NOVA - Season 43 - Eps 11: Life's Rocky Start
Four and a half billion years ago, the young Earth was a hellish place—a seething chaos of meteorite impacts, volcanoes belching noxious gases, and lightning flashing through a thin, torrid atmosphere. Then, in a process that has puzzled scientists for decades, life emerged. But how? NOVA joins mineralogist Robert Hazen as he journeys around the globe. From an ancient Moroccan market to the Australian Outback, he advances a startling and counterintuitive idea—that the rocks beneath our feet were not only essential to jump-starting life, but that microbial life helped give birth to hundreds of minerals we know and depend on today. It's a theory of the co-evolution of Earth and life that is reshaping the grand-narrative of our planet’s story.
About NOVA

Title: NOVA
First Air Date: 1974-03-03
Last Air Date: 2025-05-14
Status: Returning Series
Rating: 7/10 (from 127 votes)
Language: EN
Seasons: 53
Total Episodes: 1003
Network: PBS
Genres: Documentary
Production Companies: GBH
Synopsis
PBS' premier science series helps viewers of all ages explore the science behind the headlines. Along the way, NOVA demystifies science and technology, and highlights the people involved in scientific pursuits.