TV Alert: Five Years on Mars

By Nancy Atkinson - October 31, 2008 at 5:10 PM UTC | Planetary Science
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On Sunday evening Nov. 2, at 7 pm CST,(in the US; check your local listings) the National Geographic channel will be showing a special documentary on the Mars Exploration Rovers. It's called "Five Years on Mars," and dramatizes the trials and tribulations of the rovers Spirit and Opportunity and highlights new scientific information on the planet's geology and water history.

If you saw the "Mars: Dead or Alive" and "Welcome to Mars" shows, this one should be even better. The show will feature photo-realistic animation based on the actual landscape as captured by the rovers' cameras, and interviews with MER PI Steve Squyres and others on the rover team.

Check out the

National Geographic channel's website

that has some very spiffy downloadable wallpapers (like the one above), videos and other information about the show and about the rovers and their mission. Robert Pearlman at

CollectSPACE.com

also has a great overview of the show and an interview with Steve Squyres.

When the landed on Mars in 2004, they were expected to collect data over 90 Martian days, or "sols." But ninety days have stretched into almost five years, and a short-term science mission searching for evidence of ancient water has turned into one of the greatest adventures of the space age. The rovers have trekked miles across hostile plains, climbed mountains, ventured in and out of deep craters, gotten stuck in sand dunes, and survived dust storms and mechanical failures.

Mark Davis, who also served as writer/producer/director of the award winning "Mars Dead or Alive" and "Welcome to Mars," teams with legendary animator Dan Maas (IMAX "Roving Mars")

Don't miss it!

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com