|
|
MARS Dead or Alive
|
|
|
|
Program Overview
|
|
|
NOVA describes the design and construction of the Mars Exploration
Rovers (MERs).
The program:
-
outlines the plan to land twin robots on Mars after they journey
some 300 million miles to the Red Planet.
-
presents one aspect of the robots' mission—to find
evidence as to whether there was ever an environment on Mars
that could have supported life.
-
recalls the 1997 Mars Pathfinder mission, which safely
landed a rover on Mars for the first time.
-
describes the challenges of the new mission—to design a
rover that can survive landing with the parachute and airbag
system used by Pathfinder, but with a much heavier rover
than the Pathfinder previously carried.
-
reports that in the past 40 years, more than 50 percent of the
missions sent to Mars have failed.
-
documents the testing process used to design effective
parachutes that have the necessary stability, strength, and
braking power.
-
discusses the process of selecting a landing site that is both
safe and valuable in terms of the mission goals.
-
explains that the rovers go through more than 200 tests to
ensure that the mission will go smoothly.
examines how engineers handle last-minute problems. -
shows the excitement and nervousness exhibited by all team
members on launch.
Taping Rights: Can be used up to one year after the program
is taped off the air.
|
|
