Up: To Boldly Go (Enhanced DVD)

Product Description:

Our population centers are used to being concentrated near sea level, where oxygen levels and climate are the most optimal. However, the human spirit also has a strong desire to challenge ourselves and to explore the most remote areas of the earth. In this BBC documentary, Dr. Kevin Fong researches how the human body reacts to the low oxygen concentrations in extreme altitudes--using himself as the test subject. At a peak of over 25,000 feet, documented with beautiful videography, Fong begins to experience the effects of hypoxia, a condition where oxygen levels in the blood lead to judgment loss and the ability to perform basic tasks.

By surpassing the upper reaches here on earth in the Swiss Alps, Fong's courageous work provides critical data for use in his work with NASA in order to advance the prospects of humans participating in deep space travel. It is in this effort that Dr. Fong reflects on the human desire to discover new environments, pushing our survival limits in order to do so.

Fong believes that the lessons learned in his extreme experiments can be applied ensuring success of future explorations. His work builds on the findings of adventurers who have come before him during the past two centuries to find the critical boundary between life and death. Like most pioneers, Dr. Fong sacrifices his own well-being in an interest of the advancement of all mankind.

This video is profuse of consummate inspiration and dedication and illustrates the point that a small group of risk takers can have a significant impact to help humankind reach unimaginable frontiers.

Up: To Boldly Go