MUMBAI: National Geographic is all set to initiate an unprecedented global event series called Mars. The show is produced by Imagine Entertainment and RadicalMedia for the channel. For Imagine Entertainment, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Michael Rosenberg are executive producers. For RadicalMedia, Justin Wilkes, Jon Kamen, Dave O’Connor, Jonathan Silberberg are executive producers. For NGC, Robert Palumbo is executive producer; Matt Renner is vice president, production; and Tim Pastore is president, original programming and production.
Premiering this November, the series is set both in the future and in the present day. The show intends to redefine television storytelling by combining feature film-quality scripted drama and visual effects with best-in-class documentary sequences to drive forward a cohesive, edge-of-your-seat story of mankind’s thrilling quest to colonize Mars.
This six-part global event series tells the inspiring story from the vantage point of a fictitious crewed mission to Mars in 2033. The scripted portion focuses on Earth’s first crewed mission to Mars aboard the spacecraft Daedalus. Its maiden voyage in 2033 is crewed by a carefully selected international team of six uniquely qualified astronauts, including:
Once Daedalus successfully lands on Mars and sets up a preliminary base of operations, British nuclear physicist Leslie Richardson (Cosima Shaw) will lead a Phase 2 settlement team along with her husband, world-renowned experimental botanist Dr. Paul Richardson (John Light). Those interviewed on camera for the series include the following:
• Charles Bolden, Administrator, Former Astronaut, NASA
• Neil deGrasse Tyson, Director, Hayden Planetarium
• Peter Diamandis, Chairman and CEO, XPRIZE Foundation
• David Dinges, Director, Unit for Experimental Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania
• Casey Dreier, Director of Space Policy, The Planetary Society
• Ann Druyan, Creative Director, Voyager Interstellar Mission, NASA
• Charles Elachi, Director, LPL (Ret.)
• Jim Green, Division Director, Planetary Science, NASA
• John Grunsfeld, Associate Administrator, Former Astronaut, NASA
• Jennifer Heldmann, Planetary Scientist, NASA
• Jedidah Isler, award-winning astrophysicist; emerging Explorer, National Geographic
• Thomas Kalil, Deputy Director, White House Office of Science and Technology
• Roger Launius, Smithsonian Institution
• John Logsdon, Founder, Space Policy Institute, George Washington University
• James Lovell, Former NASA Astronaut, Apollo 13 Commander
• Elon Musk, CEO SpaceX
• Stephen Petranek, author, How We’ll Live on Mars
• Mary Roach, author, Packing for Mars
• Jennifer Trosper, Mars 2020 Mission Manager, JPL
• Andy Weir, author, The Martian
• Robert Zubrin, President, The Mars Society
National Geographic will extend the show’s storytelling in an unprecedented cross-platform effort, including a six-part digital companion prequel series.
Further, Mars will be the November cover story of National Geographic magazine and will be featured in a stand-alone National Geographic book, Mars: Our Future on the Red Planet. It will also be featured in the NG Kids book, Mars: The Red Planet.
