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For almost 50 years, NOVA has explored the cosmos, taking viewers across our solar system, into distant galaxies, and right up to the edge of a black hole. From a Mars rover swooping down to the red planet, to a probes daring encounter with an asteroid, weve followed NASA and other space missions as theyve revealed the universe to humanity. Now we present a curated selection of space documentaries from the past five years so you can explore the universe alongside the scientists who make the journey possible.

In July 2022, NASAs James Webb Space Telescope released its first images, looking further back in time than ever before to show our universe in stunningly beautiful detail. But that was just the beginning: With tons of new data and spectacular images flooding in, Webb is allowing scientists to peer deep in time to try to answer some of astronomys biggest questions. Whenand howdid the first stars and galaxies form? And can we see the fingerprints of life in the atmospheres of distant worldsor even within our own solar system?

A NASA spacecraft named Lucy blasts off from Cape Canaveral on a mission to the Trojans, a group of asteroids over 400 million miles from Earth thought to hold important clues about the origins of our solar system. Just hours before, in Senegal, West Africa, a team of scientists sets out to capture extraordinarily precise observations vital to the success of the Lucy missioncrucial data needed to help NASA navigate Lucy to its asteroid targets across millions of miles of space. The teams leader, Senegalese astronomer Maram Kaire, takes viewers on a journey to investigate his nations rich and deep history of astronomy, reaching back thousands of yearsand the promising future ahead.

How did NASA engineers build and launch the most ambitious telescope of all time? Follow the dramatic story of the James Webb Space Telescopethe most complex machine ever launched into space. If it works, scientists believe that this new eye on the universe will peer deeper back in time and space than ever before to the birth of galaxies, and may even be able to sniff the atmospheres of exoplanets as we search for signs of life beyond Earth. But getting it to work is no easy task. The telescope is far bigger than its predecessor, the famous Hubble Space Telescope, and it needs to make its observations a million miles away from Earthso there will be no chance to go out and fix it. That means theres no room for error; the most ambitious telescope ever built needs to work perfectly. Meet the engineers making it happen and join them on their high stakes journey to uncover new secrets of the universe.

In the five-part series NOVA Universe Revealed, we delve into the vastness of space to capture moments of high drama when the universe changed forever. In this episode, we tackle an age-old question: Are we alone? Or do other lifeforms and intelligences thrive on worlds far beyond our own? Ultra-sensitive telescopes and dogged detective work are transforming alien planet-hunting from science fiction into hard fact. Join NOVA on a visit to exotic worlds orbiting distant suns, from puffy planets with the density of Styrofoam to thousand-degree, broiling gas giants. Most tantalizing of all are the Super-Earths in the Goldilocks zone, just the right distance from their sun to support life, and with one of them signaling lifes essential ingredient, water, in its atmosphere. Are we on the brink of answering that haunting question?

Follow along as NASA launches the Mars 2020 Mission, perhaps the most ambitious hunt yet for signs of ancient life on Mars. In February 2021, the spacecraft blazes into the Martian atmosphere at some 12,000 miles per hour and lowers the Perseverance Rover into the rocky Jezero Crater, home to a dried-up river delta scientists think could have harbored life. Perseverance will comb the area for signs of life and collect samples for possible return to Earth. Traveling onboard is a four-pound helicopter that will conduct a series of test flightsthe first on another planet. During its journey, Perseverance will also test technology designed to produce oxygen from the Martian atmosphere, in hopes that the gas could be used for fuelor for humans to breatheon future missions.

In October 2020, a NASA spacecraft called OSIRIS-REx attempts to reach out and grab a piece of an asteroid named Bennu to bring it back to Earth. The OSIRIS-REx team has just three chances to extend its spacecrafts specialized arm, touch down for five seconds, and collect material from the surface of Bennu. But if they can pull it off, scientists could gain great insight into Earths own originsand even learn to defend against rogue asteroids that may one day threaten our planet.

On the 50th anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 Moon landing, NOVA looks ahead to the hoped-for dawn of a new age in lunar exploration. This time, governments and private industry are working together to reach our nearest celestial neighbor. But why go back? The Moon can serve as a platform for basic astronomical research; as an abundant source of rare metals and hydrogen fuel; and ultimately as a stepping stone for human missions to Mars and beyond. Join the next generation of engineers that aim to take us to the Moon, and discover how our legacy of lunar exploration won't be confined to the history books for long.

Black holes are the most enigmatic and exotic objects in the universe. Theyre also the most powerful, with gravity so strong it can trap light. And theyre destructive, swallowing entire planets, even giant stars. Anything that falls into them vanishesgone forever. Now, astrophysicists are realizing that black holes may be essential to how our universe evolvedtheir influence possibly leading to life on Earth and, ultimately, us. In this two-hour special, astrophysicist and author Janna Levin takes viewers on a journey to the frontiers of black hole science. Along the way, we meet leading astronomers and physicists on the verge of finding new answers to provocative questions about these shadowy monsters: Where do they come from? Whats inside? What happens if you fall into one? And what can they tell us about the nature of space, time, and gravity?

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8 mind-blowing space documentaries to watch now on NOVA - PBS