We've already seen dramatizations on what life on space, particularly on the planet Mars, would be like for astronauts, but unless we experience it firsthand, there's never too many of them.
Adding to the list of shows that quench a space nerd's curiosity, National Geographic channel has unveiled a new mini-series that revolves around the first ever human crew to land on Mars in the future.
Set in 2033, the six-episode docudrama known as MARS records mankind's first mission to the Red Planet. The series is complete with mock footage of the crew's experiments on the surface as well as flashbacks from 2016, about 17 years when the mission supposedly began.
Stephen Petranek, who wrote a book called How We'll Live on Mars, which became the basis for the series, said MARS is an accurate imagination of what will likely happen sooner.
"[I]t is surprisingly and almost shockingly, in a way, as accurate as it could possibly be," he said.
Manned Missions To Mars
Petranek's optimism isn't unfounded, with private aerospace manufacturing companies such as Elon Musk's SpaceX aiming toward and beyond the sky.
In fact, Musk revealed in September the company's plans to bring humans to Mars through an interplanetary transport system (ITS). The technology aims to carry at least 100 people to the Red Planet per flight, as reported by Tech Times.
"What I really want to do here is to make Mars seem possible," Musk said in September. He said he wanted to make it seem that going to Mars is something that we can do in our lifetimes.
The First Crew On Mars
The SpaceX CEO appears in the mini-series as part of the flashbacks that led to the 2033 mission. The company's assembly facility, mission control and the launch and landing of the Falcon 9 rocket were added to the series as well.
Some notable personalities interviewed in the series include American astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, The Martian author Andy Weir, NASA administrator Charlie Bolden, NASA director of planetary science Jim Green and Mars 2020 rover mission manager Jennifer Trosper.
Essentially, MARS explores how the first crew of astronauts will endure the final harrowing moments before they touch down on the Red Planet.
The maiden crew of the Daedalus craft has undergone the best training available to prepare them for their journey, but they must push themselves further to successfully establish a human colony on Mars.
MARS is a dramatization of what scientists believe will happen in the future, but it is very much based on research, creators said.
You can stream the first episode of MARS for free on the National Geographic website.
