1 00:00:01,455 --> 00:00:04,285 (Multicom Jingle) 2 00:00:13,140 --> 00:00:16,990 (reverent orchestral music) 3 00:00:16,986 --> 00:00:19,226 - [Narrator] The first manned mission through deep space 4 00:00:19,230 --> 00:00:21,350 is about to reach its final destination: 5 00:00:24,040 --> 00:00:24,870 Mars. 6 00:00:29,841 --> 00:00:33,821 The crew must now prepare for the most dangerous stage 7 00:00:33,820 --> 00:00:36,300 of this perilous expedition: 8 00:00:36,300 --> 00:00:38,970 landing on the surface of the Red Planet. 9 00:00:41,160 --> 00:00:41,990 - Entry, descent, and landing 10 00:00:41,993 --> 00:00:43,563 is obviously the most complicated 11 00:00:43,560 --> 00:00:46,430 'cause it's the most death-defying portion. 12 00:00:46,430 --> 00:00:48,660 - We are go for Mars entry. 13 00:00:48,660 --> 00:00:49,490 - Standby! 14 00:00:51,195 --> 00:00:53,205 In three... 15 00:00:53,208 --> 00:00:54,038 Two... 16 00:00:55,348 --> 00:00:56,178 One! 17 00:00:57,950 --> 00:01:00,150 - Once you start the entry, descent, and landing 18 00:01:00,150 --> 00:01:02,450 through the atmosphere, there's no turning back. 19 00:01:04,272 --> 00:01:05,422 - And when you go, you go, 20 00:01:05,420 --> 00:01:06,950 and you go all the way to the surface. 21 00:01:06,950 --> 00:01:07,780 Very scary. 22 00:01:07,783 --> 00:01:08,713 It happens really quick 23 00:01:08,710 --> 00:01:11,760 because going from the outer top atmosphere of Mars 24 00:01:11,760 --> 00:01:14,350 to the surface is only about six minutes. 25 00:01:14,350 --> 00:01:16,620 - [Man] For entry, descent, and landing, we are roughly-- 26 00:01:16,620 --> 00:01:19,130 - [Narrator] The Americans have dubbed landing on Mars 27 00:01:19,130 --> 00:01:21,440 the Six Minutes of Terror. 28 00:01:21,440 --> 00:01:24,100 Six long minutes when all the controllers 29 00:01:24,100 --> 00:01:26,310 and astronauts can do is wait and pray 30 00:01:26,310 --> 00:01:28,460 that everything does what it's supposed to. 31 00:01:34,178 --> 00:01:37,848 - [Astronaut] Standby for drone deployment! 32 00:01:37,850 --> 00:01:38,850 In three-- 33 00:01:38,850 --> 00:01:40,810 - If you're on your way in and you lose your heat shield, 34 00:01:40,813 --> 00:01:41,943 you have a problem with your heat shield, 35 00:01:41,935 --> 00:01:42,875 that's the end of your mission. 36 00:01:42,880 --> 00:01:43,710 It's gotta work. 37 00:01:43,713 --> 00:01:45,093 It's gotta work the first time. 38 00:01:45,085 --> 00:01:46,995 - [Astronaut] Two, one! 39 00:01:51,828 --> 00:01:53,748 - [Computer] Aeroshell malfunction. 40 00:01:53,752 --> 00:01:55,392 - Fire the rockets! 41 00:01:55,391 --> 00:01:57,811 - [Astronaut] Firing rockets! 42 00:02:01,474 --> 00:02:03,064 We've lost guidance! 43 00:02:03,059 --> 00:02:05,809 (alarms beeping) 44 00:02:08,580 --> 00:02:10,330 - We have one shot to get it right. 45 00:02:11,560 --> 00:02:13,350 Their lives are in our hands. 46 00:02:14,410 --> 00:02:18,080 (reverent orchestral music) 47 00:02:44,250 --> 00:02:45,320 - [Narrator] Landing on Mars 48 00:02:45,320 --> 00:02:47,790 is a complex three-stage process: 49 00:02:49,200 --> 00:02:50,780 entry, 50 00:02:50,780 --> 00:02:52,100 descent, and landing. 51 00:02:53,130 --> 00:02:55,130 Stage one starts when the lander 52 00:02:55,130 --> 00:02:57,250 enters the Martian atmosphere 53 00:02:57,245 --> 00:02:59,805 125 kilometers above the surface 54 00:02:59,810 --> 00:03:01,390 and lasts about two minutes. 55 00:03:03,130 --> 00:03:04,970 The spacecraft is hurdling towards the surface 56 00:03:04,970 --> 00:03:07,600 at 16,000 kilometers an hour, 57 00:03:07,600 --> 00:03:09,600 20 times the speed of a jumbo jet. 58 00:03:16,520 --> 00:03:18,570 Friction heats the air around the outer skin 59 00:03:18,570 --> 00:03:20,200 to 4,000 degrees Celsius; 60 00:03:21,500 --> 00:03:23,390 so hot, the lander appears to be 61 00:03:23,390 --> 00:03:28,280 cutting through the atmosphere like a blowtorch. 62 00:03:28,280 --> 00:03:33,280 - You're basically burning a hole through the sky on Mars, 63 00:03:33,360 --> 00:03:35,290 ionizing the atmosphere as you move through it, 64 00:03:35,290 --> 00:03:39,070 and punching a hole of burnt ionized gas. 65 00:03:39,070 --> 00:03:41,920 And that hot gas is looking constantly 66 00:03:41,919 --> 00:03:44,449 for methods of getting into cracks 67 00:03:44,450 --> 00:03:46,550 and burning the rest of the spacecraft up. 68 00:03:47,500 --> 00:03:49,030 - [Narrator] The only thing that's keeping the crew 69 00:03:49,030 --> 00:03:51,880 from being roasted alive is the aeroshell, 70 00:03:52,730 --> 00:03:53,930 a protective shield 71 00:03:53,930 --> 00:03:57,240 that's covered with a heat-resistant skin. 72 00:03:57,243 --> 00:04:01,033 - [Man] Columbia, Houston; comm check. 73 00:04:01,027 --> 00:04:03,337 Columbia, Houston; UHF comm check. 74 00:04:03,340 --> 00:04:05,400 - [Narrator] The fatal accident of Space Shuttle Columbia 75 00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:07,930 in 2003 was a deadly reminder 76 00:04:07,930 --> 00:04:10,850 of what can happen if the heat shield fails. 77 00:04:10,850 --> 00:04:13,760 - [Man] We are only declaring false locks at this time. 78 00:04:14,640 --> 00:04:15,690 - [Man] I copy, Fido. 79 00:04:19,940 --> 00:04:22,260 - [Narrator] Since that day, engineers around the world 80 00:04:22,260 --> 00:04:25,460 have been working on new kinds of armor to protect the crew. 81 00:04:28,760 --> 00:04:31,890 Neil Cheatwood is an atmospheric entry systems expert 82 00:04:31,890 --> 00:04:34,250 at NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia. 83 00:04:36,080 --> 00:04:38,490 - What I'm standing in front of is the command module 84 00:04:38,490 --> 00:04:42,530 of the Apollo 12 flight. 85 00:04:42,530 --> 00:04:45,140 This is a capsule with a heat shield on it, 86 00:04:45,140 --> 00:04:46,570 because when you come into the Earth's atmosphere 87 00:04:46,570 --> 00:04:49,200 at very high speeds, you generate a lot of heat. 88 00:04:49,200 --> 00:04:50,930 - [Narrator] This heat shield saved the lives 89 00:04:50,930 --> 00:04:54,260 of the Apollo crew reentering Earth's atmosphere, 90 00:04:54,260 --> 00:04:57,870 but the Martian atmosphere poses a much bigger challenge. 91 00:04:57,870 --> 00:04:59,600 - It's kind of the worst of both worlds. 92 00:04:59,600 --> 00:05:02,120 Mars has not enough atmosphere 93 00:05:02,116 --> 00:05:07,116 to land like we land a spaceship on Earth, 94 00:05:07,560 --> 00:05:10,980 but too much atmosphere to land like we do on the moon. 95 00:05:11,891 --> 00:05:14,411 - [Man] Apollo 11, Apollo 11, this is Houston. 96 00:05:14,410 --> 00:05:15,730 How do you read? 97 00:05:15,730 --> 00:05:16,780 - When we landed on the moon, 98 00:05:16,780 --> 00:05:18,660 we had a landing system that was designed 99 00:05:18,660 --> 00:05:21,770 to land on a body that has no atmosphere, 100 00:05:21,770 --> 00:05:23,800 and so we could come up with a shape 101 00:05:23,800 --> 00:05:25,890 that's just totally functional for the landing system. 102 00:05:25,890 --> 00:05:27,290 And so, if you look at the lunar lander, 103 00:05:27,290 --> 00:05:28,590 you can see the legs hanging off of it, 104 00:05:28,590 --> 00:05:29,920 you can see fuel tanks and stuff 105 00:05:29,920 --> 00:05:31,970 because it didn't have to be aerodynamic. 106 00:05:32,970 --> 00:05:36,240 - The lunar module had an outer surface 107 00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:40,590 about the thickness of a can of Coca-Cola; very, very thin, 108 00:05:40,590 --> 00:05:43,210 and that's not enough protection. 109 00:05:43,210 --> 00:05:47,040 On Mars, Mars itself doesn't start at the surface, 110 00:05:47,040 --> 00:05:47,870 it goes way up. 111 00:05:47,873 --> 00:05:49,223 There's all this atmosphere. 112 00:05:49,220 --> 00:05:50,860 It's still only 1% of Earth's. 113 00:05:50,860 --> 00:05:55,020 That's enough for it to create a huge amount of heat 114 00:05:55,020 --> 00:05:57,880 as the vehicle screeches through this atmosphere. 115 00:05:57,880 --> 00:06:01,040 - [Narrator] But this heat shield has a second critical job. 116 00:06:01,040 --> 00:06:04,150 While protecting the crew during the firestorm of entry, 117 00:06:04,150 --> 00:06:05,860 it will also double as a break. 118 00:06:08,070 --> 00:06:11,740 And that's a big job because this lander will be a monster 119 00:06:11,740 --> 00:06:14,490 compared to anything that's ever landed on Mars before. 120 00:06:17,680 --> 00:06:21,220 In 1976, NASA successfully landed 121 00:06:21,220 --> 00:06:23,790 two unmanned probes on Mars. 122 00:06:25,830 --> 00:06:27,460 Each of them weighed one ton, 123 00:06:28,340 --> 00:06:30,330 the equivalent of a Volkswagen Beetle. 124 00:06:33,380 --> 00:06:37,440 A lander carrying humans will weigh up to 60 tons. 125 00:06:37,436 --> 00:06:40,706 That's four times heavier than what landed on the moon. 126 00:06:40,713 --> 00:06:42,143 - And the reason for that 127 00:06:42,140 --> 00:06:45,160 is because they have to stay there longer. 128 00:06:45,160 --> 00:06:48,740 Once they get to Mars, you're not gonna leave in three days. 129 00:06:48,740 --> 00:06:52,030 You're gonna stay there for weeks and weeks and weeks. 130 00:06:52,030 --> 00:06:54,310 Plus, you need to bring all the equipment down 131 00:06:54,310 --> 00:06:55,890 to help you get back home. 132 00:06:55,890 --> 00:06:58,510 - [Narrator] If the heat shield can't slow it down, 133 00:06:58,510 --> 00:07:01,790 the 60-ton lander will crash through the atmosphere 134 00:07:01,790 --> 00:07:03,120 like a freight train. 135 00:07:03,120 --> 00:07:05,140 - If you had a rock and a feather on Earth 136 00:07:05,137 --> 00:07:09,417 and you dropped them, the feather would land after the rock. 137 00:07:09,420 --> 00:07:11,590 Now, on the moon, if you had a rock and a feather 138 00:07:11,590 --> 00:07:14,410 and you let go, there's no atmosphere to slow them down, 139 00:07:14,410 --> 00:07:15,800 so they accelerate at the same rate 140 00:07:15,800 --> 00:07:17,520 and the fall, clunk, together. 141 00:07:17,520 --> 00:07:21,530 We're doing the same thing at Mars as we'd be doing on Earth 142 00:07:21,525 --> 00:07:23,105 in the sense that we want to make our systems 143 00:07:23,110 --> 00:07:24,250 more like a feather. 144 00:07:24,250 --> 00:07:27,070 Large surface area and a small amount of mass 145 00:07:27,070 --> 00:07:28,250 is more like a feather. 146 00:07:28,250 --> 00:07:29,820 - [Narrator] To make them more like a feather, 147 00:07:29,820 --> 00:07:32,470 the one-ton probes use an aeroshell 148 00:07:32,470 --> 00:07:34,280 three-and-a-half meters in diameter. 149 00:07:36,660 --> 00:07:40,680 But a 60-ton human lander would need one 26 meters across, 150 00:07:40,680 --> 00:07:43,060 large enough to swallow up five bungalows. 151 00:07:45,360 --> 00:07:47,080 Now, imagine the rocket you'd need 152 00:07:47,080 --> 00:07:49,420 to get something that big off the ground. 153 00:07:49,420 --> 00:07:50,420 - There's a limit to how big 154 00:07:50,420 --> 00:07:52,620 we can make these rockets, okay? 155 00:07:52,620 --> 00:07:55,010 And, in fact, you don't want to make a rocket 156 00:07:55,010 --> 00:07:56,570 unnecessarily large in diameter 157 00:07:56,570 --> 00:07:57,910 just to accommodate this aeroshell. 158 00:07:57,910 --> 00:08:01,460 So, what we are developing now is an inflatable aeroshell 159 00:08:01,460 --> 00:08:03,330 where you would have a rigid portion like this 160 00:08:03,330 --> 00:08:04,760 that's inside the launch shroud. 161 00:08:04,760 --> 00:08:06,880 And from it then, after you get outta the launch shroud, 162 00:08:06,880 --> 00:08:09,120 you can deploy this inflatable shape. 163 00:08:13,650 --> 00:08:15,860 - [Narrator] In Moscow, Valery Finchenko, 164 00:08:15,860 --> 00:08:19,010 a thermal protection specialist with Luboshken Aerospace 165 00:08:19,010 --> 00:08:20,500 is working on the same idea. 166 00:08:24,100 --> 00:08:25,040 The Russian heat shield 167 00:08:25,040 --> 00:08:27,780 is made of a special mix of organic polymers, 168 00:08:27,780 --> 00:08:31,400 similar to the materials used to make Navy Zodiacs, 169 00:08:31,400 --> 00:08:33,020 but with one huge difference. 170 00:08:33,950 --> 00:08:35,710 To keep the Mars crew alive, 171 00:08:35,710 --> 00:08:38,780 this inflatable is designed to withstand temperatures 172 00:08:38,780 --> 00:08:40,900 four times hotter than molten lava. 173 00:08:46,510 --> 00:08:48,130 - [Translator] Here we use a different substance 174 00:08:48,130 --> 00:08:49,880 to cover the material. 175 00:08:49,880 --> 00:08:52,180 The substance does not burn away. 176 00:08:52,180 --> 00:08:54,160 It evaporates from the surface. 177 00:08:54,160 --> 00:08:57,240 While evaporating, it absorbs the heat from the environment 178 00:08:57,240 --> 00:08:58,990 and maintains the same temperature. 179 00:09:01,840 --> 00:09:04,050 - [Narrator] It's like sweat on human skin, 180 00:09:04,050 --> 00:09:06,160 cooling the body as it evaporates. 181 00:09:07,710 --> 00:09:09,910 Tests show that this protective layer 182 00:09:09,910 --> 00:09:12,250 will only last about three minutes. 183 00:09:12,250 --> 00:09:15,150 But that's long enough to survive the fiery heat of entry. 184 00:09:20,240 --> 00:09:21,670 - [Translator] The inflatable technology 185 00:09:21,670 --> 00:09:24,490 is still in its early stages of development. 186 00:09:24,490 --> 00:09:27,440 However, I believe that this is a breakthrough technology 187 00:09:27,437 --> 00:09:31,977 and the future belongs to it. 188 00:09:34,940 --> 00:09:36,760 - [Narrator] But not everyone agrees. 189 00:09:38,340 --> 00:09:40,010 - There's a surprising amount of resistance 190 00:09:40,010 --> 00:09:44,070 to inflatables in the conservative aerospace community 191 00:09:44,070 --> 00:09:45,640 because they don't have that much experience with it 192 00:09:45,637 --> 00:09:47,767 and they can't point to the designs they've used 193 00:09:47,770 --> 00:09:49,350 for the last 30 years. 194 00:09:49,350 --> 00:09:52,230 But I was literally walking down the hall at JPL once 195 00:09:52,232 --> 00:09:55,992 and talking to some guy, and he said, "Oh, right. 196 00:09:55,987 --> 00:09:58,837 "You wanna go to Mars in a balloon?" 197 00:09:58,840 --> 00:10:00,360 And I said, "Hey, hang on a second. 198 00:10:00,357 --> 00:10:02,077 "If that balloon is made outta the same stuff 199 00:10:02,077 --> 00:10:04,717 "that keeps cops alive when they get shot 200 00:10:04,717 --> 00:10:07,947 "by a high-caliber bullet, then yes, 201 00:10:07,947 --> 00:10:09,797 "I do wanna go to Mars in a balloon." 202 00:10:11,740 --> 00:10:14,860 - Glen Brown, president of Vertigo Aerospace, 203 00:10:14,860 --> 00:10:18,260 believes his inflatables are tough enough to land on Mars. 204 00:10:19,700 --> 00:10:22,750 - The kinds of strength and stiffness 205 00:10:22,750 --> 00:10:27,460 that we estimate are necessary for even the 60-ton landers 206 00:10:27,460 --> 00:10:30,590 are achievable with this type of structure 207 00:10:30,590 --> 00:10:31,620 that we're building today. 208 00:10:31,620 --> 00:10:34,150 Its strength is related to pressure 209 00:10:34,150 --> 00:10:35,970 when you think of inflatables. 210 00:10:35,970 --> 00:10:37,360 And so, if you took an air mattress 211 00:10:37,360 --> 00:10:38,900 and just kept pumping more air in it, 212 00:10:38,900 --> 00:10:42,500 it would swell up and grow until it finally burst. 213 00:10:42,500 --> 00:10:44,820 We take the same thing, in a way, 214 00:10:44,820 --> 00:10:46,990 and we wrap fibers around it. 215 00:10:46,990 --> 00:10:51,180 So, this beam that I'm standing next to here, for instance, 216 00:10:51,180 --> 00:10:54,010 is inflated to 60 psi. 217 00:10:54,010 --> 00:10:58,060 It's about twice what the tires on your car 218 00:10:58,060 --> 00:10:59,330 would be inflated to. 219 00:11:05,600 --> 00:11:08,550 Another good thing about this type of structure 220 00:11:08,550 --> 00:11:11,480 is that it's pretty difficult to actually break. 221 00:11:11,480 --> 00:11:13,470 A structure like this can be designed 222 00:11:13,470 --> 00:11:15,180 and we in fact do design them 223 00:11:15,180 --> 00:11:17,500 to be able to take an overload 224 00:11:17,500 --> 00:11:20,670 and, when that overload is released, to pop back. 225 00:11:20,670 --> 00:11:24,120 So, you really can't break them in the normal sense. 226 00:11:26,880 --> 00:11:29,990 - [Narrator] Strong enough and heat resistant. 227 00:11:29,990 --> 00:11:32,440 Thanks to inflatable technology, 228 00:11:32,440 --> 00:11:33,950 the crew will be able to survive 229 00:11:33,950 --> 00:11:37,050 the first two minutes of those Six Minutes of Terror. 230 00:11:39,454 --> 00:11:40,344 With the aeroshell gone, 231 00:11:40,340 --> 00:11:42,660 they are still blazing through the Martian atmosphere 232 00:11:42,660 --> 00:11:45,770 six times faster than a Formula 1 race car. 233 00:11:45,770 --> 00:11:47,720 They'll need to put the brakes on fast. 234 00:11:48,860 --> 00:11:51,970 And now, the biggest threat is one the crew can't see. 235 00:11:57,040 --> 00:11:59,050 - [Narrator] NASA calls landing on Mars 236 00:11:59,050 --> 00:12:00,920 the Six Minutes of Terror. 237 00:12:03,150 --> 00:12:04,560 So far, the lander has survived 238 00:12:04,560 --> 00:12:06,690 the fiery temperatures of entry, 239 00:12:06,690 --> 00:12:09,590 but now it's just four minutes from impact. 240 00:12:09,588 --> 00:12:11,008 - Two! 241 00:12:11,010 --> 00:12:12,170 One! 242 00:12:12,170 --> 00:12:15,000 - [Narrator] Traveling at over 18,000 kilometers an hour, 243 00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:17,550 the crew needs to slow the capsule down in a hurry. 244 00:12:19,050 --> 00:12:22,440 But here, the Martian atmosphere, or lack of it, 245 00:12:22,440 --> 00:12:24,680 creates a whole new set of problems. 246 00:12:27,490 --> 00:12:30,040 With unmanned probes during the descent stage, 247 00:12:30,040 --> 00:12:32,660 engineers have traditionally used parachutes 248 00:12:32,660 --> 00:12:33,840 to control the speed 249 00:12:33,840 --> 00:12:36,110 as the lander approaches the Martian surface. 250 00:12:37,460 --> 00:12:41,950 - When you take humans and the food and water 251 00:12:41,950 --> 00:12:44,000 and auxiliary equipment 252 00:12:44,000 --> 00:12:46,490 to keep a habitable space for humans, 253 00:12:46,490 --> 00:12:50,280 when you take that to Mars, the vehicle gets so heavy 254 00:12:50,280 --> 00:12:52,360 that we have to make parachutes 255 00:12:52,360 --> 00:12:56,740 that are as big as the Rose Bowl Coliseum here in Pasadena. 256 00:12:56,740 --> 00:12:58,940 They're absolutely huge in diameter, 257 00:12:58,940 --> 00:13:01,650 bigger than anything made by the human race ever. 258 00:13:03,020 --> 00:13:05,620 - [Narrator] Mars has only 1% of Earth's atmosphere. 259 00:13:07,090 --> 00:13:11,290 Even the peak of Mount Everest has 30 times more atmosphere. 260 00:13:11,288 --> 00:13:12,588 And that's not all. 261 00:13:12,587 --> 00:13:15,027 - The Mars winds are cyclonic at times. 262 00:13:15,030 --> 00:13:17,070 They include dust, abrasive dust. 263 00:13:17,070 --> 00:13:20,170 They include chemistry we don't fully understand yet. 264 00:13:20,170 --> 00:13:22,060 - [Narrator] So, an impossibly thin atmosphere 265 00:13:22,060 --> 00:13:23,350 plus the risk of winds 266 00:13:23,350 --> 00:13:27,090 double the speed of a category five hurricane; 267 00:13:27,090 --> 00:13:29,600 hardly ideal conditions to attempt a landing 268 00:13:29,600 --> 00:13:31,040 with a precious human cargo. 269 00:13:33,700 --> 00:13:35,910 - We've come in in this aeroshell 270 00:13:35,910 --> 00:13:39,770 and we've taken out 99% of the kinetic energy. 271 00:13:39,770 --> 00:13:41,700 The next 1% of kinetic energy 272 00:13:41,700 --> 00:13:45,870 is taken out by, typically, a parachute system. 273 00:13:45,870 --> 00:13:47,410 That increases our drag. 274 00:13:47,410 --> 00:13:50,560 We open up a parachute, we increase the drag force 275 00:13:50,560 --> 00:13:53,280 or the aerodynamic forces that slow us down. 276 00:13:53,280 --> 00:13:55,890 The danger typically in those systems 277 00:13:55,890 --> 00:13:58,930 is that the parachute won't open right, correctly, 278 00:13:58,930 --> 00:14:02,100 or it will break when it opens. 279 00:14:02,100 --> 00:14:03,750 Either of those is certain death. 280 00:14:04,830 --> 00:14:06,530 - [Narrator] On Mars, the parachute has to open 281 00:14:06,530 --> 00:14:09,320 at speeds over 1,400 kilometers an hour. 282 00:14:10,200 --> 00:14:12,790 But some of the same stresses can be replicated 283 00:14:12,790 --> 00:14:15,690 at a much slower speed in Earth's denser atmosphere. 284 00:14:16,930 --> 00:14:19,460 Even without the Martian hazards, 285 00:14:19,460 --> 00:14:20,910 the test results aren't good. 286 00:14:28,640 --> 00:14:32,160 - We may choose to try and skirt that problem 287 00:14:32,160 --> 00:14:36,520 by giving up the parachute part of descent 288 00:14:36,520 --> 00:14:39,260 and going straight to using our rocket engines 289 00:14:39,260 --> 00:14:40,970 and our propulsion system. 290 00:14:44,760 --> 00:14:45,830 - [Narrator] Leonid Gorshkov 291 00:14:45,830 --> 00:14:48,300 at Russia's Energia Space Corporation 292 00:14:48,300 --> 00:14:49,830 has already made his decision: 293 00:14:50,740 --> 00:14:52,360 Parachutes are just too risky. 294 00:15:00,177 --> 00:15:01,247 - [Translator] I fervently believe 295 00:15:01,250 --> 00:15:04,170 that the spacecraft should not have to undergo any changes 296 00:15:04,170 --> 00:15:05,700 during that critical window. 297 00:15:08,080 --> 00:15:10,760 Nothing should be unfurled, inflated. 298 00:15:10,760 --> 00:15:13,470 It should land in the same state as it was launched. 299 00:15:18,759 --> 00:15:20,589 - [Narrator] With no parachute to slow them down, 300 00:15:20,590 --> 00:15:21,920 the Russian crew will have to fire 301 00:15:21,920 --> 00:15:23,760 their descent engines much sooner. 302 00:15:25,110 --> 00:15:27,060 But that decision comes with a penalty. 303 00:15:30,070 --> 00:15:32,690 - Now you're talking about carrying a lot more fuel 304 00:15:32,690 --> 00:15:33,930 for the descent engine. 305 00:15:33,930 --> 00:15:35,790 Well, if you're carrying a lot more fuel, 306 00:15:35,790 --> 00:15:39,010 then you've had to expend a lot more energy on Earth 307 00:15:39,010 --> 00:15:41,030 to get that whole thing to Mars. 308 00:15:41,030 --> 00:15:43,880 And of course, there's probably less science payload 309 00:15:43,880 --> 00:15:44,990 onboard the vehicle. 310 00:15:44,990 --> 00:15:46,570 Maybe, in fact, all that extra fuel 311 00:15:46,570 --> 00:15:50,420 has had to leave one or two astronauts in Mars orbit. 312 00:15:50,420 --> 00:15:53,370 - [Narrator] Russia has good reason to be cautious. 313 00:15:53,370 --> 00:15:56,430 80% of its unmanned missions to Mars have failed. 314 00:15:57,760 --> 00:16:00,490 - Mars has been a planet of peril 315 00:16:00,490 --> 00:16:02,690 for landing robotic space vehicles, 316 00:16:02,690 --> 00:16:04,560 and all of us have experienced failures, 317 00:16:04,560 --> 00:16:06,820 from the European colleagues to the Russian colleagues 318 00:16:06,820 --> 00:16:08,130 to the Americans. 319 00:16:08,130 --> 00:16:12,140 - Back in 1999, NASA lost two probes in route to Mars. 320 00:16:12,140 --> 00:16:13,580 One was the Polar Lander, 321 00:16:13,580 --> 00:16:15,270 the other was the Climate Observer. 322 00:16:15,270 --> 00:16:18,330 Due to some very poor mathematics 323 00:16:18,330 --> 00:16:21,130 between two teams of NASA engineers, 324 00:16:21,130 --> 00:16:24,530 they thought the spacecraft was hitting the Mars interface 325 00:16:24,530 --> 00:16:26,190 at about 130 kilometers. 326 00:16:26,190 --> 00:16:28,690 It actually hit the Mars interface at about 60 kilometers, 327 00:16:28,690 --> 00:16:30,930 70 kilometers, burnt up in the atmosphere, 328 00:16:30,930 --> 00:16:32,690 and crashed into the planet. 329 00:16:32,690 --> 00:16:33,750 They just didn't know the difference 330 00:16:33,750 --> 00:16:36,470 between metric and imperial units of measurement. 331 00:16:36,470 --> 00:16:37,600 Not good. 332 00:16:37,600 --> 00:16:40,610 - [Narrator] And this time, there will be lives on the line, 333 00:16:40,610 --> 00:16:41,910 so mistakes will be fatal. 334 00:16:45,460 --> 00:16:46,880 - Those last few minutes 335 00:16:46,880 --> 00:16:50,150 as we come out of hypersonic types of flight 336 00:16:50,150 --> 00:16:52,740 into subsonic safe landings 337 00:16:52,740 --> 00:16:54,710 is where there are so many free variables. 338 00:16:54,710 --> 00:16:57,560 It's that final slam on the brakes 339 00:16:57,560 --> 00:16:59,010 and now you're safely nestled 340 00:16:59,010 --> 00:17:01,460 on this beautiful Mars landscape. 341 00:17:01,460 --> 00:17:03,770 - [Narrator] As if things weren't complicated enough, 342 00:17:03,770 --> 00:17:06,670 their habitat and supplies will have been sent in advance. 343 00:17:07,530 --> 00:17:10,070 So, if the lander doesn't hit a precise target, 344 00:17:10,070 --> 00:17:11,970 the crew will be stranded. 345 00:17:11,970 --> 00:17:14,300 - Unable to pick a landing location due to dust! 346 00:17:14,300 --> 00:17:15,760 - If you're coming in, 347 00:17:15,760 --> 00:17:19,160 you gotta hit that landing ellipse, they call it. 348 00:17:19,160 --> 00:17:21,680 And if you've got stuff already on the surface of Mars, 349 00:17:21,680 --> 00:17:23,050 you gotta land right by it. 350 00:17:23,050 --> 00:17:25,650 If you don't land near that stuff, you're not coming home. 351 00:17:28,610 --> 00:17:29,810 - [Narrator] Landing on Mars 352 00:17:29,810 --> 00:17:33,400 is a complex three-stage process. 353 00:17:33,400 --> 00:17:35,200 So far, the astronauts have survived 354 00:17:35,200 --> 00:17:38,020 the searing heat of entry and maneuvered the lander 355 00:17:38,020 --> 00:17:40,020 through the killer winds during descent. 356 00:17:43,390 --> 00:17:46,390 Now, they have just 90 seconds to find a safe place to land. 357 00:17:47,340 --> 00:17:48,950 - Fire the rockets! 358 00:17:48,950 --> 00:17:50,400 - [Astronaut] Firing rockets! 359 00:17:51,780 --> 00:17:53,730 - [Narrator] But where exactly is that? 360 00:17:56,180 --> 00:17:58,780 In August 2005, NASA launched 361 00:17:58,780 --> 00:18:01,130 the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. 362 00:18:01,130 --> 00:18:03,450 Part of its mission is to take high-resolution images 363 00:18:03,450 --> 00:18:04,570 of the planet. 364 00:18:05,860 --> 00:18:08,320 These photos will help locate landing sites 365 00:18:08,320 --> 00:18:09,740 for future Mars missions. 366 00:18:13,210 --> 00:18:16,680 - MRO will give us the vision to see Mars 367 00:18:16,680 --> 00:18:20,020 for what it will look like for us to find the safe places, 368 00:18:20,020 --> 00:18:22,890 to see the chemistry of the places that we should go visit. 369 00:18:22,890 --> 00:18:25,760 We don't wanna walk into a toxic waste dump on Mars, 370 00:18:25,757 --> 00:18:28,367 but we do wanna go to places that are interesting enough 371 00:18:28,370 --> 00:18:32,410 for human occupation, human exploration, human learning. 372 00:18:32,410 --> 00:18:36,630 So, MRO is going to be our new eye in the sky on Mars. 373 00:18:37,530 --> 00:18:39,910 - [Narrator] Ruslan Kuzmin is a planetary cartographer 374 00:18:39,910 --> 00:18:42,240 who worked with NASA to select landing sites 375 00:18:42,240 --> 00:18:44,890 for the Spirit and Opportunity rover missions. 376 00:18:49,800 --> 00:18:52,440 - [Translator] We cannot just land wherever we like. 377 00:18:52,440 --> 00:18:53,830 We have to be specific 378 00:18:53,830 --> 00:18:55,830 when choosing a landing site for humans. 379 00:18:57,170 --> 00:18:59,220 They will be working on the surface for a while, 380 00:18:59,220 --> 00:19:02,680 and in the future the area might be used to build a base. 381 00:19:09,250 --> 00:19:11,130 - [Narrator] As well as landing near their supplies, 382 00:19:11,130 --> 00:19:13,930 landing in a location where there used to be water 383 00:19:13,930 --> 00:19:16,030 is the top priority for a manned mission. 384 00:19:17,270 --> 00:19:19,210 If there's any life on Mars, 385 00:19:19,210 --> 00:19:21,240 chances are that's where it will be. 386 00:19:22,320 --> 00:19:23,960 NASA is now receiving images 387 00:19:23,960 --> 00:19:25,780 from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter 388 00:19:25,780 --> 00:19:28,540 showing stronger evidence of recent water flow 389 00:19:28,540 --> 00:19:29,820 near Mars' equator. 390 00:19:31,200 --> 00:19:34,870 With this new information, they may soon be able to pinpoint 391 00:19:34,870 --> 00:19:37,170 the perfect landing spot for humans. 392 00:19:39,270 --> 00:19:40,910 So, once we know where to go, 393 00:19:40,910 --> 00:19:43,380 the next challenge is getting the lander down 394 00:19:44,240 --> 00:19:46,190 onto the surface gently. 395 00:19:47,030 --> 00:19:50,270 NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. 396 00:19:51,280 --> 00:19:52,920 Chief engineer Rob Manning 397 00:19:52,920 --> 00:19:56,690 has successfully landed a robotic mission on the Red Planet, 398 00:19:56,690 --> 00:19:58,590 not once but three times. 399 00:20:02,010 --> 00:20:04,330 For the Spirit and Opportunity rovers, 400 00:20:04,330 --> 00:20:06,610 NASA came up with a simple solution 401 00:20:06,610 --> 00:20:10,730 borrowed from the family car: the airbag. 402 00:20:10,730 --> 00:20:12,070 - You might think the airbag system 403 00:20:12,070 --> 00:20:13,870 is very different than the rocket landing, 404 00:20:13,870 --> 00:20:15,690 but they're really very, very similar. 405 00:20:15,690 --> 00:20:16,700 Now, we're thinking about, 406 00:20:16,697 --> 00:20:18,857 "Well, how do you expand these ideas 407 00:20:18,857 --> 00:20:20,727 "to these large systems?" 408 00:20:20,730 --> 00:20:23,670 - [Narrator] An airbag would hit the ground at 40 Gs. 409 00:20:23,670 --> 00:20:25,560 That's about 20 times what you'd feel 410 00:20:25,560 --> 00:20:27,450 on the wildest amusement park ride. 411 00:20:28,870 --> 00:20:29,900 - How do we wanna land people? 412 00:20:29,900 --> 00:20:32,480 We don't wanna land them in airbags at 40 Gs; 413 00:20:32,480 --> 00:20:33,590 they'll pass out. 414 00:20:33,590 --> 00:20:36,050 People pass out in rides at Disney World at two Gs. 415 00:20:36,050 --> 00:20:37,290 - [Narrator] With airbags not an option, 416 00:20:37,290 --> 00:20:39,900 the only choice left is to ease the lander down 417 00:20:39,900 --> 00:20:41,670 using rocket propulsion. 418 00:20:41,670 --> 00:20:43,540 But where there's rocket fire, 419 00:20:43,540 --> 00:20:45,640 there's potential for trouble. 420 00:20:45,640 --> 00:20:48,900 - The way we envision landing men on Mars 421 00:20:48,900 --> 00:20:51,160 is to use the rocket engines 422 00:20:51,160 --> 00:20:53,560 to land us softly on the surface. 423 00:20:53,560 --> 00:20:56,300 It's a lot like the Harrier Jump Jets. 424 00:20:56,300 --> 00:20:58,400 They're actually quite tough to land vertically. 425 00:20:58,400 --> 00:21:01,150 It takes pilots a long time to learn how to do that. 426 00:21:01,150 --> 00:21:03,460 So, you imagine doing that in a gravity field 427 00:21:03,460 --> 00:21:06,320 that you have never been able to practice in. 428 00:21:06,320 --> 00:21:07,460 If you damage the vehicle, 429 00:21:07,460 --> 00:21:09,460 you're not gonna be able to use it to come home. 430 00:21:09,460 --> 00:21:13,190 Unlike the Harrier, if you have a rough landing, 431 00:21:13,190 --> 00:21:14,970 the mechanics come out, they fix it up, 432 00:21:14,970 --> 00:21:16,300 and you're ready to take off again, 433 00:21:16,300 --> 00:21:19,220 we don't have that luxury when we go to Mars. 434 00:21:19,220 --> 00:21:20,150 - [Narrator] And chances are good 435 00:21:20,150 --> 00:21:22,050 that the landing is going to be rough. 436 00:21:23,060 --> 00:21:25,410 The Martian terrain is unforgiving, 437 00:21:25,410 --> 00:21:28,430 full of craters, rocky mountains, and boulders, 438 00:21:29,330 --> 00:21:30,550 reminiscent of the terrain 439 00:21:30,550 --> 00:21:32,330 that NASA encountered on the moon. 440 00:21:34,430 --> 00:21:36,920 - [Man] Apollo 11, Apollo 11, this is Houston. 441 00:21:36,920 --> 00:21:37,750 How do you read? 442 00:21:38,767 --> 00:21:41,317 - [Astronaut] 50 down and two-and-a-half. 443 00:21:41,320 --> 00:21:42,150 19 forward. 444 00:21:44,610 --> 00:21:45,960 Altitude, velocity lights. 445 00:21:47,267 --> 00:21:48,917 Three-and-a-half down to 20 feet. 446 00:21:50,880 --> 00:21:51,750 13 forward. 447 00:21:51,750 --> 00:21:54,290 - As we were getting very close to the moon's surface, 448 00:21:54,290 --> 00:21:57,330 it became very apparent to the astronauts onboard 449 00:21:57,330 --> 00:22:00,180 that where the automated landing sequence was taking them 450 00:22:00,180 --> 00:22:01,970 was not a safe landing site. 451 00:22:01,970 --> 00:22:03,050 It was full of boulders 452 00:22:03,050 --> 00:22:07,350 which were potentially bigger than the lunar module itself. 453 00:22:07,350 --> 00:22:10,190 - [Astronaut] Roger, we're observing the dimpled crater now. 454 00:22:10,190 --> 00:22:12,770 - Our autopilot was taking us into a very large crater 455 00:22:12,770 --> 00:22:16,060 about the size of a big football stadium 456 00:22:16,060 --> 00:22:18,640 with steep slopes on the crater 457 00:22:18,640 --> 00:22:21,790 covered with very large rocks about the size of automobiles. 458 00:22:21,790 --> 00:22:23,130 That was not the kinda place 459 00:22:23,130 --> 00:22:26,040 I wanted to try to make the first landing. 460 00:22:26,040 --> 00:22:27,920 - [Astronaut] 200 feet, four-and-a-half down. 461 00:22:27,917 --> 00:22:28,747 Five-and-a-half down. 462 00:22:28,750 --> 00:22:29,950 - [Narrator] Neil Armstrong had no choice 463 00:22:29,950 --> 00:22:32,250 but to override the onboard computer 464 00:22:32,250 --> 00:22:34,530 and switch to manual control. 465 00:22:34,528 --> 00:22:36,998 - Eagle, Houston; you are go for landing, over. 466 00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:38,600 - But of course, he didn't have 467 00:22:38,596 --> 00:22:41,576 a very large margin of fuel here. 468 00:22:41,580 --> 00:22:43,500 We were getting very close to the surface. 469 00:22:43,500 --> 00:22:45,310 The aim of the exercise at this point 470 00:22:45,310 --> 00:22:46,870 was to get on the ground. 471 00:22:46,870 --> 00:22:48,020 - [Astronaut] Forward. 472 00:22:48,020 --> 00:22:49,320 Forward. 473 00:22:49,320 --> 00:22:51,280 40 feet down, two-and-a-half. 474 00:22:51,280 --> 00:22:52,110 Picking up some dust. 475 00:22:52,113 --> 00:22:53,593 - [Narrator] For the next 30 seconds, 476 00:22:53,590 --> 00:22:55,850 the mission and the lives of the astronauts 477 00:22:55,850 --> 00:22:57,270 hung in the balance. 478 00:22:57,268 --> 00:22:59,548 - [Astronaut] Contact light. 479 00:22:59,550 --> 00:23:01,140 Okay, engine stop. 480 00:23:01,143 --> 00:23:02,483 (inaudible) at a descent. 481 00:23:04,220 --> 00:23:06,620 - [Man] We copy you down, Eagle. 482 00:23:06,618 --> 00:23:08,448 - [Astronaut] Houston. 483 00:23:09,570 --> 00:23:13,270 Tranquility base here, the Eagle has landed. 484 00:23:13,270 --> 00:23:16,390 - [Man] Roger, Tranquility, we copy you on the ground. 485 00:23:16,390 --> 00:23:18,300 You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue. 486 00:23:18,300 --> 00:23:20,100 We're breathing again; thanks a lot. 487 00:23:21,466 --> 00:23:23,716 (cheering) 488 00:23:26,344 --> 00:23:29,844 - [Astronaut] (inaudible) 489 00:23:31,961 --> 00:23:34,901 - It's an interesting place to be. 490 00:23:34,898 --> 00:23:35,728 I recommend it. 491 00:23:37,098 --> 00:23:38,248 God bless you. 492 00:23:38,253 --> 00:23:40,343 Goodnight from Apollo 11. 493 00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:42,650 - [Narrator] It was a close call, 494 00:23:42,650 --> 00:23:45,170 one that NASA doesn't want to repeat on Mars. 495 00:23:47,810 --> 00:23:51,310 So, Bob Richards of Optech Industries in Toronto, Canada, 496 00:23:51,310 --> 00:23:53,940 is testing a new-generation guidance system 497 00:23:53,940 --> 00:23:55,340 that will help the Mars lander 498 00:23:55,340 --> 00:23:58,750 spot dangerous obstacles within seconds. 499 00:23:58,750 --> 00:24:01,090 - One of our problems is there's no GPS on Mars 500 00:24:01,090 --> 00:24:01,920 or any other planet. 501 00:24:01,923 --> 00:24:04,103 We don't have the information infrastructures 502 00:24:04,100 --> 00:24:05,890 on other planets that we have on Earth. 503 00:24:05,890 --> 00:24:09,710 So, when we get to Mars, we don't have any reference frame. 504 00:24:09,710 --> 00:24:11,670 It would be like jumping out of an airplane 505 00:24:11,670 --> 00:24:12,700 with a blindfold. 506 00:24:12,700 --> 00:24:14,030 - [Narrator] So, engineers are counting on 507 00:24:14,030 --> 00:24:16,210 something called LIDAR. 508 00:24:16,210 --> 00:24:19,620 It's like radar, except instead of using radio waves, 509 00:24:19,620 --> 00:24:22,620 it measures distance using beams of light. 510 00:24:22,620 --> 00:24:26,290 - The computer screen shows safe landing sites as green, 511 00:24:26,290 --> 00:24:27,930 that's very safe territory, 512 00:24:27,930 --> 00:24:30,060 and very dangerous areas as red. 513 00:24:30,060 --> 00:24:32,840 So, stay away from the red; that's unsafe. 514 00:24:32,840 --> 00:24:33,670 - [Narrator] Landing on Mars 515 00:24:33,673 --> 00:24:35,803 is like throwing a dart at a moving target. 516 00:24:35,800 --> 00:24:37,330 Figuring out where it will hit 517 00:24:37,330 --> 00:24:39,880 is what engineers like Canadian Jean de LaFontaine 518 00:24:39,880 --> 00:24:42,260 call the uncertainty ellipse. 519 00:24:42,260 --> 00:24:44,360 - The uncertainty ellipse is the area 520 00:24:44,360 --> 00:24:46,810 where we know we will land within it, 521 00:24:46,810 --> 00:24:49,420 but we don't know exactly where within that area. 522 00:24:49,420 --> 00:24:52,070 Typically on Mars right now with current technologies, 523 00:24:52,070 --> 00:24:55,940 it's about 500 kilometer by 100 kilometer wide. 524 00:24:55,940 --> 00:24:57,550 - [Narrator] That's like landing in an area 525 00:24:57,550 --> 00:25:01,220 the size of Costa Rica, but not knowing exactly where. 526 00:25:02,090 --> 00:25:04,690 - If we want to land close to another vehicle, 527 00:25:04,690 --> 00:25:06,800 then we have to be a bit more precise 528 00:25:06,800 --> 00:25:09,420 so that we can correct and get to, 529 00:25:09,420 --> 00:25:13,290 let's say, a kilometer, hopefully a hundred meter 530 00:25:13,290 --> 00:25:15,290 to the target that we want to achieve. 531 00:25:15,290 --> 00:25:16,320 - [Narrator] Most space agencies 532 00:25:16,320 --> 00:25:17,650 will send the Mars hab 533 00:25:17,650 --> 00:25:19,460 and supplies ahead of the crew. 534 00:25:19,460 --> 00:25:20,620 This splits up the weight 535 00:25:20,620 --> 00:25:23,270 and gives engineers a chance to rehearse the landing. 536 00:25:24,850 --> 00:25:28,430 The problem now is putting the second dart in the same spot. 537 00:25:29,670 --> 00:25:32,680 - The second you say that you're gonna put stuff on Mars 538 00:25:32,680 --> 00:25:33,580 ahead of time, 539 00:25:33,580 --> 00:25:35,540 you have no choice but to land near that stuff. 540 00:25:35,540 --> 00:25:37,460 If you're 200 miles off course 541 00:25:37,460 --> 00:25:40,170 and you have no vehicle with you that can travel 200 miles 542 00:25:40,170 --> 00:25:43,000 over the surface of Mars, you're gonna die. 543 00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:45,040 - [Narrator] James Cameron is part of a team at NASA 544 00:25:45,040 --> 00:25:46,890 that's developing a stereo-motion camera 545 00:25:46,890 --> 00:25:49,960 for the Mars Science Laboratory in 2009. 546 00:25:49,960 --> 00:25:53,990 But Cameron is playing with ideas as well as pictures. 547 00:25:53,990 --> 00:25:56,960 He's come up with a unique lander that may solve the problem 548 00:25:56,960 --> 00:26:00,540 of that troublesome uncertainty ellipse. 549 00:26:00,540 --> 00:26:03,340 - It occurred to me, why not land in your rover? 550 00:26:03,340 --> 00:26:05,830 It's already a spacecraft, essentially. 551 00:26:05,830 --> 00:26:08,950 - [Narrator] So, Cameron combined the lander with a rover, 552 00:26:08,950 --> 00:26:11,530 giving the crew a way to get the Mars hab 553 00:26:11,530 --> 00:26:15,310 once they reach the surface, a revolutionary idea 554 00:26:15,310 --> 00:26:18,850 that neither the Russians nor NASA had considered. 555 00:26:18,850 --> 00:26:20,690 - People like Jim Cameron who thought about 556 00:26:20,690 --> 00:26:24,170 exotic, hostile environments bring a new perspective 557 00:26:24,170 --> 00:26:25,920 to the idea of sending machines 558 00:26:25,920 --> 00:26:27,600 and people to places like Mars. 559 00:26:27,602 --> 00:26:28,592 - [Astronaut] We've lost guidance! 560 00:26:28,593 --> 00:26:29,993 - [Narrator] The astronauts are about to hit 561 00:26:29,991 --> 00:26:32,561 the final minute of those Six Minutes of Terror, 562 00:26:33,820 --> 00:26:36,680 60 seconds that will change forever 563 00:26:36,680 --> 00:26:38,560 the way we see our universe. 564 00:26:43,860 --> 00:26:45,260 - [Narrator] The first manned mission to Mars 565 00:26:45,260 --> 00:26:48,530 is just 60 seconds from landing on the Red Planet. 566 00:26:50,910 --> 00:26:53,000 - There are huge challenges that are in front of you. 567 00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:54,100 Will it be a cakewalk? 568 00:26:54,100 --> 00:26:55,580 Will it be easy; no. 569 00:26:55,580 --> 00:26:57,350 But remember, they're very well-trained 570 00:26:57,350 --> 00:27:00,360 to survive the adversity that's in front of them. 571 00:27:00,360 --> 00:27:02,830 - [Narrator] This is the moment they have trained for. 572 00:27:02,830 --> 00:27:04,730 Everything has to work the first time. 573 00:27:05,972 --> 00:27:08,272 - LIDAR unable to find a landing location! 574 00:27:08,270 --> 00:27:10,810 - [Narrator] There'll be no second chances, 575 00:27:10,810 --> 00:27:12,320 no mistakes forgiven. 576 00:27:17,155 --> 00:27:19,815 (alarm beeping) 577 00:27:20,700 --> 00:27:22,340 - The astronauts are under no illusion; 578 00:27:22,340 --> 00:27:23,540 they are in a risky business. 579 00:27:23,540 --> 00:27:25,210 However, let's face it, 580 00:27:25,210 --> 00:27:27,990 things can go terribly, terribly wrong. 581 00:27:27,990 --> 00:27:30,350 We've seen that in the space business before. 582 00:27:30,350 --> 00:27:31,740 We'll probably see it again, 583 00:27:31,740 --> 00:27:33,740 hopefully not on the first trip to Mars. 584 00:27:35,380 --> 00:27:36,210 - Backup system! 585 00:27:37,163 --> 00:27:39,503 - Roger, the backup systems! 586 00:27:42,289 --> 00:27:44,119 Backup system found a landing spot, Captain! 587 00:27:44,123 --> 00:27:45,103 We're good to go! 588 00:27:45,101 --> 00:27:46,411 - Bring it down! 589 00:27:46,412 --> 00:27:47,412 - Copy that! 590 00:27:48,369 --> 00:27:49,869 Engaging! 591 00:27:49,870 --> 00:27:52,160 - [Narrator] Billions of people across the globe 592 00:27:52,160 --> 00:27:54,570 will be glued to their TV sets and radios, 593 00:27:54,570 --> 00:27:56,120 waiting for news from the crew. 594 00:27:57,650 --> 00:27:59,690 Did they survive the Six Minutes of Terror? 595 00:27:59,690 --> 00:28:01,790 Did they crash and burn? 596 00:28:01,791 --> 00:28:05,461 (dramatic orchestral music) 597 00:28:21,016 --> 00:28:24,526 - Now, the signals of what you're doing are being beamed out 598 00:28:24,530 --> 00:28:26,720 and in 11-and-a-half minutes from now 599 00:28:26,720 --> 00:28:28,540 they'll actually get to Earth. 600 00:28:28,540 --> 00:28:30,960 So, the people on Earth don't even know 601 00:28:30,960 --> 00:28:33,910 how well things are going until 11 minutes later. 602 00:28:33,910 --> 00:28:37,450 So, you're very alone. 603 00:28:37,450 --> 00:28:40,120 (pensive music) 604 00:28:47,810 --> 00:28:49,100 - [Narrator] Outside the hatch, 605 00:28:49,100 --> 00:28:51,300 a very hostile planet awaits, 606 00:28:51,300 --> 00:28:53,980 one that humans were not made to live on 607 00:28:53,980 --> 00:28:57,130 and, without the right protection, will definitely die on. 608 00:29:02,080 --> 00:29:05,560 Mars is more barren than the driest desert on Earth. 609 00:29:05,560 --> 00:29:09,270 Its atmosphere is carbon dioxide, poison to human lungs. 610 00:29:11,620 --> 00:29:13,490 The daytime temperature at the equator 611 00:29:13,490 --> 00:29:16,300 may reach a balmy 20 degrees Celsius, 612 00:29:16,300 --> 00:29:18,900 but at night it can plummet to -100. 613 00:29:21,870 --> 00:29:23,540 Then there's the chill factor. 614 00:29:23,540 --> 00:29:27,300 Cyclonic winds whip up huge electrical storms 615 00:29:27,300 --> 00:29:29,350 that scour the terrain for months on end. 616 00:29:32,492 --> 00:29:35,662 (hydraulics whirring) 617 00:29:38,782 --> 00:29:42,282 (uneasy orchestral music) 618 00:30:12,560 --> 00:30:15,500 - [Adam] When we go to Mars, we will have drawn that line, 619 00:30:15,500 --> 00:30:16,920 connected those dots, 620 00:30:16,920 --> 00:30:18,930 and we will have changed the way people are. 621 00:30:20,010 --> 00:30:22,460 That great experience of discovery, 622 00:30:22,460 --> 00:30:24,300 that great realization that we've now added 623 00:30:24,300 --> 00:30:27,100 to the human knowledge about the surface of Mars, 624 00:30:27,100 --> 00:30:30,450 that's an incredibly powerful moment. 625 00:30:30,448 --> 00:30:32,698 (cheering) 626 00:30:44,671 --> 00:30:48,451 - The first time humans set foot on the planet Mars 627 00:30:48,450 --> 00:30:49,710 will be monumental. 628 00:30:49,710 --> 00:30:50,590 It'll be exciting. 629 00:30:50,590 --> 00:30:53,710 It will be the moment in history 630 00:30:53,710 --> 00:30:56,470 where humanity has reached out to another planet, 631 00:30:56,470 --> 00:30:59,930 and you only get one chance to make that first move. 632 00:30:59,930 --> 00:31:02,110 We went to the moon; we've been there. 633 00:31:02,110 --> 00:31:05,040 But now we are about to set foot on Mars. 634 00:31:05,040 --> 00:31:06,960 That will be very special. 635 00:31:08,410 --> 00:31:09,900 - [Narrator] The astronauts won't have much time 636 00:31:09,900 --> 00:31:11,220 to savor it. 637 00:31:11,220 --> 00:31:12,800 They must get to the habitat 638 00:31:12,800 --> 00:31:14,950 that was sent to Mars ahead of the mission. 639 00:31:20,860 --> 00:31:23,420 This 40-ton ship will be the crew's home away from home 640 00:31:23,420 --> 00:31:24,890 for the next 18 months. 641 00:31:29,010 --> 00:31:31,380 With the space of a small two-bedroom apartment, 642 00:31:31,380 --> 00:31:33,180 the crew of six will work, eat, 643 00:31:33,180 --> 00:31:35,160 and sleep in these cramped quarters. 644 00:31:41,860 --> 00:31:44,660 But the crew hasn't come to Mars for the accommodations. 645 00:31:45,690 --> 00:31:47,440 They're here to find signs of life. 646 00:31:50,866 --> 00:31:53,386 (hydraulics whirring) 647 00:31:53,387 --> 00:31:55,277 And that means exploring a place 648 00:31:55,280 --> 00:31:57,850 that's doing its best to kill them. 649 00:31:57,850 --> 00:32:01,260 On top of the poisonous atmosphere and the deadly storms, 650 00:32:01,260 --> 00:32:02,960 there's the lethal radiation. 651 00:32:06,320 --> 00:32:09,390 During solar storms, the sun can send out waves of it 652 00:32:09,390 --> 00:32:11,430 that reach Mars in less than 20 minutes; 653 00:32:14,080 --> 00:32:17,460 radiation so intense it'll punch through a spacesuit 654 00:32:17,460 --> 00:32:20,540 or the wall of a hab like bullets going through paper. 655 00:32:23,430 --> 00:32:25,380 - It does amazing damage 656 00:32:25,380 --> 00:32:28,030 to the top surface layers of your skin. 657 00:32:28,030 --> 00:32:30,630 And if you get subjected to it often enough, 658 00:32:30,630 --> 00:32:34,020 of course, the penetration to more sensitive organs 659 00:32:34,020 --> 00:32:35,630 in your body increases. 660 00:32:37,510 --> 00:32:39,130 - [Narrator] The Mars hab will be insulated 661 00:32:39,130 --> 00:32:41,070 by radiation-absorbing materials, 662 00:32:41,070 --> 00:32:44,390 including a thick polyethylene layer in the walls 663 00:32:44,390 --> 00:32:46,530 and tons of water that will have been lugged 664 00:32:46,530 --> 00:32:47,890 all the way from Earth. 665 00:32:50,050 --> 00:32:52,960 The crew will be safe while they're inside the hab, 666 00:32:52,960 --> 00:32:55,200 but exploring and working on Mars 667 00:32:55,200 --> 00:32:57,320 will be a journey of deadly extremes. 668 00:32:59,000 --> 00:33:01,460 One piece of equipment will make the difference 669 00:33:01,460 --> 00:33:02,780 between life and death. 670 00:33:02,782 --> 00:33:06,452 (dramatic orchestral music) 671 00:33:09,380 --> 00:33:10,800 - [Narrator] Every time the astronauts 672 00:33:10,800 --> 00:33:13,740 step out of the Mars hab, they'll be facing death. 673 00:33:17,400 --> 00:33:20,250 Only the desperately thin layer of their spacesuits 674 00:33:20,250 --> 00:33:22,700 is protecting them from this hostile environment. 675 00:33:25,469 --> 00:33:28,019 (hydraulics whirring) 676 00:33:28,020 --> 00:33:31,760 Nobody has worked on a walking spacesuit since Apollo. 677 00:33:31,760 --> 00:33:34,850 But now, space engineers are taking up the Mars challenge. 678 00:33:38,040 --> 00:33:41,950 Once a year, near Meteor Crater, Arizona, Joe Kosmo, 679 00:33:41,950 --> 00:33:45,230 one of NASA's most experience spacesuit designers, 680 00:33:45,230 --> 00:33:47,160 conducts extensive field tests. 681 00:33:48,360 --> 00:33:49,610 - Essentially, what we're trying to do 682 00:33:49,610 --> 00:33:52,890 is demonstrating the technologies 683 00:33:52,890 --> 00:33:54,900 and the systems that are gonna be necessary 684 00:33:54,900 --> 00:33:56,200 for planetary exploration. 685 00:33:57,620 --> 00:33:58,920 - [Narrator] Today, the team will be testing 686 00:33:58,920 --> 00:34:01,470 one of the most advanced Mars prototype spacesuits. 687 00:34:02,850 --> 00:34:05,980 It's the Mark III, a highly complex machine 688 00:34:05,980 --> 00:34:09,740 with 20,000 parts, twice as many as most cars. 689 00:34:12,860 --> 00:34:14,490 It costs around $10 million. 690 00:34:18,410 --> 00:34:20,700 Think of it as a one-man wearable spaceship 691 00:34:20,700 --> 00:34:22,130 propelled by muscle power. 692 00:34:23,780 --> 00:34:25,770 - You want to give the crew person 693 00:34:25,770 --> 00:34:27,660 that's gonna be on that surface 694 00:34:27,660 --> 00:34:29,460 the greatest mobility that they has. 695 00:34:32,340 --> 00:34:33,700 - [Narrator] The key to the suit's mobility 696 00:34:33,700 --> 00:34:36,660 is a series of joints rotating on ball bearings. 697 00:34:36,660 --> 00:34:39,900 - So, if you're trying to go from one place, here to here, 698 00:34:39,900 --> 00:34:41,590 and you've got lots of different joints, 699 00:34:41,590 --> 00:34:44,330 you've got a side bearing, an upper-arm bearing, 700 00:34:44,330 --> 00:34:46,770 and a wrist bearing, you don't have to follow one path 701 00:34:46,770 --> 00:34:47,970 and remember that path all the time. 702 00:34:47,970 --> 00:34:50,510 You can go wherever you decide you want to 703 00:34:50,508 --> 00:34:51,708 from point A to point B. 704 00:34:52,700 --> 00:34:54,020 - [Narrator] Geologist Dean Eppler 705 00:34:54,020 --> 00:34:55,710 has spent more than a hundred hours 706 00:34:55,710 --> 00:34:57,170 testing the Mark III suit. 707 00:34:59,080 --> 00:35:01,080 It's designed to be user-friendly 708 00:35:01,080 --> 00:35:03,050 with an ingenious rear entry system. 709 00:35:04,520 --> 00:35:06,870 The backpack opens like a refrigerator door 710 00:35:06,867 --> 00:35:08,897 and the astronaut simply eases himself 711 00:35:08,900 --> 00:35:10,300 into a fully-assembled suit. 712 00:35:15,570 --> 00:35:18,000 The suit must be perfectly sealed and then pressurized, 713 00:35:18,003 --> 00:35:21,513 creating a layer of artificial atmosphere around the wearer. 714 00:35:23,000 --> 00:35:24,920 The suit also needs a tough skin. 715 00:35:27,960 --> 00:35:31,260 In Mars' vacuum-like environment, if a large rip occurs, 716 00:35:31,260 --> 00:35:34,160 the air inside could be sucked out so violently 717 00:35:34,160 --> 00:35:37,320 the astronaut's lungs would burst like exploding balloons. 718 00:35:42,940 --> 00:35:46,510 At Meteor Crater, the suit pressurization check is complete 719 00:35:46,510 --> 00:35:48,870 and Dean can start the trials. 720 00:35:48,868 --> 00:35:51,088 - [Amy] Okay, proceed to test point one, please. 721 00:35:51,093 --> 00:35:52,343 - [Dean] Roger. 722 00:35:53,970 --> 00:35:56,770 - [Narrator] Mobility is excellent, but there's a price. 723 00:35:57,860 --> 00:36:00,050 The suit has a weight problem. 724 00:36:00,050 --> 00:36:04,720 With all those metallic bearings, it's a hefty 95 kilograms. 725 00:36:04,720 --> 00:36:05,860 That's like walking around 726 00:36:05,860 --> 00:36:07,610 with a full-grown man on your back. 727 00:36:10,580 --> 00:36:12,720 On Mars, thanks to the lower gravity, 728 00:36:12,720 --> 00:36:15,610 the suit will feel like it weighs only 35 kilograms. 729 00:36:17,170 --> 00:36:19,290 But that's still too much to expect an astronaut 730 00:36:19,290 --> 00:36:20,600 to carry around all day. 731 00:36:22,830 --> 00:36:25,060 - [Dean] This is probably a good place to do a-- 732 00:36:25,060 --> 00:36:26,270 - [Narrator] Joe Kosmo and his team 733 00:36:26,270 --> 00:36:29,010 will have to cut the suit's weight by half or more, 734 00:36:29,010 --> 00:36:30,360 and that's a tall order. 735 00:36:32,277 --> 00:36:35,367 - [Dean] Think how far that we can get. 736 00:36:35,370 --> 00:36:37,600 - [Narrator] The weight problem is why spacesuit designers 737 00:36:37,600 --> 00:36:40,010 at Delaware-based ILC Dover 738 00:36:40,010 --> 00:36:43,170 are experimenting with tougher, lighter fibers 739 00:36:43,170 --> 00:36:46,100 that can still withstand the extreme conditions on Mars. 740 00:36:50,140 --> 00:36:53,260 - The lab that we have here is definitely a torture chamber 741 00:36:53,260 --> 00:36:55,830 to find the limits of those materials 742 00:36:55,830 --> 00:36:57,570 and spacesuit assemblies. 743 00:36:58,870 --> 00:37:01,030 So, there is a product called SuperFabric. 744 00:37:01,030 --> 00:37:04,020 SuperFabric utilizes epoxy-based materials 745 00:37:04,020 --> 00:37:05,690 that are like little armor plating 746 00:37:05,690 --> 00:37:08,520 to allow the material to be locally flexible, 747 00:37:08,520 --> 00:37:11,530 but, in this case, globally stiff and protective. 748 00:37:11,531 --> 00:37:13,941 - Okay, and I have a pretty heavy grit sandpaper in here, 749 00:37:13,942 --> 00:37:16,312 so let's just see what happens. 750 00:37:16,310 --> 00:37:19,510 - [Narrator] SuperFabric is 14 times more cut-resistant 751 00:37:19,510 --> 00:37:22,270 than medium-weight leather, making it one of the toughest 752 00:37:22,270 --> 00:37:24,160 flexible materials in the world. 753 00:37:25,720 --> 00:37:27,510 Resilient enough for Mars. 754 00:37:27,510 --> 00:37:29,000 But design engineer Keith Splawn 755 00:37:29,000 --> 00:37:32,900 wonders if the thin SuperFabric gloves are warm enough. 756 00:37:32,900 --> 00:37:34,700 - 'Cause fingertips get cold easily. 757 00:37:35,980 --> 00:37:38,600 - [Narrator] The lowest temperature ever recorded on Earth 758 00:37:38,600 --> 00:37:41,030 is -87 degrees Celsius. 759 00:37:41,990 --> 00:37:44,520 On Mars, that kind of cold is considered normal, 760 00:37:46,760 --> 00:37:49,510 so just handling a rock or a metal tool 761 00:37:49,510 --> 00:37:51,390 could cause severe frostbite. 762 00:37:55,060 --> 00:37:58,250 Keith himself will be testing his new design firsthand 763 00:37:58,250 --> 00:37:59,880 by grabbing an aluminum bar 764 00:37:59,880 --> 00:38:03,220 frozen down to -150 degrees Celsius. 765 00:38:04,280 --> 00:38:05,940 To pass the test, 766 00:38:05,940 --> 00:38:08,340 the new gloves will have to protect Keith's hand 767 00:38:08,340 --> 00:38:10,600 from the intense cold for at least 30 seconds. 768 00:38:10,600 --> 00:38:12,500 - Yeah, the suit fit is perfect today. 769 00:38:13,610 --> 00:38:15,690 - [Narrator] Toughing this aluminum bar barehanded 770 00:38:15,690 --> 00:38:17,640 would cause as much skin damage 771 00:38:17,640 --> 00:38:19,900 as plunging your hand into boiling water. 772 00:38:24,930 --> 00:38:26,630 - Temperatures are still in range. 773 00:38:29,350 --> 00:38:30,380 Do you have any discomfort, Keith? 774 00:38:30,380 --> 00:38:31,920 Everything feeling okay in your hand? 775 00:38:31,920 --> 00:38:33,610 - No discomfort right now. 776 00:38:33,610 --> 00:38:35,760 - All right, temperatures are looking good. 777 00:38:37,970 --> 00:38:42,800 Bar temperature's currently -180 degrees Fahrenheit. 778 00:38:43,967 --> 00:38:48,967 Are you okay? - Feeling good. 779 00:38:49,017 --> 00:38:50,787 - All your fingertips are looking okay. 780 00:38:50,790 --> 00:38:52,550 You have one going a little low, 781 00:38:52,550 --> 00:38:55,590 roughly 56 degrees Fahrenheit. - [Keith] There you go, 50. 782 00:38:55,590 --> 00:38:57,760 - 50 degrees, remove hand. - Okay. 783 00:38:58,750 --> 00:39:01,080 - [Man] Very good, Keith; good test. 784 00:39:01,080 --> 00:39:01,910 - [Narrator] The test proves 785 00:39:01,913 --> 00:39:03,443 that the thin SuperFabric gloves 786 00:39:03,440 --> 00:39:05,860 are as warm as the old bulkier designs. 787 00:39:05,864 --> 00:39:06,704 - [Man] How you doin'? 788 00:39:06,697 --> 00:39:09,147 They feeling pretty cold? 789 00:39:09,150 --> 00:39:11,000 - [Narrator] Back at Meteor Crater, 790 00:39:11,000 --> 00:39:13,520 the Mark III spacesuit completes another test run. 791 00:39:19,485 --> 00:39:20,705 - Mobility's excellent. 792 00:39:20,710 --> 00:39:22,260 Basically, I can move in the suit 793 00:39:22,260 --> 00:39:24,610 like I move in a suit of clothes. 794 00:39:24,610 --> 00:39:26,350 - You don't wanna go and do exploration 795 00:39:26,350 --> 00:39:28,280 and find it doesn't work once you get there. 796 00:39:28,280 --> 00:39:32,120 Better here than on Mars. (laughing) 797 00:39:32,120 --> 00:39:33,770 - [Narrator] This suit will have to be perfect 798 00:39:33,770 --> 00:39:37,330 because Mars has another nasty surprise in store: 799 00:39:37,330 --> 00:39:40,210 dust cyclones up to five times larger 800 00:39:40,210 --> 00:39:42,220 than a full-blown tornado on Earth. 801 00:39:44,640 --> 00:39:46,490 What are the chances of survival 802 00:39:46,490 --> 00:39:49,060 if an astronaut is swallowed up in one of these? 803 00:39:52,640 --> 00:39:54,990 - [Narrator] On Mars, the most active natural force 804 00:39:54,990 --> 00:39:55,820 is the wind. 805 00:39:56,950 --> 00:40:00,090 For astronauts, it could also be the most dangerous. 806 00:40:01,153 --> 00:40:03,583 (wind whirring) 807 00:40:03,580 --> 00:40:05,080 On Earth, a dust devil can swell 808 00:40:05,080 --> 00:40:06,530 to the size of a skyscraper. 809 00:40:08,360 --> 00:40:12,160 On Mars, they can be as wide as a city block, 810 00:40:12,160 --> 00:40:13,760 as tall as Mount Everest. 811 00:40:15,490 --> 00:40:17,890 But it's not the size that makes them dangerous. 812 00:40:20,150 --> 00:40:22,750 It's what you can't see that really does the damage. 813 00:40:27,430 --> 00:40:29,900 On a windswept field in Arizona, 814 00:40:29,900 --> 00:40:33,670 a team of researchers gets set to go hunting dust devils. 815 00:40:33,670 --> 00:40:35,600 - We're trying to get a full picture 816 00:40:35,600 --> 00:40:39,210 of what these dust devils are and what they're made out of. 817 00:40:39,210 --> 00:40:41,600 - [Narrator] The idea is to study the devils we know 818 00:40:41,600 --> 00:40:43,940 to be ready for the big ones on Mars. 819 00:40:49,600 --> 00:40:50,810 - The reason what we're doing here 820 00:40:50,810 --> 00:40:54,750 is important to the future of manned Mars exploration 821 00:40:54,750 --> 00:40:58,900 is dust and dust devils could be a hazard. 822 00:40:58,900 --> 00:41:00,160 These could be highly-charged, 823 00:41:00,160 --> 00:41:02,400 could be dangerous to electrical equipment. 824 00:41:02,400 --> 00:41:05,460 Could be a death knell for a manned crew, certainly. 825 00:41:05,460 --> 00:41:07,630 If they aren't aware of it, that could be a problem. 826 00:41:07,630 --> 00:41:10,940 - [Narrator] Steven Metzger lives to chase dust devils. 827 00:41:10,940 --> 00:41:14,320 His ride is part pursuit vehicle, part mobile lab, 828 00:41:14,320 --> 00:41:16,620 with three complete weather stations. 829 00:41:17,955 --> 00:41:20,555 (engine rumbling) 830 00:41:20,560 --> 00:41:22,760 My dust devil chase truck, Dasher, 831 00:41:22,760 --> 00:41:25,440 is all about getting out into a dust devil, 832 00:41:25,440 --> 00:41:27,060 'cause they don't come to us, 833 00:41:27,060 --> 00:41:30,920 and from the ground on up, right close to the ground, 834 00:41:30,920 --> 00:41:32,950 figure out wind speed and direction, 835 00:41:32,950 --> 00:41:34,980 humidity, temperature, pressure. 836 00:41:35,930 --> 00:41:37,470 - [Narrator] Another team joins the hunt 837 00:41:37,470 --> 00:41:40,320 to study the same dust devil from a different angle. 838 00:41:41,480 --> 00:41:43,890 They're using a powerful LIDAR system 839 00:41:43,890 --> 00:41:46,660 that fires an astonishing 20 million flashes 840 00:41:46,660 --> 00:41:47,960 of laser light per second. 841 00:41:50,680 --> 00:41:53,390 It can detect the position and speed of dust devils 842 00:41:53,390 --> 00:41:55,150 up to seven kilometers away. 843 00:41:58,280 --> 00:42:01,350 The two teams try to zero in on the same dust devil, 844 00:42:01,350 --> 00:42:03,950 but nobody knows where the next big one will appear. 845 00:42:05,254 --> 00:42:08,144 - [Man] Steve, do you see the big red barn to the left? 846 00:42:09,002 --> 00:42:12,422 - Well, that definitely classifies as a major dust devil. 847 00:42:13,291 --> 00:42:17,101 That's the monster I wanted to catch. 848 00:42:17,100 --> 00:42:18,630 Is the laser on? 849 00:42:18,631 --> 00:42:19,981 Get it; yeah, yeah, yeah. 850 00:42:19,976 --> 00:42:22,636 (wind whirring) 851 00:42:29,690 --> 00:42:31,970 - [Narrator] Data pours in, and the results are startling. 852 00:42:37,030 --> 00:42:39,140 Wind speeds inside the dust devil 853 00:42:39,140 --> 00:42:41,280 are comparable to a force-one hurricane. 854 00:42:42,930 --> 00:42:44,980 And the column of dust it's carrying 855 00:42:44,980 --> 00:42:46,840 weighs as much as a midsize car. 856 00:42:50,440 --> 00:42:53,630 That means one of those giant dust devils on Mars 857 00:42:53,630 --> 00:42:56,320 could whip up a massive five tons of dust 858 00:42:56,320 --> 00:42:57,900 as fine as baking powder. 859 00:43:00,920 --> 00:43:03,130 - You could have a lot of mechanical wear 860 00:43:03,130 --> 00:43:04,740 where the dust gets into gears 861 00:43:04,740 --> 00:43:05,850 and your spacesuit breaks down. 862 00:43:05,850 --> 00:43:07,790 You're not gonna be able to go out and explore, 863 00:43:07,790 --> 00:43:09,400 which is the main reason you wanna go there 864 00:43:09,400 --> 00:43:11,160 in the first place. 865 00:43:11,160 --> 00:43:12,690 - [Narrator] But the most disturbing find 866 00:43:12,690 --> 00:43:14,040 is the electrical activity. 867 00:43:15,360 --> 00:43:18,210 It's a thousand times greater inside the dust devil 868 00:43:18,210 --> 00:43:19,610 than in the surrounding air. 869 00:43:21,100 --> 00:43:23,930 Swirling dust particles rub against each other, 870 00:43:23,930 --> 00:43:26,040 turning the dust devil into a generator, 871 00:43:26,040 --> 00:43:28,250 producing enough static electricity 872 00:43:28,250 --> 00:43:31,490 to destroy most integrated circuits 10 times over. 873 00:43:34,420 --> 00:43:37,440 So, the much bigger dust devils on Mars 874 00:43:37,440 --> 00:43:41,360 could pack a lethal punch, shorting spacesuit electronics. 875 00:43:45,470 --> 00:43:47,540 An astronaut might pick up thousands of volts 876 00:43:47,540 --> 00:43:50,760 of static energy waiting to discharge violently 877 00:43:50,760 --> 00:43:51,930 at the slightest touch. 878 00:43:55,840 --> 00:43:58,070 For a spacesuit life-support system, 879 00:43:58,070 --> 00:43:59,980 that could be devastating. 880 00:43:59,977 --> 00:44:04,097 (electricity crackling) 881 00:44:04,100 --> 00:44:07,080 By detecting the wind patterns that trigger dust devils, 882 00:44:07,080 --> 00:44:09,470 the LIDAR technology being tested here 883 00:44:09,470 --> 00:44:11,870 could be an early-warning system for astronauts. 884 00:44:14,360 --> 00:44:15,970 - I believe that the type of instruments 885 00:44:15,970 --> 00:44:17,920 we've been testing here are actually gonna be on 886 00:44:17,920 --> 00:44:22,330 either Mars orbiters or Mars landers so that we can prepare 887 00:44:22,330 --> 00:44:25,710 for that eventual first human mission to Mars. 888 00:44:30,740 --> 00:44:32,900 - [Narrator] Since their terrifying landing, 889 00:44:32,900 --> 00:44:35,520 the crew has had to confront a hostile planet 890 00:44:35,520 --> 00:44:37,920 pushing their life-support systems to the limit. 891 00:44:40,370 --> 00:44:43,010 Now, they must embark on the ultimate mission: 892 00:44:43,860 --> 00:44:45,740 the search for life on Mars. 893 00:44:47,520 --> 00:44:51,750 - It's almost unthinkable to imagine anything like life 894 00:44:51,750 --> 00:44:55,560 as we now know it to have developed or to exist on Mars. 895 00:44:56,430 --> 00:44:59,190 - [Narrator] It will be a difficult and dangerous search, 896 00:44:59,190 --> 00:45:02,580 taking astronauts deep under the surface of Mars. 897 00:45:04,680 --> 00:45:06,950 The answer to the greatest mystery of all 898 00:45:06,950 --> 00:45:08,470 could be within our reach, 899 00:45:10,350 --> 00:45:13,610 unless the Red Planet decides otherwise. 900 00:45:13,611 --> 00:45:18,051 (dramatic orchestral music) 901 00:45:18,054 --> 00:45:21,724 (reverent orchestral music) 902 00:46:04,519 --> 00:46:07,349 (Multicom Jingle)