,225 --> 00:32:42,025
TO MINIMIZE ITS REACTION TIME
580
00:32:42,027 --> 00:32:44,828
AND FOR THE SENSE ORGANS
TO BE IN THE FRONT
581
00:32:44,830 --> 00:32:49,166
SO IT CAN SENSE WHERE IT'S GOING
RATHER THAN WHERE IT'S BEEN.
582
00:32:51,736 --> 00:32:56,006
Narrator: BUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN
THE EXTRATERRESTRIAL VISITORS
583
00:32:56,008 --> 00:32:59,242
POINT THEIR SENSE ORGANS AT US?
584
00:32:59,244 --> 00:33:02,212
THIS IS THE TOUGHEST QUESTION
OF ALL,
585
00:33:02,214 --> 00:33:06,083
A QUESTION SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
ALONE CANNOT ANSWER.
586
00:33:12,790 --> 00:33:14,291
AT THE SETI INSTITUTE,
587
00:33:14,293 --> 00:33:17,361
DOUG VAKOCH IS OPTIMISTIC
ABOUT THE INTENTIONS
588
00:33:17,363 --> 00:33:21,665
OF AN ADVANCED ALIEN SOCIETY.
589
00:33:21,667 --> 00:33:23,834
WE'RE NOT A DANGER
TO ANY CIVILIZATION
590
00:33:23,836 --> 00:33:26,069
THAT HAS WARP DRIVE
AND THAT CAN TRAVEL,
591
00:33:26,071 --> 00:33:28,405
SO IT MAKES NO SENSE
TO THINK ANOTHER CIVILIZATION
592
00:33:28,407 --> 00:33:29,606
WOULD COME TO DO US HARM.
593
00:33:29,608 --> 00:33:30,741
IT'S MUCH MORE REASONABLE
594
00:33:30,743 --> 00:33:32,509
TO THINK
THAT THEY WOULD MAKE CONTACT
595
00:33:32,511 --> 00:33:34,211
IN ORDER TO LEARN
ABOUT OUR CULTURE.
596
00:33:36,080 --> 00:33:39,116
Narrator: ASTROBIOLOGIST
GEOFF MARCY AGREES.
597
00:33:39,118 --> 00:33:41,184
HE THINKS IT'S COMMON SENSE
598
00:33:41,186 --> 00:33:44,888
TO ASSUME THAT A MORE ADVANCED
ALIEN CIVILIZATION
599
00:33:44,890 --> 00:33:47,891
MEANS ALIENS
THAT ARE MORE CIVILIZED.
600
00:33:50,228 --> 00:33:53,296
HOPEFULLY THEY HAVE FOUND A WAY
601
00:33:53,298 --> 00:33:57,667
TO INTERACT COOPERATIVELY
AMONG THEMSELVES
602
00:33:57,669 --> 00:34:00,404
IN SUCH A WAY
THAT, INTROSPECTIVELY,
603
00:34:00,406 --> 00:34:04,541
THEY CAN IMAGINE HOW TO INTERACT
WITH US IN A PEACEFUL WAY,
604
00:34:04,543 --> 00:34:06,676
IN A MUTUALLY COOPERATIVE WAY,
605
00:34:06,678 --> 00:34:08,745
AND MAYBE EVEN
A MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL WAY.
606
00:34:08,747 --> 00:34:11,314
WE MIGHT BE ABLE
TO SHARE OUR LIBRARIES,
607
00:34:11,316 --> 00:34:12,716
OUR MUSIC, OUR POETRY,
608
00:34:12,718 --> 00:34:15,519
AND SOMETHING ABOUT
OUR PHILOSOPHIES OF LIFE.
609
00:34:18,790 --> 00:34:21,558
Narrator: LIKE THE FEDERATION
OF PLANETS IN "STAR TREK,"
610
00:34:21,560 --> 00:34:25,162
FUTURISTIC EXTRATERRESTRIALS
COULD HAVE MATURED
611
00:34:25,164 --> 00:34:27,064
BEYOND CONQUEST AND GREED.
612
00:34:27,066 --> 00:34:30,233
AND ONCE THEY MEET HUMANKIND
HERE ON EARTH,
613
00:34:30,235 --> 00:34:34,171
THEY MIGHT WANT US TO JOIN THEM.
614
00:34:36,541 --> 00:34:38,942
ARE THEY INTERESTED IN US 'CAUSE
THEY THINK WE'RE DANGEROUS
615
00:34:38,944 --> 00:34:41,478
AND THEY DON'T WANT TO LET US
RUN AMOK IN THE GALAXY
616
00:34:41,480 --> 00:34:43,914
OR SOMETHING -- SO THEY'RE
COMING HERE TO CONTROL US?
617
00:34:43,916 --> 00:34:45,282
I THINK THAT'S UNLIKELY.
618
00:34:45,284 --> 00:34:48,518
IS IT THAT THEY FEEL THAT
WE HAVE SOMETHING TO CONTRIBUTE
619
00:34:48,520 --> 00:34:50,554
TO SOME SORT
OF COSMIC COMMUNITY?
620
00:34:50,556 --> 00:34:53,190
ANY CIVILIZATION THAT IS
AGGRESSIVE AND EXPANSIONARY
621
00:34:53,192 --> 00:34:55,292
WILL QUITE LIKELY
HAVE SPREAD ALREADY --
622
00:34:55,294 --> 00:34:56,793
WE WOULD KNOW ALL ABOUT IT --
623
00:34:56,795 --> 00:34:58,895
OR THEY WOULD HAVE
DESTROYED THEMSELVES.
624
00:34:58,897 --> 00:35:01,231
SO IF THERE IS A GALACTIC CLUB
OUT THERE,
625
00:35:01,233 --> 00:35:03,733
I THINK THAT THEY WOULD BE
FUNDAMENTALLY ALTRUISTIC
626
00:35:03,735 --> 00:35:05,135
AND WE HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR.
627
00:35:06,204 --> 00:35:09,506
Narrator: EVEN IF
THE INTERSTELLAR VISITORS
628
00:35:09,508 --> 00:35:13,310
ARE FRIENDLY AND COME TO EARTH
TO EXCHANGE CULTURE,
629
00:35:13,312 --> 00:35:18,315
CAN OUR PRIMITIVE SOCIETY COPE?
630
00:35:18,317 --> 00:35:21,885
EVEN A FEW OF THE CRUMBS
OFF THEIR TECHNOLOGICAL TABLE
631
00:35:21,887 --> 00:35:23,987
COULD DESTABILIZE
OUR CIVILIZATION.
632
00:35:23,989 --> 00:35:26,022
THINK OF IT --
IF ALL OF A SUDDEN
633
00:35:26,024 --> 00:35:29,359
WE WERE GIVEN DISINTEGRATOR RAYS
AND GIVEN TELEPATHY MACHINES
634
00:35:29,361 --> 00:35:31,795
AND THE ABILITY
TO RE-CREATE MATTER IN ANY FORM,
635
00:35:31,797 --> 00:35:32,963
A REPLICATOR,
636
00:35:32,965 --> 00:35:35,799
THAT COULD DESTABILIZE
MODERN CIVILIZATION.
637
00:35:35,801 --> 00:35:38,869
WE'RE NOT READY
TO HANDLE THIS VAST TECHNOLOGY.
638
00:35:44,742 --> 00:35:47,177
Narrator:
CYBERNETICIST KEVIN WARWICK
639
00:35:47,179 --> 00:35:50,580
THINKS SUCH CONCERNS COULD BE
THE LEAST OF OUR WORRIES.
640
00:35:50,582 --> 00:35:52,382
FOR HIM, ALIENS WON'T JUST BE
641
00:35:52,384 --> 00:35:54,818
SHOWING MANKIND
THEIR TECHNOLOGY --
642
00:35:54,820 --> 00:35:57,821
THEY'LL BE USING IT TO KILL US.
643
00:35:59,690 --> 00:36:02,859
AS SOON AS THEY SPOT THAT
WE'RE HERE, THEY MAY WELL SAY,
644
00:36:02,861 --> 00:36:05,162
"HEY, LET'S GO
AND DESTROY THAT PLANET
645
00:36:05,164 --> 00:36:07,998
AND TAKE
SOME OF THE THINGS OFF IT."
646
00:36:10,334 --> 00:36:13,303
IF THEY HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY
TO COME TO EARTH NOW,
647
00:36:13,305 --> 00:36:16,039
THEY WILL HAVE TECHNOLOGY
AND A WEAPON SYSTEM
648
00:36:16,041 --> 00:36:19,276
THAT IS WAY BEYOND
ANYTHING WE CAN DEAL WITH,
649
00:36:19,278 --> 00:36:21,111
SO IT MAY WELL BE THE CASE
650
00:36:21,113 --> 00:36:23,480
THAT WE SIMPLY
CAN'T DEFEND AGAINST IT.
651
00:36:23,482 --> 00:36:26,116
BEST, REALLY --
IF WE'RE SO INSIGNIFICANT --
652
00:36:26,118 --> 00:36:29,553
KEEP OUR HEADS DOWN RATHER THAN
ARGUE OR FIGHT AGAINST THEM.
653
00:36:31,055 --> 00:36:32,489
IF IT COMES TO BLOWS,
654
00:36:32,491 --> 00:36:35,692
IT'S GONNA BE LIKE
KERMIT THE FROG VERSUS A T-REX.
655
00:36:35,694 --> 00:36:38,295
IT'S GONNA BE
NO CONTEST WHATSOEVER.
656
00:36:42,900 --> 00:36:46,036
Narrator:
INSTEAD OF COMING IN PEACE,
657
00:36:46,038 --> 00:36:50,540
EXTRATERRESTRIALS MAY BE HERE
AS RUTHLESS SPACE INVADERS,
658
00:36:50,542 --> 00:36:53,410
AND WHAT THEY HAVE PLANNED
FOR US
659
00:36:53,412 --> 00:36:57,447
COULD BE NOTHING SHORT
OF AN ALIEN APOCALYPSE.
660
00:36:57,449 --> 00:37:00,383
[ GROWLS ]
661
00:37:08,793 --> 00:37:11,328
Narrator: THE MOVIE VERSION
OF AN ALIEN INVASION OF EARTH...
662
00:37:13,130 --> 00:37:21,471
...OFTEN SEES HUMANITY ENSLAVED,
TORTURED, OR JUST ANNIHILATED.
663
00:37:24,976 --> 00:37:27,944
BUT IN REAL LIFE...
664
00:37:35,219 --> 00:37:37,354
ASTROBIOLOGIST CHARLES COCKELL
665
00:37:37,356 --> 00:37:40,257
DOESN'T THINK
HOLLYWOOD GOES FAR ENOUGH
666
00:37:40,259 --> 00:37:42,726
BECAUSE IN REALITY,
THE ALIEN PLAN
667
00:37:42,728 --> 00:37:46,062
FOR THE INHABITANTS
OF EARTH COULD BE EVEN WORSE.
668
00:37:46,064 --> 00:37:49,332
[ GROWLS ]
669
00:37:49,334 --> 00:37:52,636
SO, WHY WOULD ALIENS
WANT TO COME TO EARTH?
670
00:37:52,638 --> 00:37:53,770
WELL, LIFE...
671
00:37:58,175 --> 00:38:01,411
...THE INCREDIBLE DIVERSITY
OF ORGANISMS ON THIS PLANET,
672
00:38:01,413 --> 00:38:03,647
AN INCREDIBLE PROLIFERATION
OF LIFE.
673
00:38:05,683 --> 00:38:09,286
BUT ONE OF THE THINGS
THAT LIFE DOES NEED IS ENERGY.
674
00:38:09,288 --> 00:38:11,354
IT NEEDS ENERGY
TO GROW AND REPRODUCE,
675
00:38:11,356 --> 00:38:14,090
AND THERE ARE NUMBER OF WAYS
IN WHICH IT CAN DO THAT.
676
00:38:14,092 --> 00:38:17,294
ONE WAY
IS THROUGH PHOTOSYNTHESIS.
677
00:38:17,296 --> 00:38:19,162
THESE LEAVES
ARE COLLECTING SUNLIGHT,
678
00:38:19,164 --> 00:38:20,997
AND THEY'RE USING THE ENERGY
FROM THE SUNLIGHT
679
00:38:20,999 --> 00:38:22,299
TO GROW AND REPRODUCE,
680
00:38:22,301 --> 00:38:25,035
BUT IT'S NOT A VERY EFFICIENT
WAY OF GATHERING ENERGY.
681
00:38:25,037 --> 00:38:27,437
A MUCH BETTER WAY
IS TO EAT THE PLANTS,
682
00:38:27,439 --> 00:38:29,639
AND AN EVEN BETTER WAY
IS TO EAT THE ANIMALS
683
00:38:29,641 --> 00:38:30,974
THAT ARE EATING THE PLANTS.
684
00:38:30,976 --> 00:38:33,209
AT EACH STEP,
THE ENERGY BECOMES CONCENTRATED
685
00:38:33,211 --> 00:38:35,178
AS IT MOVES FURTHER
UP THE FOOD CHAIN.
686
00:38:35,180 --> 00:38:37,414
SO ANIMALS THAT ARE
AT THE TOP OF A FOOD CHAIN
687
00:38:37,416 --> 00:38:38,982
ARE GENERALLY HUNTERS,
688
00:38:38,984 --> 00:38:43,353
THE SORT OF ANIMALS THAT LIKE
TO EAT OTHER ANIMALS, OR MEAT.
689
00:38:43,355 --> 00:38:44,587
[ GROWLING ]
690
00:38:57,935 --> 00:39:00,503
SO IF ALIENS COME HERE,
THEY'LL PROBABLY BE PREDATORS,
691
00:39:00,505 --> 00:39:03,239
AND LIKE US,
THEY'LL EAT OTHER ANIMALS.
692
00:39:10,014 --> 00:39:13,283
Narrator: AND IF THE MARAUDING
EXTRATERRESTRIAL INVASION FORCE
693
00:39:13,285 --> 00:39:17,120
SEE LIFE ON EARTH
AS ONE HUGE COMBO-PLATTER,
694
00:39:17,122 --> 00:39:20,690
THEN THE SPECIAL
WOULD SURELY BE US.
695
00:39:23,294 --> 00:39:25,662
SO IF ALIENS DECIDED
THEY WANTED TO EAT US,
696
00:39:25,664 --> 00:39:28,965
IT'D BE VERY EASY
FOR THEM TO HARVEST US.
697
00:39:28,967 --> 00:39:30,800
FIRST OF ALL,
WE'RE VERY CONCENTRATED
698
00:39:30,802 --> 00:39:33,069
AND THERE'S A VERY LARGE NUMBER
OF US IN CITIES.
699
00:39:33,071 --> 00:39:34,337
AND SECONDLY,
700
00:39:34,339 --> 00:39:36,072
WE'RE THE MOST INTELLIGENT
SPECIES ON THE PLANET.
701
00:39:36,074 --> 00:39:37,607
SO IF THEY DECIDED
THEY WANTED THIS PLANET
702
00:39:37,609 --> 00:39:41,077
AS A HABITABLE WORLD,
WE WOULD BE THEIR FIRST TARGET.
703
00:39:41,079 --> 00:39:44,547
Narrator:
MANKIND'S ONLY CHANCE IS,
704
00:39:44,549 --> 00:39:48,618
THE TASTE OF HUMAN FLESH
MAKES ALIENS SICK.
705
00:39:48,620 --> 00:39:51,054
THEIR BIOLOGY JUST MAY BE
INCOMPATIBLE WITH OURS.
706
00:39:51,056 --> 00:39:53,323
THEIR PROTEINS AND THE WAY
IN WHICH THEY'RE MADE
707
00:39:53,325 --> 00:39:55,825
MAY BE VERY DIFFERENT
FROM THE STUFF OF OUR BIOLOGY.
708
00:39:55,827 --> 00:39:58,728
SO EVEN IF THEY DID WANT TO EAT
US, THEY MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO.
709
00:40:00,798 --> 00:40:04,401
Narrator: BUT AS THE ALIENS
TAKE CONTROL OF OUR PLANET,
710
00:40:04,403 --> 00:40:07,971
BEING EATEN
COULD BE THE EASY WAY OUT
711
00:40:07,973 --> 00:40:12,041
BECAUSE COCKELL BELIEVES
THAT INSTEAD OF BECOMING LUNCH,
712
00:40:12,043 --> 00:40:16,446
HUMANS COULD BE ROUNDED UP
FOR A MORE TERRIBLE FATE --
713
00:40:16,448 --> 00:40:18,681
DISSECTION.
714
00:40:21,252 --> 00:40:22,652
Cockell:
FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS,
715
00:40:22,654 --> 00:40:24,120
WE'VE HAD
A BLOOD-THIRSTY HISTORY
716
00:40:24,122 --> 00:40:25,822
OF PROBING
AND ANALYZING THE HUMAN BODY
717
00:40:25,824 --> 00:40:28,258
TO TRY AND UNDERSTAND
HOW IT WORKS.
718
00:40:28,260 --> 00:40:30,760
MAYBE ALIENS
WILL DO THE SAME TO US.
719
00:40:36,267 --> 00:40:38,401
BUT IT'S NOT ALL BAD NEWS.
720
00:40:38,403 --> 00:40:40,303
HUMAN BEINGS
HAVE DEVELOPED TECHNOLOGY
721
00:40:40,305 --> 00:40:41,704
TO SCAN THE HUMAN BODY
722
00:40:41,706 --> 00:40:44,374
THAT ALLOWS US TO STUDY
SOME OF OUR BIOLOGY IN MEDICINE
723
00:40:44,376 --> 00:40:45,675
WITHOUT DISSECTION.
724
00:40:45,677 --> 00:40:47,811
IF THERE REALLY ARE
INTELLIGENT ALIENS OUT THERE,
725
00:40:47,813 --> 00:40:49,679
MAYBE THEY'VE
DEVELOPED TECHNOLOGIES
726
00:40:49,681 --> 00:40:51,714
THAT WOULD ALLOW THEM
TO SCAN OUR BODIES
727
00:40:51,716 --> 00:40:54,884
AND UNDERSTAND WHAT'S INSIDE
WITHOUT HAVING TO PULL US APART.
728
00:40:58,255 --> 00:41:01,891
Narrator: ADVANCED AND HOSTILE
ALIEN INVADERS
729
00:41:01,893 --> 00:41:06,529
WILL HAVE NO END
OF WAYS TO MAKE OUR LIVES HELL.
730
00:41:06,531 --> 00:41:10,467
BUT THERE IS SOME HOPE
BECAUSE PERHAPS,
731
00:41:10,469 --> 00:41:14,070
AS A U.S. PRESIDENT
ONCE PREDICTED,
732
00:41:14,072 --> 00:41:18,908
WE INFERIOR HUMANS
WOULD FIGHT BACK.
733
00:41:20,578 --> 00:41:23,613
Reagan:
I OCCASIONALLY THINK HOW QUICKLY
734
00:41:23,615 --> 00:41:26,549
OUR DIFFERENCES WORLDWIDE
WOULD VANISH
735
00:41:26,551 --> 00:41:31,721
IF WE WERE FACING AN ALIEN
THREAT FROM OUTSIDE THIS WORLD.
736
00:41:31,723 --> 00:41:34,924
WHATEVER WE THINK
OF PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN,
737
00:41:34,926 --> 00:41:39,195
EVERYBODY AGREES THAT HE WAS A
SHREWD JUDGE OF HUMAN CHARACTER.
738
00:41:39,197 --> 00:41:42,866
IF THE ALIENS DO INVADE,
YES, WE WOULD BAND TOGETHER.
739
00:41:42,868 --> 00:41:46,603
IT'S PART OF HUMAN NATURE
TO SET ASIDE OUR DIFFERENCES
740
00:41:46,605 --> 00:41:49,138
TO COME UP
AGAINST A COMMON ENEMY.
741
00:41:49,140 --> 00:41:50,907
IT'S PART OF OUR GENETIC MAKEUP
742
00:41:50,909 --> 00:41:54,410
THAT WE REALIZE THERE'S STRENGTH
IN NUMBER, STRENGTH IN UNITY.
743
00:41:54,412 --> 00:41:57,380
THERE HAVE BEEN HUNDREDS
OF BOOKS WRITTEN BY PHILOSOPHERS
744
00:41:57,382 --> 00:41:59,015
AND THEOLOGIANS AND STRATEGISTS
745
00:41:59,017 --> 00:42:01,351
ABOUT NOT HOW TO DEAL
WITH A WEAKER ENEMY
746
00:42:01,353 --> 00:42:03,553
BUT HOW TO DEAL
WITH A STRONGER ENEMY.
747
00:42:03,555 --> 00:42:07,524
WE WOULD HAVE TO LEARN
FROM THE ALIEN INVADERS.
748
00:42:07,526 --> 00:42:09,626
WE'D HAVE TO LEARN
THEIR WEAK POINTS.
749
00:42:09,628 --> 00:42:12,762
WE WOULD HAVE TO LEARN HOW TO
USE THEIR ENERGY AGAINST THEM,
750
00:42:12,764 --> 00:42:15,231
HOW TO USE THEIR TECHNOLOGY
TO DEFEAT THEM.
751
00:42:15,233 --> 00:42:17,734
THAT IS THE ART OF WAR.
752
00:42:20,938 --> 00:42:23,506
Narrator:
BE IT TO FIGHT INVADERS...
753
00:42:23,508 --> 00:42:24,941
[ ALIEN GROWLS ]
754
00:42:24,943 --> 00:42:29,746
...OR BEFRIEND CURIOUS VISITORS,
SCIENTISTS ARE PREPARING EARTH
755
00:42:29,748 --> 00:42:33,149
FOR FIRST CONTACT
WITH EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE.
756
00:42:34,885 --> 00:42:37,787
WE'VE SEEN
WHERE ALIENS MIGHT LIVE,
757
00:42:37,789 --> 00:42:43,626
WHAT THEY COULD LOOK LIKE,
HOW INTELLIGENT THEY ARE,
758
00:42:43,628 --> 00:42:48,498
AND HOW THEY CAN TRAVEL
ACROSS TIME AND SPACE.
759
00:42:48,500 --> 00:42:54,704
THE ALIENS ARE COMING, AND IT
COULD BE SOONER THAN YOU THINK.