Objectif Mars

4.5/5

Année : 2007

Nombre de saisons : 1

Durée moyenne d'un épisode : 60 minutes

Genre(s) : Documentaire

The countdown has begun for the 21st century’s most heroic and potentially deadliest expedition. A manned mission to Mars has been the dream of scientists for decades – and now “Mars Rising” explores that dream and the challenges being faced by international space agencies and in laboratories. More than 300 scientists from Canada, the United States, Europe, Chile and Russia have contributed to “Mars Rising,” a six-part documentary series and a companion to the expedition series “Race to Mars.” The quest to the secrets of the universe begins – on Mars. “Mars Rising” offers a comprehensive examination of the challenges, the obstacles, the fears and the successes of the mission and experts with diverse backgrounds and nationalities contributed their knowledge to this series. Producers Galafilm secured unprecedented co-operation from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Canadian Space Agency, the European Space Agency and various Russian space agencies and contractors like Energia, gaining access to top personnel and up-to-the-minute prototypes. Over 300 scientists were consulted for the series and more than 60 experts, including former and current astronauts, appear on camera. Critical subjects covered include spaceship design, possible trajectories, rocket fuel, finding new life forms, new thoughts on astronaut selection and training, space suit engineering, medical training for deep space, blasting through Mars’ atmosphere, life support systems and robotics. “Mars Rising” was shot in High Definition in 48 locations over a period of almost two years, from March 2005 to January 2007, filming for an unprecedented 140 days. Crews were dispatched to Russia, Europe, the United States, China, Chile and across Canada, including the Canadian Arctic. Various crews spent a total of 32 days in Russia, filming at Energia, Lavochkin, IBMP and Star City. At the height of filming in August 2005, four separate film crews were working simultaneously in the U.S. and Russia. And all of this travelling means that audiences will be taken by helicopter to Chile’s Atacama Desert, the driest place on Earth; underwater in Pavilion Lake, British Columbia; underground in Sudbury, Ontario; and the Four Window Caves in New Mexico and the Mars-like terrain of the Arctic’s frigid Devon Island.

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Épisode 2 - Rocket Power

8 octobre 2007 - 5/5

The spacecraft that will take a crew, their equipment and enough fuel for the 56-million-kilometre journey to Mars will be assembled – in space. This requires a major leap of technology. The record of success isn’t good: between them, the U.S. and Russia have sent 38 unmanned probes and satellites to the Red Planet – and 22 have ended in failure. Once on its trajectory, the crew will not be able to re-engineer or modify any component of the plans and procedures for the flight to, the exploration of, or the return from Mars. Engineers must get it all right the first time. Or the astronauts will die. In 1957, famed scientist Werner Von Braun created a scenario for an exploratory voyage to Mars and, amazingly, current scientists still respect its basic architecture. Components of a Mars spaceship will be launched and then assembled in Earth’s orbit. Only when the spacecraft is completed will the crew be sent from Earth. When the spacecraft reaches the outer atmosphere of Mars, a transfer vehicle will take the astronauts on the short but terrifying final sprint to the surface of the Red Planet. The U.S. is developing the Ares V rocket to carry an estimated 100 metric tons of cargo per launch. It may take 10 rocket launches, each requiring 4.3 million kilograms of thrust and a velocity of 11 kilometres-per-second to send sufficient supplies. An alternate scenario has the tons of equipment and supplies needed to sustain the astronauts sent to Mars ahead of the manned spacecraft. Canadian Academy Award-winner James Cameron, a member of NASA’S advisory council, has a controversial proposal: reduce mass by taking only enough fuel to fly one way and manufacture fuel on Mars for the return trip. Other fuel system ideas currently being researched include thermo-nuclear propulsion systems and a laser-like beam of super-heated charged particles. Russian scientists are developing Klipper, a winged spacecraft to take the crew on the trip from Earth to the Mars spaceship. The U.S. is creating CEV (Crew Exploration Vehicle) which will be tested on flights to the moon. The European Space Agency is also in the race. All the scientists agree that landing a crewed mission on Mars will take a worldwide effort – and that there will be an international crew on board when the rocket blasts off. Jerry Linenger Dr. Jerry Linenger is a retired NASA astronaut. He received a bachelor degree in bioscience from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1977, a doctorate in medicine from Wayne State University in 1981, a master of science in systems management from University of Southern California in 1988, a master of public health in health policy from the University of North Carolina in 1989 and a doctorate in epidemiology from the University of North Carolina in 1989. Dr. Linenger joined the astronaut corps in 1992. In 1994 he flew aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery. Following his first mission, he began training at the Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, in preparation for a long-duration stay aboard the Russian Space Station Mir. In 1997, Dr. Linenger launched aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis and docked with the International Space Station, remaining in space for 132 days and 4 hours, the longest duration flight of an American male at that time. Dave Williams Dr. Dafydd (Dave) Rhys Williams has degrees in biology and physiology and a Doctorate of Medicine and Master of Surgery, all from McGill University. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons and of the College of Family Physicians of Canada. After training as an astronaut with the Canadian Space Agency, he launched aboard the 16-day flight of Space Shuttle Columbia in 1998. He orbited the earth 256 times, covered 10-million kms, spending over 380 hours in space. Williams was Director of the Space and Life Sciences Directorate at the Johnson Space Center 1998–2002, the first non-American to hold a NASA senior management position. In 2001 he joined the NEEMO 1 program as an Aquanaut on Aquarius, the world’s only underwater research laboratory, becoming the first Canadian to live and work both in space and under the ocean. He was crew commander of the NEEMO 9 (2006) mission to find new ways to deliver medical care on a long space flight. Williams is currently training at the Johnson Space Center for his second venture into space, on the Shuttle Endeavor, slated to launch August, 2007. He is expected to make three space walks during that mission.

Épisode 3 - Staying Alive

14 octobre 2007 - 5/5

Preparing and protecting the human body in deep space may be a greater challenge than all the technological factors in planning a mission to Mars. Living together in a confined environment for up to three years, the six astronauts will become each others’ caregivers. They will face zero gravity with its debilitating effect on muscle and bone mass; solar storms; inescapable cosmic radiation – microscopic particles piercing the skin of the spacecraft and penetrating the bodies of those inside can cause brain damage and cancer. Retired U.S. astronaut and medical doctor Jerry Linenger describes the loss of 65 per cent of his muscle power. For Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor and retired astronaut Jeffrey Hoffman, cosmic radiation felt like “fireworks in my brain.” The intensity of cosmic rays experienced by astronauts on the Mars mission will be greater than that experienced by earlier astronauts and could damage their learning and memory – vital on the journey to Mars. Laurence Young, Apollo Program Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics with MIT, is developing a method to produce artificial gravity on Earth. Astronauts must be prepared to combat the de-conditioning that goes with long duration weightlessness. Astronauts are training under the ocean and in virtual worlds. If there’s an accident on the long hazardous journey to Mars, the nearest ER is millions of kilometres away back on Earth. Even something as simple as a broken bone can be fatal. The astronauts will have to learn new medical and surgical skills to be able to operate in space. Space walks are always dangerous, whether they happen in Earth's orbit or in deep space. A solar storm would be lethal to an astronaut caught outside. A new protective spacesuit must be engineered. Solar storms, high energy particles packing millions of volts transmitted from the sun, can also play havoc with delicate instruments. A protective shield must be developed for the spacecraft as well. The astronauts chosen for the Mars Mission will be subject to DNA examination. In future, an astronaut’s genes may be altered to ensure he/she is the best possible candidate. The strongest – and the weakest – link of any successful mission to Mars remains the crew. Keeping the astronauts alive is the number one priority.

Épisode 4 - The Human Factor

21 octobre 2007 - 5/5

The greatest test of the human mind will be the projected almost three-year manned mission to Mars and back. Mental breakdown, sexual tension, near-suicide and mutiny have already taken place on shorter Earth orbit and space travel missions. The Achilles’ heel of the Mars mission may be the human factor. Crew selection is perhaps the most critical of choices. At the start of space exploration, NASA selected military test pilots for missions – in the 1960s, one died per week. In the 1980s, scientists and schoolteachers were chosen to orbit Earth. Today, psychiatrists delve into the human psyche to discover the necessary attributes for a successful 21st century astronaut. The Russians have the most experience in long missions. They test candidates by keeping them isolated and awake for days of non-stop repetitive tasks to duplicate the numbing mindless routine of months of space travel. Life onboard will be crowded, noisy and dirty. There will be no water for showering and astronauts will drink their own purified urine. Noise, workload and disrupted circadian rhythms all cause sleep deprivation. Boring and repetitive food saps psychological and physical energy. What’s NASA cooking up for its crews? Sex in space is a possibility with a mixed crew in close quarters. NASA says that is OK and natural, but different nationalities and customs may give rise to misunderstanding and friction. Isolation and confinement can bring out strong emotions, even violence. Sedation and restraint could be necessary. Family problems on Earth could affect an astronaut’s ability to function. New methods of psychological assessment such as software that examines facial movements for signs of emotional disturbance are being tested. Six months of boredom while travelling through space will be followed by six minutes of an astronaut’s life’s most intense activity and terror during the dangerous descent through Mars’ atmosphere. Training a crew to cope with the psychological pressure of his/her imminent death is a major hurdle. Four personality types have been identified as the most perfect for a Mars mission: the driver, the analyst, the motivator and the relationship builder. Thus far, there has only been a 50 per cent success rate for landing un-manned spacecraft on Mars. Landing a manned craft is even more dangerous. The crew must face that grim reality.

Épisode 5 - Six Minutes of Terror

28 octobre 2007 - 5/5

The most perilous part of the journey to the Red Planet is the six minutes it will take to travel from the top of the Mars atmosphere to its surface – the six minutes of terror. Landing on Mars is a complex three-step process: entry, descent and landing. Entry into Mars’ atmosphere begins 125 kms above the surface and lasts about two minutes, with the spacecraft hurtling towards Mars at about 16,000 kms an hour. Only a specially designed inflatable aeroshell outside the Mars Lander will protect the capsule and its occupants from a friction created temperature of 4,000 Celsius. The heat shield must also act as a brake. NASA Chief Engineer Rob Manning explains the particular problem of Mars – it does not have enough atmosphere for a spaceship to emulate a landing on Earth – and yet it has too much atmosphere to simulate a moon landing. Within the first two minutes of descent, the heat shield will reduce the craft’s kinetic energy by 90 per cent, and, typically, a parachute system is deployed to further decrease speed. But recent test results have not been good and designer Leonid Gorshkov at Russia’s Energia Space Corporation has decided parachutes are too risky. The Russians are experimenting with descent engines. At the final stage, the astronauts have about 90 seconds to find a landing site that is not only safe but has, or has had, water. Only on such a site can past or present life forms be discovered. In 2005, NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter took high-resolution images of the planet to help locate future landing sites. Bob Richards of Optech Industries in Toronto is testing a new generation guidance system, Lidar, which will help the Mars Lander spot obstacles within seconds with a colour-coding radar-like system. Most space agencies plan to send a 40-ton Habitat to Mars ahead of the crew. The astronauts must land close to that advance module, their supply base for 18 months. If they fail to do so, they will die. Filmmaker James Cameron offers an interesting solution. Every time an astronaut steps out of the Habitat, only their spacesuits will protect them from Mars’ hostile environment. A current prototype flexible suit has 20,000 parts, costs $10- million dollars and weighs 95 kilos – too heavy a load. It must protect the astronauts from organ-damaging radiation, penetrating fine dust, dangerous electrical storms and the carbon dioxide of the Mars atmosphere. It is only after the crew are safely on the planet’s surface that the real purpose of the mission can begin – the search for life on Mars

Épisode 6 - Search for Life

4 novembre 2007 - 5/5

The journey to Mars and the search for life on another planet is the most dangerous and compelling mission in the history of space exploration. Bacteria are the most basic and the hardiest life form. And, either still living or now dead, bacteria are one of the things astronauts will be looking for on the Red Planet. In preparation for the challenges of Mars, scientists are searching for bacteria in the driest and most barren places on Earth. The temperature, valley networks and well-preserved large-impact craters on Devon Island in Canada’s Arctic echo those on Mars. And, 90 per cent of the rocks on Devon Island have bacteria growing on their underside. Canadian scientist Darlene Lim, a member of the NASA Haughton Mars Project Team, explains her contention that the most primitive forms of life to be discovered on Mars might be carbonate formations similar to those in British Columbia’s Pavilion Lake. Chile’s Atacama Desert has had little rain in the last 10 million years making it the oldest and driest desert on our planet. Yet the Atacama yields fluorescent minerals and organic matter. Might ultra-violet headlights on a Mars Rover illuminate life forms which are invisible to us in daylight? Geophysicist Pascal Lee theorizes that “it might merely be that we are members of the same family spread over two planets.” Canadian chemist Alison Skelley is searching for amino acids, one of the building blocks of life, with an ultra-sensitive Mars Organic Analyzer. Bacterial super bugs that once lived on the surface of Mars may have migrated underground, protected from dust and radiation, where only drilling can find them. In addition to drilling for liquid water, the astronauts will search the caves formed by volcanic lava tubes that have been identified on Mars’ surface. Similar tubes exist in New Mexico where, deep underground, Penelope Boston has discovered white bacterial formations living in near freezing droplets of water, feeding off rock. Martian bacteria may be hazardous to humans and cause contagion on Earth. Every precaution must be exercised while transporting samples from the Red Planet. After 18 months searching for life on Mars, the crew must return on a tight schedule with Earth and Mars in the proper alignment. Will their landing capsule be capable of returning the astronauts to the orbiting Mars mothership? If the capsule does not make its scheduled departure, its crew is doomed.

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