Finding Life Beyond Earth

Directed by

Oliver Twinch

Written by

Oliver Twinch, Paula S. Apsell

Produced by

WBGH Educational Foundation

Documentary, United States, 2011, 54 min

Scientists are on the verge of answering one of the greatest questions in history: Are we alone? This film will immerse audiences in the sights and sounds of alien worlds, while top astrobiologists explain how these places are changing how we think about the potential for life in our solar system. We used to think our neighboring planets and moons were fairly boring – mostly cold, dead rocks where life could never take hold. Today, however, the solar system looks wilder than we ever imagined. Powerful telescopes and unmanned space missions have revealed a wide range of dynamic environments – atmospheres thick with organic molecules, active volcanoes, and vast saltwater oceans. This ongoing revolution is forcing scientists to expand their ideas about what kinds of worlds could support life. And if we do find primitive life forms elsewhere in the solar system, it may well be that life is common in the universe—the rule, and not the exception.

Debate with :

• Michel Viso, Exobiologist at the CNES (Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales)

Know more

• The film can be downloaded on Arte's website. (French)
• The first episode Are we alone in the Universe? is also available on the site. (French)