The first
astronauts to explore Mars will undoubtedly face challenges, some of which may
mirror those depicted in a new mini-series and documentary chronicling humanity's
initial steps on the red planet.
"Race
to Mars," a martian multimedia event orchestrated by the Discovery Channel Canada, follows the efforts of six spaceflyers on a 600-day mission to reach the red planet and hunt
for life before China's unmanned probes. The first installment of the four-hour
miniseries airs tonight for viewers in Canada.
"This will
be the definitive story of the human mission to Mars," said Paul Lewis, president
and general manager for Discovery Channel Canada, in a statement.
A six-part
documentary "Mars Rising" – narrated by veteran space actor William Shatner –
will follow the mini-series beginning Oct. 7 to present an in-depth look at the
inherent hurdles facing a human expedition to Mars. A companion book and multimedia
Web site further explore issues raised in the $20 million television events.
"With this
unprecedented multi-platform event, our mission is to reignite excitement in
the Space Age and inspire a whole new generation to look outward towards the
planets," Lewis said.
"Race to Mars"
arrives just before the 50th anniversary of the Space Age – which began
with the Oct. 4, 1957 launch of the former Soviet Union's Sputnik
1 satellite – as NASA continues work to return humans to the moon by 2020. The
U.S. space agency is drawing up plans for new spacecraft, larger
habitats and long range pressurized rovers as part of its lunar exploration
vision.
The flight
experience and hardware tests gathered from long-duration lunar sorties could
prove invaluable for a future manned flight to Mars, where a multitude of orbiters
currently study the red planet from on high and NASA's twin robots Spirit and
Opportunity rove across its surface.
But in "Race
to Mars," set in 2030, those early lunar and martian missions have long since
past with China taking the lead in red planet exploration. Playing catch-up is an
international manned Mars mission by Canada, the U.S., Russia, France and Japan.
It's an
ambitious mission with a massive crew transport craft (the Terra Nova) that
spins to produce artificial gravity, as robotic flights deliver the requisite astronaut
habitat, rovers and other cargo. Commanding the flight is veteran astronaut
Rick Erwin (Michael Riley, "Supervolcano," "This is Wonderland"), who oversees
a four-man, two-woman crew of seasoned astronauts, engineers and scientists.
"Race to Mars"
spends much of its focus on the psychological and engineering hurdles of long
duration spaceflight, with the crew of Terra Nova wrestling against faulty
hardware as well as their own interpersonal tensions.
Crew
relations, it turns out, is no small feat. A joint team or Russian and European
researchers here are Earth are planning a 520-day mock Mars mission
to study the long-duration stresses that may afflict an astronaut crew en route
to the red planet.
But aside
from the hunt for water, and its implications for extraterrestrial life, Race
for Mars shows little of the other possible science astronauts may perform on
the red planet or what they might do with those precious moments of free time.
The "Race
to Mars" companion book, by author Dana Berry, does provide more detail into
the Terra Nova astronauts' activities and peppers their story with relevant events
from the last 50 years of spaceflight.
To prepare
for his role as the Terra Nova's commander, Riley said he studied the
experiences of former NASA astronaut Jerry Linenger, who weathered a fire,
system failures and a near-collision with an unmanned freighter while serving
aboard Russia's Mir Space Station.
The first
manned flight to Mars will also likely command attention the globe over like
NASA's historic Apollo 11 mission that first set astronauts on the moon, added
Riley, who remembers exactly where he was during that first lunar landing.
"I was
seven years old and glued to my grandmother's black and white television," Riley
said in a statement. "My daughter is 11 and I hope she experiences the same kind
of wonder when we land on Mars."
"Race to
Mars" debuts tonight at 8:00 p.m. ET/9:00 p.m. PT (check local listings) on Discovery Channel Canada.
Click here for more on the Race to Mars
project.
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