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The Universe today is filled with planets,

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stars, galaxies...

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But what came before?

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(Dramatic music. Sound of explosion)

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After the Big Bang, the early universe only had

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a few types of atoms - mostly helium and hydrogen.

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Scientists believe that helium and hydrogen began

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to combine to form the universe's first molecule,

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called helium hydride.

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These molecules led to the creation of new

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molecules that helped cool the early universe.

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Over billions of years the universe transformed,

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becoming the complex place it is today.

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Scientists have never found helium hydride

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in space - until now - in a planetary nebula.

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Flying high in the Earth's atmosphere with SOFIA,

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the world's largest airborne observatory,

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scientists finally detected this elusive molecule.

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SOFIA, a partnership of NASA and

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the German Aerospace Center,

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uses cutting-edge technology.

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Its instruments are easily upgraded,

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unlike other observatories in space.

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SOFIA's detection of the first molecule