NOVA
Season 41 Episode 9 - Asteroid: Doomsday or Payday?
The asteroid that exploded over Siberia—injuring more than 1,000 and damaging buildings in six cities—was a shocking reminder that Earth is a target in a cosmic shooting range. From the width of a football field to the size of a small city, these space rocks have the potential to be killers. In a collision with Earth, they could set off deadly blast waves, raging fires and colossal tidal waves. But some audacious entrepreneurs look up at asteroids and see payday, not doomsday. Some asteroids are loaded with billions of dollars’ worth of elements like iron, nickel, and platinum. NASA is planning an ambitious mission to return samples from a potentially hazardous asteroid, and would-be asteroid miners are dreaming up their own program to scout for potentially profitable asteroids. Will asteroids turn out to be our economic salvation—or instruments of extinction?
Episodes in Season 41
Ground Zero Supertower
55 min
Megastorm Aftermath
55 min
Making Stuff Faster
55 min
Making Stuff Wilder
55 min
Making Stuff Colder
55 min
Making Stuff Safer
55 min
Cold Case JFK
55 min
At the Edge of Space
55 min
Asteroid: Doomsday or Payday?
55 min
Alien Planets Revealed
55 min
Zeppelin Terror Attack
55 min
Killer Typhoon
55 min
Ghosts of Murdered Kings
55 min
Roman Catacomb Mystery
55 min
Great Cathedral Mystery
55 min
Wild Predator Invasion
55 min
Inside Animal Minds: Bird Genius
55 min
Inside Animal Minds: Dogs & Super Senses
55 min
Inside Animal Minds: Who's the Smartest?
55 min
Why Sharks Attack
55 min
Escape From Nazi Alcatraz
55 min
D-Day's Sunken Secrets
55 min
