Ep 26. Martian Mega Rover

Martian Mega Rover tells the gripping, inside story of how those ambitious plans collided with enormous technical challenges and setbacks that doubled the budget and forced the launch date to slip more than two years. Veteran writer/ producer/ director Mark Davis, whose Emmy winning 2008 NGC production Five Years on Mars told the story of the Spirit and Opportunity mission, spent years embedded with the engineers and scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, capturing the dramatic mix of anxiety, despair, and elation that played out over the long struggle to get the Curiosity rover to the launch pad and on its way to Mars. He describes the experience: “The work these people do and the way they handle pressure is the most impressive thing I’ve ever seen. It’s been a privilege to watch it happen it from the inside.” Along with the human drama, Davis also brings the rover to life, visualizing the challenges it will face landing and operating on Mars with vivid, photorealistic CGI by Mars visual effects specialist Dan Maas. http://tvblogs.nationalgeographic.com/2012/08/09/martian-mega-rover-documents-nasas-eight-year-mission-to-build-launch-and-land-the-most-complex-rover-to-date/