Science - Miracle Planet

Earth was born as a result of repeated asteroid collisions, the moon created by a single giant impact event. Then, Earths size attracted huge meteorites, which slammed into it, causing super-high-temperature rock vapor to cover the entire surface and evaporate all ocean water. The earliest life-forms survived such infernal events by escaping deep into the ground, miraculously emerging again and again. The Earth has gone through innumerable catastrophic events, and life has survived by acquiring new abilities to live through each crisis. Humans are part of the grand history of lifes evolution, which has been closely intertwined with repeated cataclysmic events. Why was Earth able to evolve into a livable planet, but not Mars, which failed to hold its atmosphere and oceans? Miracle Planet is a 5-video series co-produced by the NFB, NHK Japan, the Discovery Channel and the Science Channel. Over its more than 4-billion-year history, Earth has been home to repeated violent climatic changes, which have caused mass extinctions. And yet, life has survived. In fact, these same catastrophes that devastated life on Earth also helped bring about its evolution from the simplest microbes to the complexity and diversity that is found on the planet today. Featuring location footage, interviews with the worlds foremost scientists and cutting-edge computer technology, Miracle Planet is a five-part series that recounts the profound and gripping story of Earths mysterious evolution.