Looking for Life on Mars
NASA launches its most ambitious search yet for traces of ancient life on Mars.
Follow along as NASA launches the Mars 2020 Mission, perhaps the most ambitious hunt yet for signs of ancient life on Mars. In February 2021, the spacecraft blazes into the Martian atmosphere at some 12,000 miles per hour and lowers the Perseverance Rover into the rocky Jezero Crater, home to a dried-up river delta scientists think could have harbored life. Perseverance will comb the area for signs of life and collect samples for possible return to Earth. Traveling onboard is a four-pound helicopter that will conduct a series of test flights—the first on another planet. During its journey, Perseverance will also test technology designed to produce oxygen from the Martian atmosphere, in hopes that the gas could be used for fuel—or for humans to breathe—on future missions. (Premiered February 24, 2021)
More Ways to Watch
CO-PRODUCED AND EDITED BY
Jedd Erhmann
WRITTEN, PRODUCED AND DIRECTED BY
Terri Randall
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
Avner Tavori
PRODUCTION MANAGER- L.A.
Steve Reich
CAMERA
Kevin Stevenson
Dave Linstrom
Thomas van Krugten
Daniel Traub
Mike Coles
Josh Weinhaus
Ben McCoy
Richard Chisoim
Craig Remsburg
Colin Bressler
Yoann Le Gruiec
NARRATED BY
Craig Sechler
MUSIC
Chee Wei Tay
ANIMATION
Ed Bell
Brian Edgerton Design
Paul Marshall
Kevin Gill
SOUND RECORDISTS
Keith Sikora
Timothy Kitz
Michael Guske
Steve Bores
Willem De Wijs
Jonathan J Cohen
Jason Pawlak
Dave Wade
Will Short
Thomas Cassetta
Francesco Molaro
ASSISTANT CAMERA
Matt Ward
ONLINE EDITORS
Goldcrest Post Productions, New York
Dave Bigelow
COLORIST
Evan Anthony, CSI
AUDIO MIX
Heart Punch Studio
RESEARCH
Leora Randall-Tavori
ARCHIVAL MATERIAL
Airbus Defence & Space, UK
European Space Agency
ESA/Hubble/M. Kornmesser & L. L. Christensen
ESA/DLR/FU Berlin
ESA/A. Conigli
ESO
Experience Daliona, LLC
Getty Images
iStockPhoto
James Weiss
MAVEN mission/ Lunar and Planetary Institute
Michael Daly
Michael Gäbler
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab
NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio
NASA/Cory Huston
NASA/Glenn Benson
NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
NASA/JPL-Caltech
NASA/JPL-Caltech/Lockheed Martin Space
NASA/JPL/Cornell University/Maas Digital
NASA/Michelle Stone
Pond5
Shutterstock
Storyblocks
SPECIAL THANKS
Aileen Yingst
Andrea Rusconi
Andrew Knoll
David C. Agle
David Wacey
Erika Verbelen
Jeremy Close
Lucrezia Lo Schiavo
Mark A. Petrovich
Matt Lisle
Pamela R. Reid
Rebecca M. E. Williams
Roger Everett Summons
Steven Hall
Joseph F. Horn
FOR NOVA
NOVA SERIES GRAPHICS
yU + co.
NOVA THEME MUSIC
Walter Werzowa
John Luker
Musikvergnuegen, Inc.
ADDITIONAL NOVA THEME MUSIC
Ray Loring
Rob Morsberger
CAPTIONING AND AUDIO DESCRIPTION
Media Access Group at GBH
POST PRODUCTION ONLINE EDITOR
Lindsey Rundell Denault
-----
SENIOR DIGITAL PRODUCER
Ari Daniel
DIGITAL MANAGING PRODUCER
Kristine Allington
DIGITAL PRODUCERS
Arlo Pérez
Emily Zendt
DIGITAL ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
Ana Aceves
DIGITAL PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
Lorena Lyon
-----
DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION AND OUTREACH
Ralph Bouquet
DIGITAL PRODUCER
Alex Clark
OUTREACH MANAGER
Gina Varamo
PROGRAM MANAGER, NOVA SCIENCE STUDIO
Tenijah Hamilton
DIGITAL EDITOR, EDUCATION
Kara Norton
-------
DIRECTOR OF AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT
Dante Graves
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC RELATIONS
Jennifer Welsh
SENIOR DIGITAL EDITOR
Sukee Bennett
DIGITAL EDITORS
Alissa Greenberg
Hanna Ali
NATIONAL PUBLICITY
DKC Public Relations
-------
DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL AUDIENCE RESEARCH
Cory Allen
ASSOCIATE RESEARCHER
Christina Monnen
PRODUCTION COORDINATOR
Linda Callahan
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
Angelica Coleman
-------
BUSINESS MANAGER
Elisabeth Frele
PROJECT MANAGER, SCIENCE AND SOCIETY
Maggie Stevenson
UNIT MANAGER
Saron Admasu
----
LEGAL AND BUSINESS AFFAIRS
Susan Rosen
RIGHTS MANAGER
Hannah Gotwals
PARALEGAL
Sarah Erlandson
TALENT RELATIONS
Janice Flood
-------
BROADCAST MANAGER
Nathan Gunner
SUPERVISING PRODUCER
Kevin Young
SENIOR PROMOTIONS PRODUCER AND EDITOR
Michael H. Amundson
POST PRODUCTION ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
Jay Colamaria
----
SENIOR EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, EMERITA
Paula S. Apsell
----
SENIOR SCIENCE EDITOR
Evan Hadingham
COORDINATING PRODUCER
Elizabeth Benjes
PROJECT DIRECTOR
Pamela Rosenstein
DEVELOPMENT PRODUCER
David Condon
NOVA PRODUCER
Caitlin Saks
SCIENCE EDITOR
Robin Kazmier
SENIOR SERIES PRODUCER
Melanie Wallace
DIRECTOR, BUSINESS OPERATIONS & FINANCE
Laurie Cahalane
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
Julia Cort Chris Schmidt
A NOVA production by Terri Randall Productions for WGBH Boston in association with Arte France and NHK.
© 2021 WGBH Educational Foundation
All rights reserved
This program was produced by WGBH, which is solely responsible for its content. Some funders of NOVA also fund basic science research. Experts featured in this film may have received support from funders of this program.
Original funding for this program was provided by Draper, the David H. Koch Fund for Science, the NOVA Science Trust, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Image credit (Illustration showing Perseverance rover approaches Mars)
Courtesty: NASA/JPL-Caltech
- Mimi Aung, Bob Balaram, Tanja Bosak, Al Chen, Ian Clark, Moogega Cooper, Jennifer Eigenbrode, Ken Farley, Kelly Geelen, Heather Graham, Sanjeev Gupta, Albert Haldeman, Michael Hecht, Jeffrey Hoffman, Andrew Johnson, Kennda Lynch, Swati Mohan, Elio Morillo, Derrick Pitts, Jessica Samuels, Guido Sangiovanni, Julie Townsend, Diana Trujillo, Sanjay Vijendran, Alastair Wayman, Ken Williford, Aaron Yazzie
Explore More

Five Facts About Mars, the Red Planet

Looking for Life on Mars

Installing aerogel shields on Mars could make the Red Planet more habitable

NASA's Mars Perseverance rover lands today

The Planets: Mars

Success! Perseverance lands on Mars. Now its work begins

Miles of Water Found on Mars. Could It Support Life?

This NASA Scientist Helps Prevent Mars from Contamination

Why NASA is Back on Mars

Feast Your Eyes on the First-Ever Mars 2020 Mission Videos

Liquid Water Found on Mars

Mars, the Red Planet, Was Once Blue

Liquid Water Likely Flows On the Salty Hills of Mars

A One-Way Trip to Mars?

Can We Colonize Mars?
