It started with an order to land something on Mars - cheaply. In NASA's new era of "faster, better, cheaper," this mission had to create a radically different way of building a spacecraft. "The Pathfinders" tells the story of a small group of JPL'ers who dismissed warnings that a cut-rate mission to Earth's distant neighbor would cut short their careers. With a Martian parachute that could not be tested in Earth's atmosphere, and the last-minute addition of a remote controlled vehicle that would not look out of place in a toy store, the Pathfinder mission was a doubter's dream. Vet the future prospects of JPL and of a Mars program in its infancy, depended on bouncing successfully onto the rocky Red Planet and releasing a curious six-wheeled wanderer, in hopes of starting a revolution in space exploration.
It started with an order to land something on Mars - cheaply. In NASA's new era of "faster, better, cheaper," this mission had to create a radically different way of building a spacecraft. "The Pathfinders" tells the story of a small group of JPL'ers who dismissed warnings that a cut-rate mission to Earth's distant neighbor would cut short their careers. With a Martian parachute that could not be tested in Earth's atmosphere, and the last-minute addition of a remote controlled vehicle that would not look out of place in a toy store, the Pathfinder mission was a doubter's dream. Vet the future prospects of JPL and of a Mars program in its infancy, depended on bouncing successfully onto the rocky Red Planet and releasing a curious six-wheeled wanderer, in hopes of starting a revolution in space exploration.
2017-01-01
0
JPL
Using original footage and interviews, this documentary tells the nail-biting story of Apollo 13 and the struggle to bring its astronauts safely home.
John Glenn goes on another journey into outer space for tests on how old age is affected there. His whole life is chronicled in this informative documentary, from his first mission above to his experience as a senator and finally, his blast into space at age 77.
This film presents the principal features of the planets and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) program for exploring them during the 1970s.
The show tells a thrilling story of the most remarkable space mission in human history.
The spectacular moon landing in 1969 was also a success of more than 100 technicians and engineers from Germany, some of whom had already revolutionized weapons technology and built rockets in Hitler's service during World War II. The documentary analyzes the entanglements of German NASA employees with the Third Reich.
Following engineers and scientists on a groundbreaking mission as they build, test and launch the James Webb Space Telescope, the most powerful observatory ever constructed, and discovers the astonishing cosmological mysteries it will investigate.
Titan, Saturn's largest moon, is a planetary body capable of human habitation. Cassini-Huygens probe journeyed to Titan. Discover what lies on its surface and find out if it may one day become a habitable zone.
Dramatic, moving and deeply human, ARMSTRONG offers the definitive life story of Neil Armstrong: from his childhood in Ohio to his first steps on the Moon, and beyond.
On January 28, 1986, NASA Challenger mission STS-51-L ended in tragedy when the shuttle exploded 73 seconds after takeoff. On board was physicist Ronald E. McNair, the second African American to enter space. But first, he was a kid with big dreams in Lake City, South Carolina.
The Dream Is Alive takes you into space alongside the astronauts on the space shuttle. Share with them the delights of zero gravity while working, eating and sleeping in orbit around the Earth. Float as never before over the towering Andes, the boot of Italy, Egypt and the Nile. Witness firsthand a tension-filled satellite capture and repair and the historic first spacewalk by an American woman.
As modern societies rely more on high-speed Internet via satellites, a new space race is reshaping global geopolitics. Elon Musk's Starlink, with over 3,000 satellites, aims to deliver Internet worldwide, sparking concerns about private control. Meanwhile, Jeff Bezos, China, and the EU's Iris project join the competition.
Directed by renouned animator Ward Kimball, ' Mars and Beyond' is a lighthearted exploration of the history and future of Space Travel as understood back in 1957! Theories from scientists and philosophers are discussed. Focusing on Mars. Ideas from science-fiction authors H.G. Wells and Edgar Rice Burroughs are brought to life with colorful animation. Pulp science fiction comics of the time are parodied. Life on other planets is considered, profiling each of the planets in the solar system from the perspective of what would happen to man on them. A masterpiece of animation and sci-fi that was way ahead of it's time. Ward Kimball was perhaps the most inventive of all Disney animators and probably the only one who admitted to experimenting with psychedelic drugs in the 60's. Also the only animator who Walt Disney ever called a "genius."
A testament to NASA's Apollo program of the 1960s and '70s. Composed of actual NASA footage of the missions and astronaut interviews, the documentary offers the viewpoint of the individuals who braved the remarkable journey to the moon and back.
Archival material from the original NASA film footage – much of it seen for the first time – plus interviews with the surviving astronauts, including Jim Lovell, Dave Scott, John Young, Gene Cernan, Mike Collins, Buzz Aldrin, Alan Bean, Edgar Mitchell, Charlie Duke and Harrison Schmitt.
Join the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity for an awe-inspiring journey to the surface of the mysterious red planet.
Some 220 miles above Earth lies the International Space Station, a one-of-a-kind outer space laboratory that 16 nations came together to build. Get a behind-the-scenes look at the making of this extraordinary structure in this spectacular IMAX film. Viewers will blast off from Florida's Kennedy Space Center and the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Russia for this incredible journey -- IMAX's first-ever space film. Tom Cruise narrates.
From the unique vantage point of 200 miles above Earth's surface, we see how natural forces - volcanoes, earthquakes and hurricanes - affect our world, and how a powerful new force - humankind - has begun to alter the face of the planet. From Amazon rain forests to Serengeti grasslands, Blue Planet inspires a new appreciation of life on Earth, our only home.
In an unremarkable office space, a select group of aging engineers find themselves at the leading edge of discovery. Fighting outdated technology and time, Voyager’s flight-team pursues humankind’s greatest exploration.
The Academy Award® nominee Cosmic Voyage combines live action with state-of-the-art computer-generated imagery to pinpoint where humans fit in our ever-expanding universe. Highlighting this journey is a "cosmic zoom" based on the powers of 10, extending from the Earth to the largest observable structures in the universe, and then back to the subnuclear realm.
It contains 99.9 percent of all the matter in our solar system and sheds hot plasma at nearly a million miles an hour. The temperature at its core is a staggering 27 million degrees Fahrenheit. It convulses, it blazes, it sings. You know it as the sun. Scientists know it as one of the most amazing physics laboratories in the universe.