Passage to Mars

1

"Anything you dream is fiction"

"and anything you accomplish

is science."

"The whole history of mankind

is nothing but science fiction."

Midnight with the stars

and you

"It's one small step for man.."

"One giant leap for mankind."

1-4-0-7.

Down 81

minus 0-0.

Damn it.

We're stranded in the

usual middle of nowhere.

I can't believe

this is happening.

The crew's split up.

Food's running low.

Maybe we've gone

one step too far.

Why do we explore?

Why expose ourselves to danger?

I should blame childhood.

All those dreams,

all those fantasies

the books, the movies..

All drumming it into our

impressionable little heads.

I can still hear

these distant voices

that have inspired my life.

All I wanted

was to get the answer

to this ever elusive mystery.

"Are we alone?"

I always thought we would

find the truth there

on this tiny

far-off red glitter

in the night sky.

"Landing a man on the moon

and returning him

safely to the Earth."

"then Orson Welles

and the Mercury Theatre

on the air.."

"Professor Morse

of the McMillan University"

"reports observing a total

of three explosions"

"on the planet Mars

between the hours"

"of 7:
45 p.m. and 9:20 p.m.

Eastern Standard Time."

"Professor Indelkoffer

expressed the opinion

"that the explosions on Mars

are undoubtedly

"nothing more than severe

volcanic disturbances

on the surface of the planet."

"How far is Mars

from the Earth?"

"Approximately

40 million miles."

"A red disk swimming

in the blue sea

with transverse stripes

across the disk."

"In your opinion

what do these transverse

stripes signify, professor?"

"Not canals, I can

assure you, Mr. Phillips

"although that's

the popular conjecture

of those who imagine Mars

to be inhabited."

Mars..

The Red Planet.

My mysterious island,

with not just one

but two little moons.

Deimos and Phobos.

A world I have scrutinized

and loved since I was a boy.

We've been staring up

at this distant reddish orb

since the dawn of humanity.

Our primal fear of Mars grew

wild when early telescopes

revealed its engineered surface.

The strange waterways we saw

fired up our imagination.

Some believed the Martians

were waiting

in the ruins

of their fading world

to launch an invasion of Earth.

Others said they were only

staring at us..

Waiting for their own

peaceful extinction.

"We know now

that in the early years

"of the 20th century

"this world

was being watched closely

by intelligences

greater than man's."

We dispatched robots first.

Their report,

desolation everywhere.

Just red dust.

Red from rust.

A barren world, frozen in time.

Windswept.

Lifeless.

Or so it seems.

If anything is alive there,

where is it hiding?

Our quest to find life on Mars

has begun with robots

but it will take humans

to make strides.

How do you prepare humans

for that kind of exploration?

You send them to the Arctic

to get stranded

while attempting to cross

the Northwest Passage.

It's all here in this journal

a record of our polar expedition

to prepare for Mars.

It chronicles our attempt

to get one step closer

to another world.

For thousands of years,

the Inuit and their ancestors

have lived here,

on both land and sea

at the edge of ice and life.

Some years ago, we established

a NASA research outpost

on Devon Island

the largest uninhabited island

in the world.

Mars-On-Earth, we call it.

Each summer, when the island

is free of snow

we go there to prepare

for Mars exploration.

We test spacesuits, robots,

rovers, and strategies.

We learn how to explore Mars.

This year,

we have a special payload

to deliver to Devon.

The HMP Okarian.

Our latest concept vehicle

for getting around on Mars.

Our mission

is no simple delivery

but the first expedition

of its kind.

For the next weeks, the Arctic

will be our alien world.

- Let's go.

- I can't see..

You think we can land

this thing up there?

- On top of that?

- Yeah.

Landing, sure, but we're not

gonna get it back up.

I don't know if I can do this.

I feel a little nervous.

Five metric tons

of steel and Kevlar.

Spartan comfort. Guzzles diesel.

The Okarian is designed

for long-distance drives on Mars

and we're gonna test it

to the max

taking it to Devon Island

by driving across

2000 kilometers

of Arctic sea ice.

This has never been done before.

I guess you could call it

the first Mars road trip

on Earth.

According to our calculations,

a five-ton rover

can be supported

by thick sea ice

but if we run into a crack

it won't matter how thick

the ice is

the Okarian will turn

into the yellow submarine.

- Ready?

- Ready.

Baby please don't go

Baby please don't go

Baby please don't go back

to New Orleans

Baby please don't go

Baby please don't go

Kugluktuk is our starting point.

Here, everything comes

together for the first time.

Equipment, food,

emergency supplies

our sleds and fuel, lots of it

and of course, our crew.

John Schutt

the veteran

of over 50 polar expeditions.

His job now

keep us on track and alive.

Why didn't you want

to talk to me?

I just wanted to stay home

in bed.

Actually, we wanna get out

of town as soon as we can.

The weather's coming in here

a little bit..

Everything I know

about surviving on ice

I learned from John.

Jesse Weaver.

Jesse's only 18.

An ace rider and mechanic.

He must keep our machines

running at all times.

Why do you wanna be

so much on the ice?

I'm just ready to get

the Humvee there.

To get everything done

said and done, and safely.

And I'm ready to see

this thing go.

I'm ready to see it in action.

If it's fixable,

Jesse will fix it.

Joe Amarualik.

Joe's an Inuk from Resolute

Bay and a Canadian Ranger

in the High Arctic.

A man of few words,

but they're all important.

His job is to find us

a safe path

through the cracked

and jumbled ice.

The ice keeps

building up my lens.

Mark Carroll.

He's filmed in the most

remote corners of our planet

and that's what

he's gotta do now

keep filming

no matter what happens.

His energy is impressive.

Jean-Christophe Jeauffre.

He has led many expeditions

around the world

making his first

polar voyage with us.

A keen naturalist

and adventurer.

He's here to tell our story.

So we're gonna leave

in a few minutes.

How do you feel?

Oh, this is a, a great moment.

Once this rover is on Devon

we'll be able to use it

with the other rover we have

the Mars-1, and, and learn

how to do Mars exploration.

To me, that's the most

exciting thing.

As for me, my job, basically,

is to get everyone in trouble.

Our route, the infamous

Northwest Passage.

The maze of seaways

connecting the Atlantic

and Pacific Oceans

that lured so many explorers

to their doom.

We only have a few weeks

to reach Devon

before the sea ice breaks up.

Everybody's ready?

We keep looking

at the camera, right?

Yes.

Daddy will come back soon.

Saa, Joe's five-year-old

son, has seen his dad

go on the land many times.

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