Mars (American TV series)

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

Mars
Genre	Docudrama
Created by	Ben Young Mason Justin Wilkes
Based on	How We'll Live on Mars by Stephen Petranek
Developed by	Ben Young Mason André Bormanis Mickey Fisher Karen Janszen Jonathan Silberberg
Starring	Ben Cotton Alberto Ammann Anamaria Marinca Clementine Poidatz Jihae Sammi Rotibi
Composers	Nick Cave Warren Ellis
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	6
Production
Executive producers	Ron Howard Brian Grazer Michael Rosenberg Justin Wilkes Everardo Gout Tommy Turtle Jonathan Silberberg Lorenzo Mieli Dave O'Connor Jon Kamen
Running time	47 minutes
Production companies	Imagine Entertainment RadicalMedia
Original release
Network	National Geographic
Release	November 14 (2016-11-14) – December 19, 2016 (2016-12-19)

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

The series is based on the 2015 book How We'll Live on Mars by Stephen Petranek. The narrative alternates between the years 2016, 2033 and 2037, using 2016 interviews to explain events unfolding in the story. The series was filmed in Budapest and Morocco.

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

On January 13, 2017, National Geographic announced it was renewing the series for a second season.

Plot

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

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

Cast

The cast for the fictional part of the first season includes:

• Ben Cotton as Ben Sawyer, American mission commander and systems engineer.
• Jihae Kim as
  • Hana Seung, American mission pilot and systems engineer, later mission commander, and
  • Joon Seung, her twin sister and CAPCOM of mission control on Earth, later secretary-general of International Mars Science Foundation, the multi-nation organization funding the Mars expedition.
• Clémentine Poidatz as Amelie Durand, French mission physician and biochemist.
• Sammi Rotibi as Robert Foucault, Nigerian mission engineer and roboticist.
• Alberto Ammann as Javier Delgado, Spanish mission hydrologist and geochemist.
• Anamaria Marinca as Marta Kamen, Russian mission exobiologist and geologist.
• Olivier Martinez as Ed Grann, CEO of the Mars Missions Corporation, consortium of private aerospace companies preparing Mars expeditions.
• Cosima Shaw as Leslie Richardson, a logistical engineer who joins the expedition to oversee the base's expansion.

With the exception of Martinez and Cotton, all of these actors joined the second season, which started production in July 2017.

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	U.S. viewers (millions)
1	"Novo Mundo"	Everardo Gout	Story by : Karen Janszen Teleplay by : Karen Janszen and Paul Solet	November 14, 2016 (2016-11-14)	1.42
In 2033, the first human mission to Mars enters its atmosphere with the commander being injured saving the ship. In the present, SpaceX is attempting to land the world's first reusable rocket.
2	"Grounded"	Everardo Gout	Story by : André Bormanis Teleplay by : André Bormanis and Paul Solet	November 21, 2016 (2016-11-21)	0.974
The Daedalus crew battles harsh Martian terrain to reach base camp. Command changes with the death of the original commander. In reality, NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly undergoes a mission on the International Space Station, which will be the longest number of continuous days a human has spent in space.
3	"Pressure Drop"	Everardo Gout	Story by : Mickey Fisher Teleplay by : Mickey Fisher and Paul Solet	November 28, 2016 (2016-11-28)	0.795
In 2033, the Daedalus crew struggles to find permanent shelter, which hinges on locating a water source. Currently, the European Space Agency and Roscosmos partner to launch an orbiter.
4	"Power"	Everardo Gout	Story by : Ben Young Mason Teleplay by : Ben Young Mason and Paul Solet	December 5, 2016 (2016-12-05)	0.866
In 2037, four years after Mars colonization, a storm threatens the outpost. In reality, Antarctica serves as a parallel for remote human settlement.
5	"Darkest Days"	Everardo Gout	Paul Solet	December 12, 2016 (2016-12-12)	0.738
In 2037, psychological pressure takes its toll as the crew is trapped in the habitat. A botanist who loses his grip with reality opens an airlock killing himself and several others. In reality, scientists study the effects of extreme isolation.
6	"Crossroads"	Everardo Gout	Story by : André Bormanis Teleplay by : André Bormanis and Paul Solet	December 19, 2016 (2016-12-19)	0.714
In 2037, a devastating tragedy in the colony forces everyone to question the mission. On Earth an upcoming statement (presumably about the mission ending), results instead with an announcement of the discovery of life on Mars. In the present, SpaceX attempts another pioneering launch.

Second season

The second season is still in progress. It has got a new showrunner, Dee Johnson. Stephen Cragg and Ashley Way join returning director Everardo Gout for Season 2. The second season’s six-part arc jumps ahead several years into the future after the Daedalus astronauts have built a full-fledged colony called Olympus Town. Having established humankind as an interplanetary species, Mars examines the impact that humans have on the Red Planet and the consequences the planet has on us. Esai Morales, Roxy Sternberg, Gunnar Cauthery, Levi Fiehler, Evan Hall, Akbar Kurtha and Jeff Hephner have joined the Season 2 cast.

Critical reception

Mars has received mixed reviews from critics. It holds a 63% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes with an average score of 7.3/10 based on 16 reviews; the critical consensus states: "Ron Howard's direction ensures that Mars is an attractive endeavor, even if the show struggles to move smoothly between its documentary and fictional elements". On Metacritic, it has a score of 59 out of 100 based on 14 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

See also

• Falcon 9 Flight 20. A flight of Falcon 9 that landed an orbital class booster on land for the first time in history, previewed on the final episode of Mars
• ITS launch vehicle (ITS), in development by SpaceX, formerly the Mars Colonial Transporter (MCT)
• Space Launch System (SLS), in development by the US government
• Mars Design Reference Mission, the standing NASA plans for a hypothetical crewed missions to Mars

External links

• Official website
• Mars at IMDb
• Mars at Rotten Tomatoes