National Geographic announced Thursday that it’s green lit a two-part documentary special that takes a fresh, in-depth look at the bible using satellite imagery to help rebuild and reexamine some of its best known stories.
Nat Geo Explorer Albert Lin will host the series, tentatively titled “The Bible From Space,” when it debuts in 2019. Lin will travel through Middle East deserts using a mobile lab, magnetometry, aerial photogrammetry and satellite pictures to take a modern look at what happened behind Exodus, Sodom and Gomorrah and the parting of the Red Sea.
The satellite images will allow Lin and a team of top archaeologists to look at how natural disasters may have played a role in some of the Holy Land’s oldest tales. Caravan, a London-based independent production company, will produce the series for Nat Geo.
“Having had great success in uncovering ancient ruins around the world over the last couple of years, National Geographic is excited to be partnering with Caravan on this series and to have Albert Lin on board a project that will move digital archaeology forward by attempting to reveal the truth of these ancient narratives handed down over countless generations,” Jules Oldroyd, senior vice president of international programming at National Geographic, said in a statement.
The series will be available in more 172 countries and 43 languages when it debuts next year.