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Audience Rating: Unrated Binding: VHS Tape EAN: 9781593750176 Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Letterboxed, NTSC ISBN: 159375017X Label: Wgbh Boston Manufacturer: Wgbh Boston Number Of Items: 1 Publisher: Wgbh Boston Release Date: March 16, 2004 Running Time: 60 minutes Sales Rank: 45414 Studio: Wgbh Boston Theatrical Release Date: 2003
Description: Inside NASA’s risky field trip to the Red Planet.
Two-thirds of all spacecraft previously launched to Mars never reached their destination. Now, in a pioneering and risky mission, twin rovers named Spirit and Opportunity hurtle toward Mars at 12,000 miles per hour, with Spirit scheduled to touch down first. In the final "six minutes of terror" a parachute will open, giant protective airbags will inflate around the lander, and retrorockets will fire for a few seconds before Spirit is cut loose, bouncing its way to what everyone hopes will be a safe landing. To survive, Spirit will have to function perfectly. It will also have to be lucky, since there's no way of knowing when a sharp rock or a gust of wind will ruin your day on Mars. Only then will Spirit be able to roll off the lander and begin its mission as a robot geologist, searching for clues that can tell us whether this harsh and barren planet was ever a place that could have supported life. Join NOVA for a tense and dramatic behind-the-scenes chronicle of the $820 million Mars Exploration Rover (MER) project, developed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Beginning a year before launch, NOVA's cameras follow MER scientists and engineers through a gauntlet of potentially fatal problems such as shredding parachutes, punctured airbags, and short circuits, any one of which could scuttle the mission before the rovers ever reach the launchpad. Then, seven months after launch, re-join NOVA and the NASA team in mission control for the final nail-biting minutes of the journey, as Spirit successfully lands on Mars and begins sending back its first spectacular images of the Martian landscape.
Amazon.com: The great PBS science series Nova scores another hit with Mars: Dead or Alive, capturing all the excitement surrounding the Mars rover landings of early 2004. Originally broadcast just as the first of the twin rovers ("Spirit" and "Opportunity") was experiencing temporary communication problems with Earth-bound mission controllers, this riveting hour-long episode chronicles the risky $820 million Mars Exploration Rover (MER) project from design to touchdown, dramatically illustrating (through the use of detailed simulations and sophisticated computer animation) the considerable chances of failure--a nail-biting gamble considering that fully two-thirds of all previous Mars missions never reached their destination. Through rigorous testing and initial failure of the MER parachute system to the celebrated transmission of pristine photos from the "Spirit" landing site, we see just how intensely complex and emotionally involving the missions are, especially for Cornell University astronomer and lead MER scientist Steve Squyres and his devoted team of colleagues at Pasadena's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Careers are on the line as technical problems accumulate, and one feels the same mixture of dread, anxiety, and elation that accompanied the historic return of Apollo 13. A bonus interview with Mars-mission pioneer Donna Shirley puts everything into resonant perspective, celebrating science and the MER missions as an essential human endeavor.
As with all Nova programs, the DVD includes a generous variety of study materials including an interview with Squyres, a detailed look at the anatomy of the Mars rovers, links to a companion website, and a "math activity" feature allowing viewers to understand the aerodynamic variables of parachute design. If you're among those who feel that NASA and MER tax dollars are wasted, this DVD will probably change your opinion. --Jeff Shannon
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - Excellent documentary
I rented this from the library for my son, who is interested in learning about the planets. I ended up being more engrossed by it than he was. This movie is all about the development of the mars rovers and you really get the feel for what it was like to be part of these teams, the highs and the lows. You feel as thrilled as they do when the launch occurs and again when the rovers land. This was a really well done film.
Rating: - Superb and moving
I won't go into as much detail as others have, but I will say that as an armchair science lover, I was moved by this documentary. It was fascinating to see the level of dedication these people have, and I am amazed that the mission is still ongoing! The animations were superb and told the story very well. I don't think scientists get enough credit and attention. Everyone should see this.
Rating: - A behind-the-scenes look at one of the most successful missions to the Red Planet!!!
+++++
In August 2005, the lead or principal science investigator (or simply, the guy in charge) of the Mars Exploratory (MER) Mission Dr. Steve Squyres, wrote a book about this mission (a mission which is still going as of the date this review was posted). His book consists of three parts: (1) the events that lead to the final decision to go ahead with the MER mission (2) the technical development of the mission and (3) some highlights of the rovers on Mars.
This late March 2004 video on DVD gives an excellent account of the second part of Squyres' book and also includes ... Read More
Rating: - The science and engineering behind the Mars rovers
Mars Dead or Alive tells the story of the two rovers, the Spirit and the Opportunity, that landed on Mars in January 2004 to undertake advanced geological studies and to seek evidence of past water on the planet's surface. This Nova documentary does not cover the mission itself, merely the preparation and execution of the rover project. As such, it will primarily be of interest to science geeks.
As far as I'm concerned, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory is the only NASA-related agency that has any credibility whatsoever nowadays; basically, the only real successes of the past decade or more ... Read More
