Physicist, cosmologist and author Stephen Hawking has revised the doomsday clock from 1,000 years until a catastrophic event wipes out humanity on Earth, to a new prediction that it will happen in the next 100 years.
[ >> Read more trending news ]
Hawking has theorized that the only way to save the human race is through outer space travel and colonization of other planets, like Mars.
The scientist explains his theory in a new BBC documentary, "Expedition New Earth," airing in June.
"With climate change, overdue asteroid strikes, epidemics and population growth, our own planet is increasingly precarious," the BBC said in a statement about the show.
"Professor Hawking’s ambition isn’t as fantastical as it sounds."
Hawking last November predicted the planet had 1,000 years before such a disaster might strike.
His new documentary is expected to explain the new, accelerated timetable.