Have you ever taken a step back and thought about the situation we are in. And by ‘back’ we mean ‘way back’. And by ‘we’ we mean ‘human beings and the planet earth’. No? That’s some heavy thinking, right there.
That is the viewpoint of the ground-breaking new Nat Geo documentary series One Strange Rock, where eight astronauts explain life on Earth from the unique perspective they had while looking down from outer space.
‘We’re all on it together’ is the tagline of the Will Smith hosted, 10-part series, which features awe-inspiring footage of the beauty and raw power of planet Earth.
Having started airing at the end of March, the show will explore some very important, and deep philosophical questions about the origins, evolution, and potential future of our planet. Asking questions like “How special is Earth?”, “How has Earth survived so long?” and “Is there anyone else out there?”
As epic as the show seems, the effort and technology put into just making it is just as jaw-dropping. Nat Geo has a reputation for beautiful and amazing photography and cinematography, and it seems like One Strange Rock will live up to—or possibly exceed that reputation.
The crew filmed more the 389 terabytes of footage—the equivalent of a 22-year movie marathon, including footage of an F15e Strike Eagle fighter jet trying to keep up with the shadow of the total solar eclipse, and filmed from space aboard the International Space Station (ISS) at 17.5 thousand miles per hour.
The thing that makes the series truly valuable is the perspective of the eight astronauts who will serve as the principle storytellers. They each bring invaluable insight to the narrative—sharing their unique experiences and points of view, and do a great job of explaining how our strange rock really works.
