Space Odyssey: Episode Two: Sun Burn

Thursday, 16 June 2005

Imagine standing in a martian dust devil, flying past the sun, or seeking water on the surface of Mars. Space Odyssey: Voyage To The Planets: Episode Two: Sun Burn screens on ABC TV, Thursday 16 June 8pm.

From the makers of Walking With Dinosaurs, this magnificent drama-documentary series, narrated by David Suchet, takes viewers on the ultimate space flight. Seen through the eyes of five astronauts on a six-year mission to the new frontiers that make up our solar system, it reveals the spectacle - and the dangers - they face when landing on and exploring the exotic worlds of our neighbouring planets.

Using the latest scientific findings and feature film digital effects, Space Odyssey: Voyage To The Planets is the ultimate grand tour, brought to life in a beautiful and moving journey packed with peril and excitement. Along the way, it uncovers the immense physical and emotional challenges that would affect those taking such a trip.

Episode Two: Sun Burn
On Mars the team heads for the edge of the vast canyon system – Valles Marineris. It is thought that the rarest water in the solar system might lurk here. The mission is desperate to snatch a sample of this prized liquid in their quest to find extraterrestrial life on Mars.

Leaving the surface of Mars a few days later the mission blasts back across the inner solar system to make a risky flight close past the Sun. Crossing the next half a billion miles of space will take Pegasus over 200 days, and although most of this distance is just empty space, an unplanned brush with a rogue fragment of rock the size of central London upsets the crew and begins to erode the trust they have so far placed in Mission Control.

As they crash into the top of giant Jupiter’s immense atmosphere a few weeks is concern that Control might have betrayed them again. One of the crew seems to be getting very sick.

^ top

Catalyst > Coming up

email . print