Passage to Mars Page #3

we're dead in the water.

Well, I think we need

to warm up first

and continue in a bit.

Alright. The power..

If we're about to lose

power steering

I'd let it stop and rest.

Let it rest

before you lose it completely,

and you're...

Yeah, so what,

what resting will do to it?

Well, I don't know.

Resting will

give... give it a break.

- And then what?

- And then, you know..

- And then what?

- And then keep going.

Is it gonna recover?

It... it should.

I don't know what's doing this.

The fluid's fine,

the belts are fine.

It doesn't make any sense

to give it a break, Jesse.

We are gonna fix it or we're

gonna have to keep on going.

I don't even know

if that does anything...

I'm about to take

a break myself!

Well, that's different,

that's okay.

Okay.

That's why we're saying

why don't you jump inside?

- Yeah.

- Okay.

I'm hearing

our mission clock tick away

but I need to give Jesse

some space.

We take a break

then time for MECO.

The NASA-speak

for Main Engine Cutoff.

Hey, uh, the power steering

fluid is in that box, right?

Well, we may not

need them to come back.

We can just join them there.

- Are we low?

- I don't know.

Just give me something.

Well, I... I can go ahead

and tell you

I don't think we are

'cause I can see it.

We're good.

It's right on the line.

We're good.

Ready?

Okay?

Transfer case

doesn't matter, but..

It doesn't matter.

As we leave the Jamesons,

we see fog.

The ice is already

breaking up ahead.

But where?

John is on the lookout

for open water.

Joe is far ahead. Maybe too far.

I don't like it.

Heya, Joe, Joe!

Can you slow down, and, uh,

wait up for us there?

We pretty much lost

sight of you.

Slow down please.

Thin ice. Thin ice.

Retreat. Thin ice.

Thin ice. Retreat.

Hey, John,

I think the back is in slush.

Joe! Joe!

Yeah, we're really stuck, Joe.

We're gonna need your help.

Come on back. Come on back.

4:
00 p.m.

Our worst nightmare.

We've run into a lead.

The Okarian is sinking.

Each time I add power,

the rover sinks further in.

We're losing her.

- Have we made any progress?

- No.

Bring back the cable!

More cable! More!

More!

Hey, John,

upward with the winch.

I'm gonna go back

a tiny bit, John.

Okay? Keep going?

John, tell me what you're doing!

It's going down. It's going in.

No, I'm not.

I'm... I'm going slow.

The battery voltage

was drawn down to zero.

John, you're the man.

I got this.

We saved the Okarian.

It was a close call,

too close for comfort

but it could have been

much worse.

When I saw nothing but sky

through the windshield

I thought we were

going down for good.

I could see the Okarian

settling on the seafloor

alongside Franklin's

sunken ships.

We pulled through this time

but how many more leads

lie before us?

One minute, you're barreling

along, unstoppable

the next,

you're in survival mode.

The fine line is crossed

without warning.

I'm now confronting

the most critical decision

that any expedition leader

faces.

To continue on or to stop

before it's too late.

How many explorers have died

because they chose wrong?

Because they didn't abort

their mission

while it could still be saved?

Here's where we stand.

We need a new alternator,

new batteries

a new power steering system

and more time.

The passage is starting

to break up.

Devon is out of reach

for this year.

17 April.

We arrived in Cambridge Bay

at 2:
00 p.m.

We couldn't reach Devon.

That hurts.

Plan B, the Okarian will be

flown to Resolute Bay

to get repaired

and put in hypersleep

until next spring.

Then, we'll wake her up for

another assault on Devon Island.

We made it.

Do Humvees dream

of diesel sheep?

5 May.

The Okarian's

had her beauty sleep.

We begin anew at the eastern

end of the Northwest Passage

in Resolute Bay.

Persistence.

That's what exploration takes.

It's not about smooth sailing.

It's about venturing

into the unknown

pushing the limits

of where you can go

and what you can do

to meet with what's out there.

I know where our small step

is taking us.

It's getting us ready

for the greatest adventure

of all time.

To us, the Northwest Passage

is not just a link

between two oceans.

It's a passage between

two worlds.

Our crew is reunited.

We're thrilled.

But it's our last chance

to reach Devon.

- Be safe.

- We're on our way.

6 May. 1:
00 a.m.

The Okarian entered

Eleanor Valley.

We hope to reach

the coast by tomorrow.

Okay, Jesse, here we go.

Hey, Jesse, uh,

we're hearing a fairly

substantial knocking noise.

Uh, it looks, it sounds like

it's sorta coming

from the right front.

Seems like one of the components

that holds the track on,

uh, came loose there.

Okay, I guess

we're gonna have to stop.

Is everybody safe now?

Hey, Bill?

Hey, Bill, this is Pascal.

We have a situation

here with the, uh, Humvee.

Everybody's safe, we've had a..

A, uh, damaged rear

right gear hub.

Let's, uh, let's jack it up.

Take off the track and look

at what's going on here.

This happened in Africa

to me once.

We were doing 50 miles an hour

down the road, south to Khartoum

and looked at

the side view mirror

and the wheel is three feet out

from where it should be.

We'll see. We'll see.

We'll see, we'll see, we'll see.

We need Joe's sled too, huh?

Yeah, we need..

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

This is not an easy fix.

If it's.. If it's fixable.

We need to dig all the snow away

so we have a solid surface to..

Sure. So okay, guys.

We're gonna... we're gonna

stay here

we're gonna stay put.

We need the sled

with the spare, um..

- Track.

- Track.

And the inflatable jacks

as well.

Hey, uh, call AAA.

This whole piece

will get in there

but there's a keeper..

You can see where the keeper

is supposed to be right there?

- Yeah, it's shot.

- And..

Yeah, it's come out.

Houston, we've had a problem.

The critical part

connecting the drive train

to its matching track

has ruptured.

The hub is normally so robust

that we have no spare for it.

A replacement part

has to be flown up

to Resolute Bay from down south.

We're 70 kilometers

from Resolute Bay

but Joe knows the way well.

He'll head back there alone

to wait for the part.

This is going to take days.

Crap.

Uh, so, let me introduce

you to our cook.

This is our cook.

His name is Jesse.

And, uh, the chief of expedition

uh, Pascal

is looking for the comte

which a very good French cheese.

There, sausage, cheese,

everything you need to be happy.

John seems preoccupied.

I know him well.

That's not like him.

Something is wrong,

but I can't get it out of him.

A bit of sunshine here.

Camera roll.

Alright, Pascal.

So, where we at?

On Mars, you might be

stuck in a place

uh, by dust storm

for several days.

And that's what happened to us

uh, on the first two days

of our trip here.

Or you might be stuck somewhere

because of a mechanical problem.

This is what happened to us

here for three days.

Mars is really a complicated

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