Mars (American TV series)

This article is about the National Geographic Channel miniseries. For other uses, see Mars (disambiguation).

Mars
Genre	Docudrama
Created by	Ben Young Mason Justin Wilkes
Based on	How We'll Live on Mars by Stephen Petranek
Developed by	Ben Young Mason André Bormanis Mickey Fisher Karen Janszen Jonathan Silberberg
Starring	Ben Cotton Alberto Ammann Anamaria Marinca Clementine Poidatz Jihae Sammi Rotibi
Composers	Nick Cave Warren Ellis
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	6
Production
Executive producers	Ron Howard Brian Grazer Michael Rosenberg Justin Wilkes Everardo Gout Tommy Turtle Jonathan Silberberg Lorenzo Mieli Dave O'Connor Jon Kamen
Running time	47 minutes
Original release
Network	National Geographic FX
Release	November 14, 2016 (2016-11-14) – present

Mars is a six-part docudrama television miniseries produced by National Geographic, which premiered on November 14, 2016, on their channel, and FX. Prior to its official air date, it was launched in a streaming format on November 1, 2016. It blends elements of real interviews with a fictional story of a group of astronauts as they land on the planet Mars.

The series is based on the 2015 book How We'll Live on Mars by Stephen Petranek. The show switches time periods between the year 2033, and 2016, by way of events unfolding in the story, and then earlier predictions by scientists on the difficulties of what that situation would be like, then the time switches back to the story, revealing how the astronauts solved their problem. The series was filmed in Budapest, and Morocco.

A companion book to the series, called Mars: Our Future on the Red Planet, was released in October 2016 detailing the science behind the show. A prequel series, called Before Mars, was produced and released conjointly with the series. It tells the fictional story of a moment in the life of one of the astronauts, and the decisions they made to get involved in science.

Plot

In the year 2033, a crew of six astronauts launch from Florida on a journey to be the first people to set foot on Mars. During the descent into the Martian atmosphere, there is a malfunction with their spacecraft, the Daedalus. They land 75.3 kilometres (46.8 miles) away from their planned habitat. On Earth their progress is being monitored.

Intermixed with the story are real-life interview footage from the year 2016, of the crew, and their mission control; there are interviews with various scientists, and engineers, such as Elon Musk and Neil deGrasse Tyson, about the difficulties that the crew might face on a journey to, and living on, Mars.

Cast

The cast for the fictional part of the drama are:

• Ben Cotton as Ben Sawyer, mission commander.
• Jihae as Hana Seung mission pilot, and as her Earth bound twin sister Joon Seung.
• Clementine Poidatz as Amelie Durand, mission physician and biochemist.
• Sammi Rotibi as Robert Foucault, mission engineer and roboticist.
• Alberto Ammann as Javier Delgado, mission hydrologist and geochemist.
• Anamaria Marinca as Marta Kamen, mission exobiologist and geologist.
• Olivier Martinez as Ed Grann, CEO of MMC.

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	U.S. viewers (millions)
1	"Novo Mundo"	Everardo Gout	Story by : Karen Janszen Teleplay by : Karen Janszen and Paul Solet	November 14, 2016 (2016-11-14)	1.42
In 2033, the first human mission to Mars enters its atmosphere, while currently, SpaceX is attempting to land the world’s first reusable rocket.
2	"Grounded"	Unknown	Unknown	November 21, 2016 (2016-11-21)	N/A
The Daedalus crew battles harsh Martian terrain to reach base camp. NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly undergoes a mission on the International Space Station.
3	"Pressure Drop"	Unknown	Unknown	November 28, 2016 (2016-11-28)	N/A
In 2033, the Daedalus crew struggles to find permanent shelter. Currently, the European Space Agency and Roscosmos partner to launch an orbiter.
4	"Power"	Unknown	Unknown	December 5, 2016 (2016-12-05)	N/A
In 2037, four years after Mars colonization, a storm threatens the outpost. In reality, Antarctica serves as a site for a simulated human settlement.
5	"Darkest Days"	Unknown	Unknown	December 12, 2016 (2016-12-12)	N/A
In 2037, psychological pressure takes its toll as the crew is trapped in the habitat. In reality, scientists study the effects of extreme isolation.
6	"Crossroads"	Unknown	Unknown	December 19, 2016 (2016-12-19)	N/A
In 2037, a devastating tragedy in the colony forces everyone to question the mission. In the present, SpaceX attempts another pioneering launch.

See also

• ITS launch vehicle (ITS), in development by SpaceX, formerly the Mars Colonial Transporter (MCT)
• Space Launch System (SLS), in development by the US government
• Mars Design Reference Mission, the standing NASA plans for hypothetical crewed missions to Mars

External links

• Official website
• Mars at IMDb