Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

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What studying the surface of the Moon revealed about Earth’s apocalyptic youth.

Four and a half billion years ago, Earth was battered by relentless asteroid impacts powerful enough to vaporize oceans and melt its crust. Despite the chaos, life emerged anyway.

📺 Watch the full episode, "Asteroids: Spark of Life?" pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/asteroids-spark-of-life

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