ScreenFish

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Daedalus

Mars Ep. 6 – The Cost

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(photo credit: National Geographic/Robert Viglasky)
(photo credit: National Geographic/Robert Viglasky)

Space travel is an endeavor that is not without risk.  As we’ve seen during the first five episodes of the Mars miniseries on the National Geographic Channel (Mondays, 9 PM/8 CT), the crew of the Daedalus endured a difficult landing, the loss of their mission commander, the constant risk of freezing to death, as well as a host of other issues.  Why would they put their lives at risk in this manner?  If you asked them, they would say it was necessary to put humanity in a position to live on a planet other than Earth.  Yet the tragic events of the fifth episode have put Olympus Town on complete lockdown and are threatening to end the whole mission. As a result, there’s an opportunity for the viewer to stop and consider what it means to count the cost. Is risk worth it in the end?  Perhaps there’s an answer in the final minute of the episode . . .

At first glance, the final episode of Mars may seem like a simple retrospective due to the sheer amount of downtime the crew experiences, so if you’re looking for lots of action, you’re going to be disappointed. However, there is quite a bit to consider, and that is perhaps why so much space (pardon the pun) is given for contemplation by director Everardo Gout. The people on Earth and IMSF are at the point where sentiment in the mission has given way to concern for death and destruction. Do the scientists of Olympus Town need to be evacuated for their own good?  Has the expeition become the biggest and most expensive failure in human history?  Were we always so farsighted to think we could seriously explore and inhabit a planet we were not created on?

That’s a question that has haunted the residents of Earth since the late 1960s.

After successfully putting men on the moon, NASA struggled mightily with Apollo 13’s near-catastrophe.  They eventually considered two options: a full-scale expedition to Mars (the Saturn V rocket could do the trick nicely) or a reusable space airplane that would orbit the Earth and perform experiments.  Eventually, President Nixon decided a potentially fatal mission to Mars would ground the space program forever and chose the Space Shuttle as the premier vehicle for exploration.  As we know, that decision has not been without catastrophe on multiple occasions (Challenger 1986; Columbia 2001). But, as scientists noted, we’ve been stuck in orbit around our own planet for nearly fifty years. Is it time to change all that?

The issue of reusable rockets is revisited in the final episode as SpaceX attempts to land the first stage of a rocket on a floating barge, with the viewer getting a real-time perspective from CEO Elon Musk.  This time, the landing is successful. Perhaps we can make interplanetary travel happen sooner than later!

We create goals in life (maybe not as big as a trip to Mars), but along the way we get sidetracked by the noise of life and the dream gets lost or merely forgotten. Jesus discussed the solution to this once: “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’” (Luke 14-28-30 NASB).  Perhaps we’ll be on Mars in 2037 (or sooner), but if we really want to go there, we must keep the goal in sight and be ready to handle any setbacks that arise along the way.

(photo credit: National Geographic Channels/Robert Viglasky)
(photo credit: National Geographic Channels/Robert Viglasky)

If anything, the Mars series has provided some topics for discussion regarding the reason for traveling into space (backup plans and safety concerns are two of them). Perhaps expeditions won’t be completely scientific in the future, instead transporting people to a new locale or expensive vacation destination.  But time will tell the answer if this is the case.  Until then, we continue to look at the stars and dream of the red planet.

Mars (Ep. 4) – Learning From The Past

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(photo credit: National Geographic Channels/Robert Viglasky)
Leslie and Paul Richardson join the crew (photo credit: National Geographic Channels/Robert Viglasky)

The Pilgrims’ journey to the New World in 1620 was not an easy one.  The trip itself was fraught with peril where one wrong turn could shipwreck the crew.  Upon arrival, there was no opportunity to rest as the harsh environment was not conducive to easy settlement.  Shelters had to be constructed, new locations had to be scouted out and claimed, and preparation was necessary to combat the difficult weather conditions.

Thus far, the National Geographic miniseries Mars (9 PM/8 CT Monday) has offered a similar look at a possible colonizing attempt on the Red Planet.  To summarize the series thus far, just substitute the crew of the spaceship Daedalus for the Pilgrims in the first paragraph.  In the fourth episode, we see yet another similarity between the two groups: power struggles.

It’s now 2037, four years since the original crew of six arrived on Mars. Mission Commander Hana (Jihae) leads the staff after their last-ditch effort to find a suitable location for Olympus Town succeeded.  There is a normalcy that settles as the first group of scientists arrive to help out and conduct experiments.   However, this feeling is short lived as the next rocket brings Leslie and Paul Richardson (Cosima Shaw and John Light) into the fray.  She’s a world-class nuclear physicist (on Earth, at least); he’s a respected botanist. The crew is thrilled to have them on board to help out and continue the colonization process, but Leslie wants to speed up the process significantly and basically take over the place.  Ed Granz (Olivier Martinez), head of the for-profit MMC (Mars Mission Corporation) on Earth, is the instigator for the faster expansion, but is that a good thing considering there are still so many unknowns about the planet?  One of the crew members discovers the answer to this question the hard way.  The fourth episode leaves the viewer with two different and lasting images: a) a budding romance between original crew members Javier (Alberto Ammann) and Amélie (Clementine Poidatz), and b) an incredibly bad-looking storm.

Back on Earth in the year 2016, the episode looks at how we’re attempting to prepare for the conditions of Mars.  It involves the McMurdo Station in Antarctica, an incredibly harsh and unforgiving environment (consider Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin was recently flown from there due to health issues). The scientists there conduct experiments, cycle people in and out on a regular basis, and learn how to make things work in an isolated community.  The lessons learned there will serve the first groups of Martian explorers well.

(photo credit: National Geographic Channels/Robert Viglasky)
(photo credit: National Geographic Channels/Robert Viglasky)

In many films about space, there’s a focus on the landing and (perhaps) the early forms of exploration, so I appreciated the deeper dive into what life might be like once things settle down.  In this episode, the humanity of the characters finally begins to break through—Hana struggling with the potential change in power structure, Javier’s frustration over others’ incompetence, Leslie’s stern demeanor. It makes me think the next episode could be a bit volatile. I also appreciated the occasional science focus as an effective way to lessen the tension.  Besides, who doesn’t want to learn a learn a little about Antarctica in the process?

Hana’s opening voiceover was intriguing: “They say that science and faith don’t mix. But when everything is telling you you’ve already lost, there’s nothing you can do but believe.” For me, this is where the Pilgrim/Martian comparison comes into play. Just because you’ve made it to a new land doesn’t mean the battle is over. The Pilgrims had a Thanksgiving to celebrate but then had to endure a brutal winter that threatened the colony’s existence. On Mars, the celebration time existed after the team discovered the location of Olympus Town, but that storm looks like it’s about to put the crew to the ultimate test.

It’s also a reminder of what the disciples had to deal with when one of their own betrayed Jesus, sending him to the cross to die.  Even though Jesus had told them repeatedly not to fear, his betrayal, arrest, and death must’ve made them feel the game was over.  It was eleven disciples against a world that was possibly coming for them next.  But if Jesus was telling them the truth, they had no other option but to believe it.  Three days after the crucifixion, they found a previously sealed tomb opened with no one inside.  And within the next few days, they would all see him again.

Belief can be an incredibly powerful thing when it’s all a person has to lean on.  I have a feeling we’ll find out how next week–stay tuned.

Mars (Ep 1): The Journey Begins

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Alberto Ammann as Javier Delgado the Spanish hydrologist and geochemist on the Daedalus. The global event series MARS premieres November 14 at 8/9c in the U.S. and internationally Sunday November 13 on the National Geographic Channel. (photo credit: National Geographic Channels/Robert Viglasky)
(photo credit: National Geographic Channels/Robert Viglasky)

There was a time not too long ago when it seemed children wanted to be one of three things when they grew up: a police officer, a fireman, or an astronaut.  I fell into the latter category.  Watching some of the early flights of the Space Shuttle on television made me want to consider what it would be like to travel beyond the grasp of Earth’s gravity, exploring strange planets, discovering new forms of life, and avoiding the dreaded reading of Vogon poetry.  Not even watching the explosion of the Challenger in 1986 could deter me from that goal.  Unfortunately, it took a Tilt-a Whirl ride in college to reveal that I didn’t have the right stuff. Nevertheless, space has continued to be a fascination of mine to this day.

It also seems Hollywood has exhibited a case of space fever over the last decade, releasing new episodes of Star Trek and Star Wars while producing other quality films such as WALL*E, The Martian, and an upcoming flick called Passengers. It’s so contagious that Ron Howard, director of the critically acclaimed movie Apollo 13 in 1995, has jumped back into the genre as executive producer of a new series for National Geographic Channel called Mars (starts Monday November 14 at 9 PM [8 CT]).  It’s a challenging reminder of why space exploration is so risky and yet holds out so much hope for the inhabitants of this planet.

Olivier Martinez as Ed Grann the French CEO of the Mars Mission Corporation at a press conference. The global event series MARS premieres November 14 at 8/9c in the U.S. and internationally Sunday November 13 on the National Geographic Channel. (photo credit: National Geographic Channels/Robert Viglasky)
(photo credit: National Geographic Channels/Robert Viglasky)

Mars is going to inevitably draw comparisons to Matt Damon’s recent film, but it need not immediately do so.  In director Everardo Gout’s first episode entitled “Novo Mundo” (“New World” in Portugese), the IMSF (International Mars Science Foundation) has finally found six astronauts to make the trip.  It’s an international crew with members from Nigeria, Spain, Russia, and the US.  Each has their specific specialties that will be necessary as they set up the pre-positioned base camp. And with that, the trip on the spaceship Daedalus begins.  All seems to be going fine until they attempt to enter Mars’ limited atmosphere, when one of the thrusters cannot fire, threatening to end the mission before even setting foot on the planet. Split-second decisions have to be made, and Mission Commander Ben Sawyer (Ben Cotton) makes the biggest one—but physically pays for it. The team lands successfully, but a significant distance away from the camp, increasing the difficulty of the mission.

Interspersed within the episode is a documentary featuring major players in space exploration, technology, and former astronauts (even the author of “The Martian,” Andy Weir, makes an appearance). For this episode, the focus involves how to get people and cargo to space in an economical fashion using reusable spacecraft.  Elon Musk (of Tesla fame) has another company called SpaceX whose goal is to “make life interplanetary.”  They’ve been working on reusable rockets—you may have seen recent stories about their attempts to land one on a floating barge (they’ve been successful a few times, but have failed as well).  If we can’t get this part right, we won’t be able to make it happen.

For the most part, the first episode works.  The situations seem plausible and I appreciated the way Sawyer solves the thruster problem—not creating a solution, but using something that already works. The acting is a bit wooden in places and the IMSF headquarters seems awfully antiseptic in nature, but the tension of the situation reveals itself quite well.  Life on the Red Planet isn’t going to be easy, and I have a feeling we’re about to find out why.  I also think the interspersed documentary segments are interesting and add some nice background for something that is a bit difficult to quantify for the average viewer.  Your mileage may vary, however.

Ben Cotton as Ben Sawyer the American mission commander and systems engineer on the Daedalus. The global event series MARS premieres November 14 at 8/9c in the U.S. and internationally Sunday November 13 on the National Geographic Channel. (photo credit: National Geographic Channels/Robert Viglasky)
(photo credit: National Geographic Channels/Robert Viglasky)

It’s pretty clear that everyday survival is going to be a challenge for the astronauts—even without additional hurdles being added to the equation. But the six humans knew what they were getting into beforehand. They brought mementos from Earth—photos, trinkets, toys—to remind them what they were giving up. This sounds a lot like a conversation a young man had with Jesus one day–he said he would follow him but asked to bury his parents first (This was a euphemism of wanting to live out life before committing to something). Jesus knew this and said, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62 NIV).  This sounds awfully familiar as Mission Commander Sawyer asks the Daedalus crew before launch if there’s anything in the world that is more important than their mission.  If there is, he asks them to leave. He’s sharing the assumed risk of never seeing family or friends again and wants them to understand the full gravity of their calling.  The same goes for following after Christ—there’s a high cost involved (friends, family, life goals), but Christ says it’ll be worth it. To take the journey means not looking back.

Mars is one of those shows that needs to be given a chance simply due to the subject matter involved.  And after the first episode, you might be hooked.  I’m ready to see what happens next—and how in the world we’re going to make it a reality. The future of our species may be at stake.