Today’s transmission is the last in the series of ESA TV Exchanges on Mars Express, ESA’s first mission to the Red Planet. It looks at the history of mankind’s attempts to explore this fascinating neighbour planet, which was marked by success and tragedy.
The programme comprises of a 7 minute A-roll with split audio (English commentary/international sound) and is complimented by a 20-minute B-Roll with clean international sound.
History of Missions to Mars
Vicking
Pathfinder
Mars Express
Various shots of Mars models, Mars 3D, Satellites Orbits and 3D animations
MARS HISTORY
00:40
For thousands of years it was only a red point in the sky, a nameless denizen of the trackless night. When the Egyptians settled their civilization, it had become familiar enough to receive a name :Har d?cher, the Red One.
The Greeks associated it with bloodshed and the war god: ?Ares? and so also did the Romans – giving it the name of their god of war: Mars.
01:07
Over the intervening centuries, interest in the Red Planet has increased more and more. It changed in peopleês eyes from a planet full of fears to a source of intrigue and fascination. It became known to be the only planet in the solar system on which there was a strong possibility of finding life – past, or perhaps present. Astronomers like Galileo, Huygens and Kepler, who first calculated the distance between Earth and Mars, are just a few names that we have to remember.
01:41
The second half of the 20th century saw a new era in Mars exploration. After a series of failures, the first space craft to make a fly-by was t