A spacecraft from another solar system invades the night sky. But this is not our sky, and we are the invaders. The search for alien life has begun. So begins Alien Planet, a Discovery Channel production that combines cutting-edge computer animation and video technology, interspersed with interviews of top scientists and filmmakers (Stephen Hawking and George Lucas, among others), to examine what life might really be like on another planet. Darwin IV, the subject of this interstellar journey, is home to a wild variety of dinosaur-like creatures, bizarre beasts, and exotic vegetation of every kind. The idea is human beings have sent an unmanned spacecraft, packed with computer-driven droids--something right out of Star Wars--to a planet 6.5 light years away. We follow along as the probes explore the planet and encounter aliens and situations of every kind, as the scientists weigh in on what they think we might really find there, and why. It’s all motivated and informed by real missions being undertaken today.