S1E8

Alien

One Strange Rock

calendar_todayMay 14, 2018 schedule47 min star7.7

The freak accident behind complex life. All life on earth started as single cell bacteria and stayed like that for 2 billion years. Successfully spreading across the planet. So even if we do find alien life, what are the chances of that life being complex – like us? Vanishingly rare… on our strange rock, it's all down to a freak event, which accidentally happened when one cell ate another to create a kind of cellular power pack: mitochondria. This almost miraculous event transforms earth into a complex interconnected food web based on a competition for food. And at the top of the pyramid sits us humans.

broadcast_on_home Networks

National Geographic

star Guest Stars

Nichelle Nichols

Nichelle Nichols

Self

person

Logan Doull

Self - Caver

person

Ian D. MacLeod

Self - Corrosion Scientist

person

Marlice Van Vuuren

Self - Conservationist

Nicole Stott

Nicole Stott

Self - Astronaut

Chris Hadfield

Chris Hadfield

Self - Astronaut

person

Jerry Linenger

Self - Astronaut

Mae Jemison

Mae Jemison

Self - Astronaut

Jeffrey A. Hoffman

Jeffrey A. Hoffman

Self - Astronaut

person

Leland Melvin

Self - Astronaut