MARS an unprecedented global event series

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MARS an unprecedented global event series --

Mon, 07 Nov 2016 10:50

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Of all the planets in our solar system, none has captured our collective imagination like Mars a mysterious, indelible part of the zeitgeist. The quest to send humans to Mars has engaged the top minds in science in a modern-day space race, and it has infiltrated pop culture through blockbusters like Andy Weir s The Martian and through out-of-this-world tweets from astronaut Scott Kelly. Now, National Geographic Channel (NGC), Academy Award- and Emmy-winning producers Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Michael Rosenberg of Imagine Entertainment; and Academy Award-nominated and Emmy-winning producer Justin Wilkes and Dave O Connor of RadicalMedia have joined forces to launch viewers farther into outer space than ever before with the global event series MARS.

Premiering on the National Geographic Channel in 171 countries and 45 languages this November, MARS which is set both in the future and in the present day will redefine television storytelling by combining feature-film-quality scripted drama and visual effects with best-in-class documentary sequences to drive forward a cohesive, edge-of-your seat story of mankind s thrilling quest to colonize Mars. This epic six-part global event series tells the inspiring story from the vantage point of a fictitious crewed mission in 2033.

Grazer and I, along with our friends at Radical, had this ambitious idea, which was to create a documentary about the quest to go to Mars but also bring it to life in a really dramatic and cinematic way, said Executive Producer Ron Howard. The offer to the audience will be information meets vivid and experiential filmmaking. Nat Geo s ambition was high, and we are really honoured and thrilled to try and meet that challenge.

The starting point for this unique storytelling method is the year 2033, and we have embarked on the first crewed mission to MARS. As dramatic scripted elements and feature film-calibre visual effects bring this future world to life, the modern-day quest to reach the red planet is told through documentary v rit and interviews with the present-day scientists and innovators who are leading the research and development of space technology that will make the 2033 mission possible. Executive producers Howard and Grazer hand-selected visionary Mexican filmmaker Everardo Gout (Days of Grace) to direct the scripted portions of the series, filmed earlier this year in Budapest and Morocco.

The First Crewed Mission to MARS

MARS envisions the future of space travel funded through a corporate-public partnership of two fictional organizations: the Mars Mission Corporation (MMC), a consortium of aerospace corporations formed in 2022 and headquartered in London that builds and manages the technological hardware for the Mars program, and the International Mars Science Foundation (IMSF), which was created by a coalition of space-faring nations to carry out a mission to Mars.

The scripted portion focuses on Earth s first crewed mission to MARS aboard the spacecraft Daedalus. Its maiden voyage in 2033 is crewed by a carefully selected international crew of six uniquely qualified astronauts, including American mission commander Ben Sawyer (Ben Cotton), Korean American mission pilot Hana Seung (Jihae), Spanish hydrologist and geochemist Javier Delgado (Alberto Ammann), French mission physician and biochemist Amelie Durand (Clementine Poidatz), Nigerian mechanical engineer and roboticist Robert Foucault (Sammi Rotibi) and Russian exobiologist and geologist Marta Kamen (Anamaria Marinca). Back on Earth, the MMC control team based in London includes Hana Seung s twin sister, capsule communicator (CAPCOM) Joon Seung (also played by Jihae) and French CEO of the MMC Ed Grann (Olivier Martinez).

Once Daedalus successfully lands on Mars and sets up a preliminary base of operations, British nuclear physicist Leslie Richardson (Cosima Shaw) will lead a Phase 2 settlement team along with her husband, world-renowned experimental botanist Dr. Paul Richardson (John Light).

The production team took painstaking efforts to base the scripted narrative in real-world science. The series writing team worked with an extensive group of experts, both in the public and private sectors, to understand how the science could serve the story. Dr. Robert Braun, an aerospace engineer and professor of space technology at the Georgia Institute of Technology, provided expert consultation on all scientific aspects of the fictional storyline. Dr. Mae Jemison, a former NASA astronaut who holds the distinction of being the first woman of colour in space, acted as a space advisor on the series, working closely with the cast to help them hone their portrayals.

In terms of the visual look of the series, production designer Sophie Becher turned to NASA and SpaceX to help inform her designs of the Daedalus spaceship and Olympus Town, the first human colony on Mars as portrayed by the series. Costume designer Daniela Ciancio extensively researched the types of fabrics being created today to make spacesuits lighter, stronger, more flexible and radiation resistant to protect the astronauts of tomorrow. And Framestore, the Academy Award-winning visual effects team behind Gravity, will layer in the final external visuals to complete the look of the series.

VISIONARIES PAVING THE PATH

MARS also showcases an unprecedented collection of interviews with the top scientific minds currently working to overcome the many obstacles that stand in the way of an eventual maiden launch. National Geographic received exclusive access to film Elon Musk (founder of Tesla and SpaceX) and his team at SpaceX mission control as they successfully landed their Falcon 9 reusable rocket on a drone ship off the East Coast of the U.S. this past April.

The future of humanity is fundamenta

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