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Asteroids: Spark of Life? Preview

Season 53 Episode 1 | 30s

What if asteroids, long feared as destroyers of life, were key to our existence? Explore a revolutionary theory that these violent collisions provided the essential ingredients – water, minerals, and energy – needed to jumpstart life on Earth.

National Corporate funding for NOVA is provided by Carlisle Companies and Viking Cruises. Major funding for NOVA is provided by the NOVA Science Trust and PBS viewers.
Extras
Surprising evidence at the world’s oldest temple overturns our understanding of human history.
A deadly—and growing—global weather phenomenon mystifies scientists.
Explore mammals’ surprising origins, long before the age of dinosaurs.
Do speech buttons really allow dogs to talk to us? Scientists investigate.
New evidence sheds light on the remarkable life—and mysterious collapse—of the ancient jungle city.
What studying the surface of the Moon revealed about Earth’s apocalyptic youth.
They're older than King Tut, Ötzi the Iceman, and even the ones found in the Atacama Desert.
From fruit flies to snake venom, evolutionary biologist Sean Carroll explains what drives evolution.
Can we really bring extinct species back? Evolutionary biologist Beth Shapiro says yes.