At times crew members engage in philosophical discussions, where fundamental questions are asked. What does it mean for our planet to be—presumably—the only one to sustain life in this galaxy and galaxies beyond? What does it mean if we’re not the only such life-form? Harvey also brilliantly captures the air of camaraderie these men and women depend upon to survive.

Imagine being able to see light waves bouncing off objects, microscopic creatures in pond water, or watching a nano-machine destroy a cancer cell as if you could see your own hand. What could you study and learn from that observation? That’s the focus of ‘Mysteries of the Unseen World,’ a new documentary short by National Geographic. Narrated by Forest Whitaker and clocking in around 40 minutes, ‘Mysteries’ is like a refresher science class, covering just enough information to educate viewers and pique their interest.

“Before I was a scientist, I was a social worker in Brooklyn,” said Patricia Wright, an anthropologist and conservationist who has spent nearly 30 years studying Lemurs in the rain-forests of Madagascar. She says that in Madagascar, both humans and lemurs struggle with the scarcity of resources. Man-made fires have ravaged much of the lemurs’ natural habitat. Wright is a central focus of the recently released documentary, Island of Lemurs: Madagascar, which strives to educate the general public about the plight of lemurs.

Mars has become a very busy place, being orbited by satellites and crisscrossed by Land Rovers. As if that's not enough, Curiosity, a roving science laboratory, just successful landed at the planet's ancient crater to probe for signs that the planet was life-friendly in the past. Indeed, we are mapping and processing our neighboring planet so extensively that it feels as if Mars has already been colonized.