posted 07-30-2015 03:33 PM               

National Geographic Channel, Imagine Entertainment and RadicalMedia Embark on a Historic Quest to the Fourth Planet from the Sun in a Groundbreaking Global Miniseries Event

MARS Series Executive Produced by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard Follows Mankind's Dramatic Thrill Ride to Mars, Intercut With Present-Day Interviews With Leading Innovators, Disruptors and Scientists

Of all the planets in our solar system, none has captured our collective imagination like Mars — a mysterious, indelible part of our zeitgeist. And now National Geographic Channel (NGC); Academy Award and Emmy-winning producers Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Michael Rosenberg of Imagine Entertainment; and Justin Wilkes and Dave O'Connor of RadicalMedia have joined forces to launch us into outer space with the global event series MARS.

Slated to premiere on the National Geographic Channel in 171 countries and 44 languages in fall 2016, MARS — which is set both in the future and in the present day — will be a unique hybrid of scripted and unscripted elements. The epic six-part global miniseries event will tell the epic story of the thrilling quest to colonize Mars and the first manned mission in 2032. The series will use dramatic scripted drama and feature film-caliber visual effects, intercut with documentary vérité and interviews with present-day scientists and innovators who are leading the research and development of space technology that will make the 2032 mission possible. The unscripted portions are currently in production.

NGC also announced that visionary Mexican filmmaker Everardo Gout ("Days of Grace") has been tapped to direct the scripted portions of the miniseries, with principal photography on the scripted portions set in Budapest and Morocco. The scripted portion will focus on two fictional characters at the heart of the story, two young Asian-American twins who as young girls dream of becoming astronauts. Only one of them ultimately makes the journey to Mars.

posted 07-07-2016 04:47 PM               

It's 2033, and the first human mission to Mars is on its way. Their mission? Make Mars home. MARS, a global event series, premieres this November on the National Geographic Channel. Follow our #CountdownToMars at MakeMarsHome.com.

posted 07-07-2016 04:56 PM               

The International Mars Science Foundation and Mars Mission Corporation Proudly Announce Successful Launch of First Human Mission To Mars

Spacecraft Daedalus Projected to Land on Mars in November of This Year; Crew of Six Astronauts Onboard Will Make First Attempt to Establish Permanent Human Settlement on the Distant Planet

(London, U.K. – May 9, 2033) Earth's first crewed mission to Mars aboard the Daedalus spacecraft successfully launched from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island in Florida, USA at 4:47 a.m. EST (0947 GMT), as cheers erupted from the Mars Mission Corporation's Mission Control in London. The historic mission, a massive undertaking decades in the making, is a collaborative effort of MMC and the International Mars Science Foundation. The Daedalus and its human crew of six today take their rightful place in the history books as the fateful journey begins.

The Daedalus is projected to land on Mars in November 2033. The landing and subsequent plan for methodically establishing the first human settlement on Mars will be documented in depth by National Geographic Channel in collaboration with the teams at IMSF and MMC. Details of the journey and a countdown to the landing can be found at MakeMarsHome.com.

Upon successful landing, the crew will immediately begin to secure a limited base camp and is tasked with identification of a subterranean space with access to ice and appropriate geological requirements needed to support a long-term habitation site.

Once the first human settlement is established, the crew must sustain itself until future landings in 2035 and 2037 expand the settlement with deliveries of both cargo and additional human occupants. The carefully selected international crew of six are uniquely suited to take on this monumental step for humans, and are supported by the best team on the ground.

Daedalus crew members include:

• Ben Sawyer (Ben Cotton) – American – mission commander and systems engineer, space architect. The MIT graduate was very close to his father, whose fascination with space was an inspiration for Ben. Ben is a highly trained and experienced astronaut who has flown for both NASA and private space companies in numerous capacities.

• Hana Seung (Jihae) – American – mission pilot and software engineer. Hana is a NASA-trained pilot. Hana and her twin sister, Joon, have dreamed of traveling into space since childhood, and Hana's position as second in command on the mission to Mars is the result of a focused career.

• Robert Foucault (Sammi Rotibi) – Nigerian – mechanical engineer and roboticist. Robert showed exceptional intelligence from a young age, and excelled academically at a series of top-level institutions, eventually receiving a Ph.D. in robotics from Stanford.

• Amelie Durand (Clementine Poidatz) – French – flight surgeon and psychologist. Amelie is responsible for overseeing the medical and psychological well-being of the crew and future settlement.

• Javier Delgado (Alberto Ammann) – Mexican – hydrologist and geochemist. Javier is responsible for developing and managing the settlement's most basic and precious resource: water.

• Marta Kamen (Anamaria Marinca) – Russian – exobiologist and geologist. As a young woman, Marta witnessed the Chelyabinsk meteor fall in February 2013, which inspired her interest in meteorites. Marta is responsible for geological exploration and the search for signs of life on Mars.

On the ground, the MMC control team based in London will work closely with IMSF in Vienna, Austria. The MMC team includes:

• Joon Seung (Jihae) – American – capsule communicator (CAPCOM), MMC. Jun has been a rising star on the administrative side of Mars Mission Corporation. Her success at MMC brings her into regular collaboration with IMSF.

• Ed Grann (Olivier Martinez) – American – CEO of MMC. Ed has committed MMC and himself to a settlement on Mars. Ed holds an engineering degree from MIT, and is the business leader for MMC and the inspiration for the IMSF collaboration. Ed is responsible for keeping the economic and scientific goals on track.

• Leslie Richardson (Cosima Shaw) – British – geneticist, administrator and leader of MMC's Phase 3 settlement team. Leslie and her husband, John, have published numerous books together and are well-known for the development of Mars-specific hybrid plants, designed to thrive in the rigors of the Red Planet.

• Dr. Paul Richardson (John Light) – British – world-renowned exobotanist. Paul has pioneered the development of a series of plant hybrids specifically engineered to function in the extreme conditions of Martian greenhouses.

About Mars Mission Corporation
A consortium of aerospace corporations formed in 2022 and headquartered in London, Mars Mission Corporation builds and manages the technological hardware for the Mars program. CEO Ed Grann is an engineer and a true believer. The investors in MMC are from all corners of the globe, including substantial support from the International Mars Science Foundation and its member nations. For Grann, the launch of the Daedalus represents the culmination of over 30 years of work, and is a crucial step in creating a self-sustaining colony. MMC will be responsible for future transportation needs to Mars for institutions, corporations and national space agencies, along with the eventual settlers from Earth. MMC is a subsidiary of Orbital Solutions, a leading satellite-launching organization, and also collaborates closely with the IMSF Board.

About International Mars Science Foundation
The International Mars Science Foundation, headquartered in Vienna, Austria, is an organization founded by a coalition of the space-faring nations to carry out a mission to Mars. The Mars Mission Corporation is a close partner in this endeavor, and IMSF has invested heavily in the current phase of the mission. IMSF upholds the mission's scientific goals as well as supporting member nations in liaising with the public regarding the mission. Member nations include: the U.S., India, Russia, Japan, China, the European Union, Mexico, Brazil and South Africa.

posted 07-29-2016 07:21 PM               

The year is 2033, and mankind's first manned mission to Mars is about to become reality. This is the story of how we make Mars home, told by the pioneers making it possible.

posted 10-26-2016 06:55 PM               

"Before MARS" is the dramatic backstory of Hana and Joon Seung, principal characters in the upcoming series "MARS" on the National Geographic Channel.

posted 11-14-2016 12:00 AM               

National Geographic 'MARS' offers history of future first landing on Red Planet

Humanity is still years away from landing on Mars, but the first documentary to look back at that achievement is already complete.

The six-part television docudrama "MARS," premiering on the National Geographic Channel Monday night (Nov. 14), chronicles the first mission to the Red Planet in 2033 using footage of the crew's activities on the surface and through "flashbacks" to 2016, when the journey to Mars began.

posted 11-21-2016 12:05 AM               

Singer JiHAE finds her inner 'space geek' on National Geographic 'MARS'

The National Geographic Channel miniseries "MARS," about the present planning and future achievement of landing astronauts on the Red Planet, has claimed its first "victim."

No, not Ben Sawyer, the U.S. mission commander (played by Ben Cotton), who in the first episode sustained injuries during the Daedalus landing and whose fate is the subject of the second episode airing Monday night (Nov. 21), but rather JiHAE, who in "MARS" plays both Korean-American mission pilot Hana Seung and her twin, Joon, the capcom (capsule communicator) back on Earth.

"I am a space geek now," admits JiHAE, laughing.

posted 01-14-2017 08:01 AM               

"Mars is emblematic of our new breed of premium programming — programming from superb creative talent, like Imagine Entertainment and RadicalMedia, that is unabashedly smart and highly entertaining," said Courteney Monroe, CEO of National Geographic Global Networks. "With Mars, we were able to truly harness the global power of the brand and amplify it across National Geographic's media platforms and we are thrilled to be bringing it back for another season."

"With the genre-busting mix of documentary and drama, we created a really powerful experience for audiences that transported them to a different world, and we're thrilled to once again work with National Geographic and RadicalMedia to continue this epic story of how humankind made Mars home," said Grazer.

Added Howard, "With Mars, we wanted to stimulate the imagination of audiences and continue to fire the belief that space exploration is an important, inevitable aspect of the human experience, inspiring the next generation of astronauts. We're excited to see where the next season will take us."

posted 07-25-2017 06:05 PM               

National Geographic Begins Filming Season 2 of the Critically Acclaimed Series MARS; Announces New and Returning MARS Crew and Real-World Big Thinkers in Six-Episode Arc

Executive Produced by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard, Season Two Delves Under The Martian Surface and Confronts the Demands, Perils and Advantages of Colonizing The Red Planet Genre-busting Series MARS Taps into World-renowned Experts in Human Exploration, Including Elon Musk, Michio Kaku, former NASA Chief Ellen Stofan And Author Jared Diamond

Filming began this week in Budapest on the second season of National Geographic's MARS. The series, which was lauded for its unique hybrid of futuristic dramatization and documentary sequences, once again looks at what life will be like when we are an interplanetary species. Hailed by critics as "thought provoking, "visually stunning," "ambitious," "wonderfully innovative, imaginative and intriguing," MARS season two is set to premiere in Spring 2018 on National Geographic in 171 countries and 45 languages.

The network partners once again with Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Michael Rosenberg of Imagine Entertainment and co-creator and executive producer Justin Wilkes and executive producer Jon Kamen of RadicalMedia. Veteran Showrunner Dee Johnson (Nashville, ER) is taking the helm this season. Stephen Cragg (Scandal, How to Get Away with Murder) and Ashley Way (Doctor Who, Homeland) join returning director Everardo Gout (Days of Grace) for season two.

This second season's six-part arc jumps ahead several years into the future after the Daedalus astronauts have built a full-fledged colony — Olympus Town. Having established humankind as an interplanetary species, MARS examines the impact that humans have on the Red Planet and the consequences the planet has on us.

This season, MARS announces its new international crew of interplanetary travelers and moguls: Esai Morales (Ozark, NYPD Blue) as Roland St. John, CEO of private enterprise Lukrum Corporation; Roxy Sternberg (Emerald City, Chewing Gum) as Jen Carson, operation forewoman at the Lukrum mining colony; Gunnar Cauthery (Genius, War Horse) as Lieutenant Michael Glenn, the newest addition to Olympus Town and second in command; Levi Fiehler (The Fosters, Mission Control) as Cameron Pate, a molecular biologist tech in Olympus Town; Evan Hall (Orange is the New Black, The Following) as Shep Master, the wildcard of the Lukrum crew; Akbar Kurtha (24, Syriana) as Dr. Johar, a psychologist bringing his expertise to Olympus Town; and Jeff Hephner (Chicago Med, Code Black) as Kurt Hurrelle, leader of the Lukrum mining colony.

Reprising their roles from season one are JiHAE ("Mortal Engines") as Hanna Seung, mission pilot and twin sister Joon Seung, capsule communicator of mission control; Sammi Rotibi ("The Darkest Minds," "Once Upon a Time in Venice") as Robert Foucault, Nigerian mechanical engineer and roboticist; Alberto Ammann ("Narcos," "Apaches") as Javier Delgado, hydrologist and geochemist; Clémentine Poidatz ("Marie Antoinette," "Shut In") as Amelie Durand, French mission physician and biochemist; Anamaria Marinca ("4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days," "Fury") as Marta Kamen, Russian exobiologist and geologist; and Cosima Shaw ("The Danish Girl," "Dirk Gently") as Leslie Richardson, British nuclear physicist.

"This season takes us literally into new territory," says showrunner Johnson. "With no laws, no government and no safety nets of any kind, what is it like to be among the first settlers of Mars? Not only do we explore dangers and mysteries of this brand-new world, but we also explore what it means to be human in a place where so few exist."

"The struggle between private industry and scientific exploration is going to come to a climax on the Red Planet just as we have seen it happen on Earth," adds Wilkes, co-creator and executive producer for RadicalMedia. "In fact, the fundamental question we ask this season is can we learn from past mistakes, or are we doomed to make the same flawed decisions on another planet?"

Informing the future dramatic sequences at Olympus Town, MARS once again assembles the world's most brilliant, diverse and contemporary experts within its documentary passages, including Elon Musk, founder and CEO of SpaceX; Michio Kaku, preeminent theoretical physicist and futurist; Ellen Stofan, former NASA chief; and international bestselling author Jared Diamond ("Collapse and Guns," "Germs and Steel"). But this season, the documentary sequences go beyond the world's leading experts to reveal even more dramatically the potential challenges that we could confront on MARS with real-world scenarios we are facing today on Earth.

Coinciding with the network's largest global rebrand in its history, the first season of MARS holds the title as the second-most-watched series in National Geographic history. Reaching more than 36 million viewers globally, MARS also became the most DVR-ed show in network history. MARS generated nearly 300MM social media impressions, 35MM video views and 4MM engagements. The MARS November National Geographic Magazine cover story was one of the best-selling issues, and more than 20K units of the English-language version of the MARS book, written by Leonard David, have been sold.

MARS is produced by Imagine Entertainment and RadicalMedia for NGC. For Imagine Entertainment, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Michael Rosenberg are executive producers. For RadicalMedia, Justin Wilkes is co-creator and executive producer, and Jon Kamen is executive producer. For NGC, Matt Renner is vice president, production; and Tim Pastore is president, original programming and production.

posted 07-20-2018 10:37 AM               

• series showrunner and executive producer Dee Johnson
  
• former NASA astronaut Leland Melvin
  
• cast member JiHae (Mortal Engines)
  
• Andy Weir, author of "The Martian"
  
• cast member Jeff Hephner (Chicago Med, Code Black)
  
• Susan Wise Bauer, historian and author of the History of the World series
  
• Stephen Petranek, author of "How We'll Live on Mars"

National Geographic has also announced a new MARS collection through their online store:

Based on the National Geographic series, Mars, we're introducing a new apparel collection featuring logos and graphics from the show on t-shirts, long-sleeve shirts, hoodies and more!