04x02 - Bull Sharks and Inner Space at NASA

[bunniefuu]

[gentle music]

- [Narrator] Coming up next on
"Jonathan Bird's Blue World",

Jonathan goes to inner space
at NASA's Neutral Buoyancy Lab

where astronauts are trained.

But, first, Jonathan feeds the
world's most dangerous shark.

All of this today on
"Jonathan Bird's Blue World".

Meet Jonathan Bird.
[water splashes]

[gentle music]

One of the world's top underwater
nature cinematographers.

[gentle music continues]

Traveling the world on assignment

for all the major networks,

he is an Emmy Award-winning authority

on the underwater world.

[gentle music continues]

In freshwater or salt,
reefs, wrecks or caves,

Jonathan documents the
world beneath the waves.

[gentle music continues]

Welcome to the "Blue World".

[graphic whooshes]

[water bubbling]

[pensive music]

- Sharks are perhaps the
most misunderstood animals

in the ocean.

In spite of the fact that people

are only very rarely attacked by sharks,

they suffer with a bad reputation.

While the world's largest
shark, the whale shark,

is known to be harmless to people

because it's a filter feeder,

other sharks have been known
to attack people occasionally.

The tiger shark and the white
shark are two of the largest

so-called man eaters and
they have an equally large,

bad reputation for being
extremely dangerous to people.

But what if I told you that these are not

the most dangerous sharks?

In fact, the most dangerous
shark in the world

is probably the bull shark.

It might seem hard to believe,
[pensive music]

the bull shark looks
just like a reef shark,

but a little bigger.

It doesn't seem all that intimidating.

So what's the big deal?

As it turns out, bull
sharks are responsible

for more documented attacks on people

than any other species of shark.

In 1916, there were several
people k*lled by one

or more sharks off New Jersey
in the span of two weeks.

[pensive music continues]
[graphic whooshes]

At the time, most people
suspected a great white shark,

but one of the attacks occurred more

than 10 miles up a river.

And white sharks have
never been known to venture

that far from the ocean.

It's much more likely

that the attack came from a bull shark.

The bull shark is the
only species of shark

that regularly moves between
salt water and fresh water.

In fact, it's been caught by fishermen

more than 500 miles up the
Mississippi River in Illinois.

Shark attacks are rare

and most often they're
believed to be a case

of mistaken identity.

Since attacks on swimmers
often occur in shallow,

silty water where the shark has

a hard time seeing its prey clearly.

Nonetheless, bull sharks are considered

extremely dangerous animals
under some conditions,

which is why I was so excited
when my friend Jorge Loria

from Phantom Divers in Playa del Carmen

invited me to come film these sharks.

He's hand feeding them.

[bright music]
I fly on down to Mexico,

landing in Cancun,

then heading south to Playa del Carmen,

a beach lover's paradise,

and my favorite place in
the world for cenote diving.

But this time I'm not diving the cenotes,

I'm heading out to a secret
dive site in the ocean,

hopefully filled with sharks, big sharks.

I make my way over to Phantom Divers

to meet my old buddies,
[upbeat music]

Jorge and Charlie.

Hey, Jorge, Charlie, how you doing?

You guys ready to film some sharks?

Charlie and Jorge have
been feeding bull sharks

for a few years,

and they give me a few
tips on what to expect

and the best way to film it.

And, of course, some safety tips.

All right,

- What is very important,
never lose of sight, that bait?

- Yeah.
- [Jonathan] Okay.

- Don't have the bait
and be looking this way.

You gotta be looking at
bait the whole time, okay?

Because it could be that a
shark comes for the other way.

Usually they come from the front.

- [Jonathan] My wife, Christine,

and I head down to the beach

to climb aboard the Phantom Divers' boat.

[water splashing]
[upbeat music]

Then it's off to the dive site

on a beautiful, sunny Mexico day.

[bright music continues]

[water sloshing]

Before long, we've reached the dive site

and Charlie suits up in his
stainless steel shark suit.

He'll drop down a few
minutes before the rest of us

to get the chumming started in advance.

This saves us some
bottom time for filming.

[bright music]

[group laughs]

- [Diver] It goes in perfect.

- Now the rest of us get suited up

and prepared to dive.

As usual when diving with sharks,

I cover up so I don't
have much skin showing.

[flipper zipping]

Well, let's go see some sharks.

[Jonathan inhales]
[water splashes]

[twinkling music]

I descend towards the bottom
through crystal clear,

warm water and eventually
end up on a sandy sea floor

at a depth of 80 feet.

A stingray glides past,

it can smell the fish
Charlie brought down.

Jorge takes over for Charlie

and hand-feeds the growing
school hungry mouths.

I stay back away so I
won't spook the sharks.

I know it's hard to believe,
but our scuba bubbles are loud

and scary to sharks.

It doesn't take long for the first couple

of bull sharks to arrive,

but they keep their distance,

not sure what to expect from us.

[pensive music]

A few minutes later they
approach Jorge closer

to see where that yummy
smell is coming from,

but they're not ready to trust him enough

to take the fish from his hands.

Even the stingray has managed
to procure a snack from Jorge.

[stingray chomps]

I'm starting to think
these sharks are wimps.

At last, the first shark makes her move.

She takes the fish
right from Jorge's hand.

[pensive music continues]

The next shark actually misses the fish

and doesn't have the maneuverability

to turn around and get it,

so she finally gives up
and goes around again.

Now that the sharks have figured out

that we are not a threat,
I can move a little closer

to Jorge for filming and
the sharks won't mind.

[pensive music continues]
[water gurgles]

Jorge's steel mesh gloves protect
him from the shark's teeth

just in case his fingers get
too close to their mouths.

[water trickling]

[shark chomping]

The sharks have a voracious appetite.

They keep eating until we're
all out of fishy snacks.

I can't help but notice

how monstrous they are
compared to a diver.

Bull sharks might look like reef sharks,

but they get a lot bigger.

[pensive music continues]

At last, we've reached
our bottom-time limit

and it's time to ascend
towards the surface.

While we do a safety decompression
stop near the surface,

the sharks come up to investigate.

Clearly they've overcome
their apprehension about us.

In fact, it kind of seems
like they don't want us to go.

[Jorge squealing]

Jorge has one last piece of fish

and he offers it to the
sharks as a parting gift.

[water trickling]

At the end of an exciting dive like this,

I can't help but be totally pumped.

[divers cheering]

[water splashes]

Whoa, those sharks are huge!

I can't believe I'm gonna
get a chance to feed them.

Later, back at the dive shop,

I chat with Jorge and Charlie

about what I'll be doing tomorrow,

wearing the chain mail shark suit.

- Alright, have you ever
wear a chainmail before?

- [Jonathan] No, no, never.

- Well, these things are very heavy.

They're about 30 pounds, the full suit,

so we're gonna put on the
suit, it's very important

that you put your boots over the suit

because if not on the
boat, it's super slippery

and you can hurt your
ankle like I did yesterday.

[group laughs]
- Okay, so it's good advice.

- Put the boots on and then
when we go in the water,

it's very important that you
put a lot of air in your BCD,

so you don't sink as a rock.

When we get to the bottom,
completely deflate that BCD,

and I'm gonna start the
feeding part, you know,

so the sharks get close to us,

and once we get the action,

I'll hand the chum bucket to you.

Me and Charlie will be right behind you.

You'll be fine, man.
- I'll be fine!

- [Jorge] You got experience.
- [Charlie] Ah, come on!

- I'm gonna wear chainmail, man.

It's gonna be so cool!
[group laughs]

[bright music]

[lively music]
The next morning we head back

to the same dive site on another
beautiful, flat, calm day.

Boy, do I love diving in Mexico.

[water spraying]

Once again, Charlie gets in
first with his container of bait

to get the action started in advance

while I learn how to put on the chainmail.

The chain mail suit is made of thousands

of interlocking rings of stainless steel,

which form a kind of fabric.

It's super flexible,

but the sharp teeth of a
shark can't bite through it.

Unfortunately, it weighs 30 pounds,

so I'll sink like a rock
when I hit the water

if I'm not prepared.
[Jonathan inhales]

Jorge, of course, is diving with me,

as is a shark biologist
named Mauricio Padilla,

who will be attempting to take
a tissue sample from a shark.

One, two, three.
[water splashes]

I sink rapidly down to the
bottom in my 30-pound shark suit.

When we arrived, Jorge
hands me a piece of fish

and now it's my job to
entice the sharks over.

We were feeding yesterday
so it doesn't take them long

to come on over.
[bright music]

As I wave my piece of fish around,

Mauricio is behind me
waiting for his chance

to take his tissue sample.

Soon, a big bull shark comes up

and takes a close look at the
piece of fish I'm offering.

She likes what she sees

because she makes another pass around

and takes it gently from my hand.

Jorge takes a turn next while
I grab another piece of bait.

[bright music continues]

Then I feed again and the
shark makes a nice, close pass

to a few other divers that are watching.

The sharks are calm and
relaxed just like us.

All this time Mauricio
has been hanging back,

watching the sharks and making notes.

He knows which shark he
needs the tissue sample from

and now it's time to make his move.

He has with him a spear g*n,

but instead of a spear, it
has a special tip designed

to grab a tiny sample of
skin and muscle from a shark.

The heavy chainmail
makes my job really easy.

I'm planted on the bottom.

Mauricio has to be patient.

The shark has to be really close

because its skin is so tough.

He has a camera mounted on the spear g*n

so he can identify the shark later.

[water bubbling]

At last, the right shark comes
close and Mauricio fires.

[g*n camera clicks]

The g*n camera footage shows perfect aim.

[g*n camera clicks]

The tissue sample came
right from the thick skin

at the base of the dorsal fin.

[g*n camera clicks]

The shark absolutely feels a pinch,

but the sample does not harm the animal.

And, in fact, she comes
around and feeds again.

Inside the tip of this
instrument is a tiny sample

of the shark's tissue
that will be used to learn

what these sharks normally feed upon,

and if they're interbreeding
with other populations

of bull sharks around the Caribbean.

[water bubbling]
[gentle music]

Later I chat with Mauricio
about his research projects.

Bull sharks are only one

of the species he's studying in Mexico,

and then he shows me the
tissue sample we got.

- So this is the core, and we
have, you can see the muscle.

[Jonathan sighs]

That's that's the red
thing, that's the muscle.

- [Jonathan] Yeah.

- And also we have the skin,

and we are gonna do two kind of analysis.

With the skin, genetic analysis,

in order to know if this
population is related

with other populations.

And with the muscle, we
are gonna do an analysis

that is called stable isotope analysis.

With that, you can know if
the sharks when they are here,

are feeding on coronado
or remoras or whatever.

- So how many have you taken so far?

- [Jorge] 11.

- [Jonathan] 11 biopsies.
- 11 biopsies.

- That's probably not
enough to learn much yet.

- No, we need at least 30.

- Maurizio's sampling program combined

with some satellite tagging
is already shedding some light

on the mysteries of the bull shark.

And Jorge's hand-feeding is helping

to dispel some myths about these sharks.

[shark chomps]

Well, there you go.

I fed the most dangerous sharks
in the world, man eaters?

What do you think?

I don't think so.

In fact, I had so much fun,
I'm gonna go see 'em again.

[whimsical music]

Whoo hoo!
[water splashes]

[pensive music]

- [Narrator] Don't go away,

Jonathan is about to go diving

with some astronauts at NASA.

[gentle music]

- "Blue World" takes me on
adventures all over the planet.

Today's adventure takes me

to the Johnson Space Center
at NASA in Houston, Texas.

And I'm standing on the
International Space Station.

Well, not exactly.
[gentle music continues]

I'm standing on an
underwater full-size replica

of the International Space Station

in a gigantic indoor swimming pool.

Here they train astronauts
to work in zero gravity

by simulating these conditions underwater.

Outside it just looks
like a huge warehouse,

but inside is the Neutral
Buoyancy Laboratory, the NBL.

I arrive early in the morning
and meet Daniel Sedej,

the facility manager who
has arranged our visit.

Hey, Dan.

- Good morning, Jonathan,
welcome to the NBL.

- Thank you, I can't
wait to see this place.

- [Dan] Well, let's come on
in and get you all set up.

- [Jonathan] We drag all our gear inside

and get our first glimpse of the NBL.

This thing is huge!

A swimming pool nearly the
size of a football field!

As we arrive, the morning mission
briefing is just starting.

The entire team from
astronauts to support divers

to technicians are all
given a thorough run through

on the training exercises for the day.

And cameraman, Tim and I,
are part of this meeting

because they're going to
let us dive in the NBL today

with the astronauts!

Our morning starts with a quick checkup.

All divers in the NBL must
pass a rigorous physical

and a checkup before the dive.

Cameraman, Tim and I, are no exception.

We pass our checkup

and next we meet up with Sarah Williams,

the dive training officer

who gives us a dive safety briefing.

- The pool deck itself is also

a functioning working pool deck.

- [Jonathan] What to do and
what not to do in the NBL.

- So, all divers need to comply

with the direction of the dive supervisor.

As I said, they are
the supervisor on deck,

and please give them a head's
up when you're getting ready

to get in the water so
they know that they have

someone to account for.
[vibrant music]

- [Jonathan] Just as
we finish our briefing,

the team is gathering on the
deck to begin preparations

for putting the astronauts in the water.

Getting into a spacesuit is no easy feat.

In fact, it might be easier
in the zero gravity of orbit,

but here on land it takes assistance.

[vibrant music continues]

The astronauts wear
liquid cooled underwear

to keep them from overheating.

That's what these tubes are for.

The torso of the suit is clamped to a cage

because it's too heavy to lift.

Because this space suit
is specially modified

for underwater use and has
a lot of lead weight in it.

Climbing into the torso
is a little tricky.

It takes nearly an hour to suit up.

[vibrant music continues]

The last thing to go on is the helmet.

[vibrant music continues]

Underwater, a high oxygen blend of air

will be fed to the astronauts
through their umbilicals.

Meanwhile, the safety divers
are in the water getting ready.

They wear double scuba tanks
so they have enough air

to stay down as long as necessary
to complete the mission.

[gentle music]

Tim and I are getting ready, too.

I can't wait to see this
enormous underwater facility.

[gentle music continues]

I descend into the clearest
water I've ever seen,

and it looks like an underwater movie set.

[gentle music continues]

The pool is a staggering 40 feet deep,

and everywhere I look are
full-size replica sections

of the International Space Station.

I take a few minutes to explore the pool.

I can see from one end to
the other very clearly,

meaning that the underwater
visibility is over 200 feet.

I could spend a few hours just
swimming around down here.

It's like a playground
for divers with all sorts

of great structures to swim through.

For the astronauts, now
the moment of truth.

A crane lifts them into
the pool wearing 300 pounds

of spacesuit a piece.
[pensive music]

Underwater, the safety divers meet them

and carefully remove
them from the platform.

Each astronaut is carefully weighted

to be precisely neutrally buoyant.

Hey, they don't call it
the Neutral Buoyancy Lab

for nothing.

Once weighted properly, the
astronauts hover in the water

as if floating in the
weightlessness of space.

Since fins don't work in space,

the astronauts don't
get to wear them here.

They must be moved from
task to task by the divers.

[gentle music]

The divers are also responsible

for keeping a careful eye
on everything happening.

Each astronaut has four
divers assigned to him or her,

two are safety divers.

Another has a camera with a
cable going to the control room,

and there are more cameras mounted

all over the inside of the pool, too.

In the test director room
overlooking the pool,


of everything that happens below.

They oversee the safety of the operation.

If anything were to go wrong,

the divers can get the astronaut

to the surface in only seconds.

In the test conductor room,

another team is conducting
the training run.

The test conductor and team
speak directly to the astronauts

through the communications
gear in their helmets.

But powerful underwater
speakers allow the divers

to hear everything that's being said,

even if they can't talk back.

- [Director] Let's go ahead
and swim EV1 over to Z1 10

to check out EB2's ABR dressing.

- [Jonathan] The point
of all this effort is

to provide a learning
environment for astronauts

where they can practice tasks over

and over in simulated zero gravity

before they're required to
do it by themselves in space.

Tasks that are easy on land

become much harder in zero gravity,

and harder still while
wearing a space suit

that has to be able to protect

an astronaut from the vacuum of space.

A space suit is designed
to have more pressure

on the inside than on the outside,

since it's effectively inflated
like a balloon in space.

Here in the NBL, that
pressure is backwards.

Water's definitely not a vacuum.

In order to keep the water
pressure from squishing

the astronauts as they go deeper,

the suits are inflated to a pressure

just a few PSI higher than
the surrounding water.

When an astronaut goes
deeper into the pool,

the water pressure pushes in on the suit

and tries to compress it,

so the suit is given
more internal pressure

to keep it inflated correctly.

As the astronaut ascends
towards the surface,

the air inside the suit expands

and tries to overinflate the suit,

so some of the air is released.

In this way, the suit
always stays inflated

just as it would be in space.

[graphic whooshes]

After a couple hours of training,

the divers move one of the astronauts

over to the platform and remove her glove.

[bright music]

This training exercise
simulates a suit failure,

and it's one of the things that astronauts

practice under water.

The continuous flow of
bubbles from the sleeve

shows the regulator in the suit

attempting to maintain positive pressure.

Soon the astronaut is
lifted from the water

after a successful training mission.

[bright music continues]

[equipment squeaks]

- [Participant] It could
last through the torso

'cause that would-

- Tim and I head back to the surface, too.

[water bubbling]

Whew!

That is the coolest swimming pool ever.

Later I have the opportunity
to meet Ron Garan,

a real astronaut.

He has spent nearly half a year in space

and more than 27 hours space walking.

So, you know what I had to ask him?

You gotta tell me what it's
like to be in space. [laughs]

- What's it like to be in space?

Well, it's a lot like
being in the pool here.

The only difference is
when you turn upside down

in the pool, you feel upside down.

When you turn upside down in
space, there is no upside down.

So, you don't feel that,

have that sensation of
blood rushing to your head

and you can't beat the view.

- Yeah, I guess that's true, huh?

What did you do here that
helps you as an astronaut?

- Well, what we do here is
we train for our space walks.

And, you know, there's
two ways to look at it.

One is that when we
were flying the shuttle,

we had very, very specific,
very choreographed space walks.

And so for every hour that we spent

outside in the vacuum of space,

we spent about seven hours underwater

making sure that we knew exactly
how things were gonna be.

There's a full-scale
mock up, as you guys saw.

There's a full-scale mock up

of the space station down there.

So, just to know how to get around,

to know the lay of the land, if you will?

Know how the equipment works.

But nowadays, since we don't
have the space shuttles,

what we're really training
for is if something breaks,

if we have a piece of
equipment that breaks,

then we have to go out and sometimes

in a fairly expeditious
manner to fix the equipment.

And we never know what's
gonna break beforehand.

So we have to kinda train
a skillset, you know,

to learn the basic skills
on how to fix anything

that can go wrong outside.

- [Jonathan] I spent an hour chatting

with Ron about being an astronaut

and training underwater in
the Neutral Buoyancy Lab.

I explained that I'm a perfect choice

to join the space program.

I mean, after all,

I'm already good at
working in zero gravity,

but I don't think he was convinced.

So, instead of joining the space program,

the "Blue World" team
ended our exciting day

by getting our picture taken with Ron.

Sometimes my adventures
[camera clicks]

in the blue world take
me to fascinating places

I'll never forget.