Passage to Mars (2016) Movie Script
1
"Anything you dream is fiction"
"and anything you accomplish
is science."
"The whole history of mankind
is nothing but science fiction."
Midnight with the stars
and you
"It's one small step for man.."
"One giant leap for mankind."
1-4-0-7.
Down 81
minus 0-0.
Damn it.
We're stranded in the
usual middle of nowhere.
I can't believe
this is happening.
The crew's split up.
Food's running low.
Maybe we've gone
one step too far.
Why do we explore?
Why expose ourselves to danger?
I should blame childhood.
All those dreams,
all those fantasies
the books, the movies..
All drumming it into our
impressionable little heads.
I can still hear
these distant voices
that have inspired my life.
All I wanted
was to get the answer
to this ever elusive mystery.
"Are we alone?"
I always thought we would
find the truth there
on this tiny
far-off red glitter
in the night sky.
"Landing a man on the moon
and returning him
safely to the Earth."
"then Orson Welles
and the Mercury Theatre
on the air.."
"Professor Morse
of the McMillan University"
"reports observing a total
of three explosions"
"on the planet Mars
between the hours"
"of 7:45 p.m. and 9:20 p.m.
Eastern Standard Time."
"Professor Indelkoffer
expressed the opinion
"that the explosions on Mars
are undoubtedly
"nothing more than severe
volcanic disturbances
on the surface of the planet."
"How far is Mars
from the Earth?"
"Approximately
40 million miles."
"A red disk swimming
in the blue sea
with transverse stripes
across the disk."
"In your opinion
what do these transverse
stripes signify, professor?"
"Not canals, I can
assure you, Mr. Phillips
"although that's
the popular conjecture
of those who imagine Mars
to be inhabited."
Mars..
The Red Planet.
My mysterious island,
with not just one
but two little moons.
Deimos and Phobos.
A world I have scrutinized
and loved since I was a boy.
We've been staring up
at this distant reddish orb
since the dawn of humanity.
Our primal fear of Mars grew
wild when early telescopes
revealed its engineered surface.
The strange waterways we saw
fired up our imagination.
Some believed the Martians
were waiting
in the ruins
of their fading world
to launch an invasion of Earth.
Others said they were only
staring at us..
Waiting for their own
peaceful extinction.
"We know now
that in the early years
"of the 20th century
"this world
was being watched closely
by intelligences
greater than man's."
We dispatched robots first.
Their report,
desolation everywhere.
Just red dust.
Red from rust.
A barren world, frozen in time.
Windswept.
Lifeless.
Or so it seems.
If anything is alive there,
where is it hiding?
Our quest to find life on Mars
has begun with robots
but it will take humans
to make strides.
How do you prepare humans
for that kind of exploration?
You send them to the Arctic
to get stranded
while attempting to cross
the Northwest Passage.
It's all here in this journal
a record of our polar expedition
to prepare for Mars.
It chronicles our attempt
to get one step closer
to another world.
For thousands of years,
the Inuit and their ancestors
have lived here,
on both land and sea
at the edge of ice and life.
Some years ago, we established
a NASA research outpost
on Devon Island
the largest uninhabited island
in the world.
Mars-On-Earth, we call it.
Each summer, when the island
is free of snow
we go there to prepare
for Mars exploration.
We test spacesuits, robots,
rovers, and strategies.
We learn how to explore Mars.
This year,
we have a special payload
to deliver to Devon.
The HMP Okarian.
Our latest concept vehicle
for getting around on Mars.
Our mission
is no simple delivery
but the first expedition
of its kind.
For the next weeks, the Arctic
will be our alien world.
- Let's go.
- I can't see..
You think we can land
this thing up there?
- On top of that?
- Yeah.
Landing, sure, but we're not
gonna get it back up.
I don't know if I can do this.
I feel a little nervous.
Five metric tons
of steel and Kevlar.
Spartan comfort. Guzzles diesel.
The Okarian is designed
for long-distance drives on Mars
and we're gonna test it
to the max
taking it to Devon Island
by driving across
2000 kilometers
of Arctic sea ice.
This has never been done before.
I guess you could call it
the first Mars road trip
on Earth.
According to our calculations,
a five-ton rover
can be supported
by thick sea ice
but if we run into a crack
it won't matter how thick
the ice is
the Okarian will turn
into the yellow submarine.
- Ready?
- Ready.
Baby please don't go
Baby please don't go
Baby please don't go back
to New Orleans
Baby please don't go
Baby please don't go
Kugluktuk is our starting point.
Here, everything comes
together for the first time.
Equipment, food,
emergency supplies
our sleds and fuel, lots of it
and of course, our crew.
John Schutt
the veteran
of over 50 polar expeditions.
His job now
keep us on track and alive.
Why didn't you want
to talk to me?
I just wanted to stay home
in bed.
Actually, we wanna get out
of town as soon as we can.
The weather's coming in here
a little bit..
Everything I know
about surviving on ice
I learned from John.
Jesse Weaver.
Jesse's only 18.
An ace rider and mechanic.
He must keep our machines
running at all times.
Why do you wanna be
so much on the ice?
I'm just ready to get
the Humvee there.
To get everything done
said and done, and safely.
And I'm ready to see
this thing go.
I'm ready to see it in action.
If it's fixable,
Jesse will fix it.
Joe Amarualik.
Joe's an Inuk from Resolute
Bay and a Canadian Ranger
in the High Arctic.
A man of few words,
but they're all important.
His job is to find us
a safe path
through the cracked
and jumbled ice.
The ice keeps
building up my lens.
Mark Carroll.
He's filmed in the most
remote corners of our planet
and that's what
he's gotta do now
keep filming
no matter what happens.
His energy is impressive.
Jean-Christophe Jeauffre.
He has led many expeditions
around the world
making his first
polar voyage with us.
A keen naturalist
and adventurer.
He's here to tell our story.
So we're gonna leave
in a few minutes.
How do you feel?
Oh, this is a, a great moment.
Once this rover is on Devon
we'll be able to use it
with the other rover we have
the Mars-1, and, and learn
how to do Mars exploration.
To me, that's the most
exciting thing.
As for me, my job, basically,
is to get everyone in trouble.
Our route, the infamous
Northwest Passage.
The maze of seaways
connecting the Atlantic
and Pacific Oceans
that lured so many explorers
to their doom.
We only have a few weeks
to reach Devon
before the sea ice breaks up.
Everybody's ready?
We keep looking
at the camera, right?
Yes.
Daddy will come back soon.
Saa, Joe's five-year-old
son, has seen his dad
go on the land many times.
Saa is already
an expert on Mars.
Fingers crossed,
he'll get there one day.
Inuit are born explorers.
At 1 p.m., we officially
entered the Northwest Passage.
Somewhere below us,
in the dark Arctic abyss
lie the crew and ships
of John Franklin's
doomed expedition.
One hundred and twenty-seven
men and two powerful vessels
disappeared here in 1846.
They were looking
for the Northwest Passage.
John grew up reading
about the Northwest Passage.
He's about to find out
what all the fuss was about.
We have chosen to leave behind
our normal lives
with no regrets,
and lots of hopes.
As we advance into the unknown
it also dawns on me,
more than ever before
that the lives of my companions
are in my hands.
I have their trust.
I must live up to it.
You know that saying about
how failure isn't an option?
In fact, failure is always
an option.
Midnight.
Almost as bright as day.
The sun won't set for months.
The Arctic is hypnotic.
Mars will be beautiful too.
But beyond dangerous,
as in deadly.
8:30 a.m.
We're making better progress
today
but our fuel consumption
is still too high.
On Mars, the expedition
will stop many times
to collect and analyze data.
At 11 a.m., we paused
to study the sea ice.
Our planet's climate
has been changing fast
with big effects in the Arctic.
Our observations capture
a snapshot in time
of the thickness of the ice
along the Northwest Passage.
The sea ice is for now
no thinner than in past years
but hold on
its nature has changed..
Dramatically.
It no longer contains
the layers of old ice
that used to survive
several summers.
There's only new ice,
ice that will be gone
by the end of the summer.
Everywhere ice covers
are in retreat.
This is gonna be a sample.
Here, polar bear populations
are in dangerous decline.
As we gaze to another world
I see our own planet struggling.
The ecology of Earth
is shifting.
Did a similar shift
happen to Mars?
A global change
that forced water to recede
and turned an entire planet
into a desert?
If we want to find life on Mars
we must go after
its hidden waters.
On Earth, where there's water,
there's life..
Always.
Even here, beneath our sea ice,
life is stirring on all sides.
This place can be so quiet.
Much like Mars.
Complete stillness can be eerie.
Although now,
there's no more signal..
It's really finicky.
Bad news.
Our electrical system
seems to be failing.
We're losing our ability
to power
on-board computers
and instruments.
Yeah, so I've got 12 volts here.
Worse, we won't be
able to shut down
the Okarian's engine anymore,
it might not restart.
- Starting up.
- Thin ice. Thin ice.
Retreat. Thin ice. Retreat.
Okay, we're good.
We're getting an ice thickness,
the current ice thickness, here.
- 5.38 meters?
- Uh, uh, yup.
- Excellent.
- Which is wrong.
1.5, that's a lot.
Yeah, it's quite thick, so..
And here's the capper
a massive storm is approaching.
We can't afford to stop.
The clock is ticking.
4 p.m. No choice now.
We must hunker down.
Waiting is the name of the game.
On Mars, we'll need
to be patient too.
Dust storms can last for weeks
and engulf the whole planet.
Still, uh, completely whiteout.
Complete whiteout, uh,
we can't see anything around us
except, uh,
white and a few chunks
of blue ice, uh, all around us.
Uh, and we're getting snow
drifting in here a little bit.
But, uh, everything's okay,
spirits are high
and people are trying
to catch up on some sleep
and, uh, reading.
The Martian winds
raise the red dust.
It's fine-grained, abrasive
and toxic.
Dust will grind
into your spacesuit joints
and eat away the hardware.
If inhaled, it will clog
and burn the pores
of your lungs.
The art of living on Mars
will be the art
of managing the dust.
This intense heat, they
project in a parallel beam
against any object they choose,
by means of a polished
parabolic mirror
of unknown composition..
That is my conjecture
of the origin of the heat ray.
Not even filming.
Just hold on to it.
It makes you not wanna be
in prison, huh?
Oh, yeah.
Aside from the fact
that you might be some, you know
six foot eight, you know, guy
285 pound guy's boy toy.
What would be worse?
This weather sucks.
"Cables have been
received from English, French
"and German scientific bodies
offering assistance.
"Astronomers report
continued gas outbursts
at regular intervals
on the planet Mars."
8:00 a.m.
The Okarian is holding up well.
She's a real trooper.
Our electrical system,
not so much.
We have a dying alternator.
It's not fixable.
From here on, no more
recharging of anything.
We'll push on for now,
but I must resist
that mindless urge
to keep going no matter what.
What they call "Go fever."
Too many before us
have died from it.
For the first time, I'm thinking
we might not make it to Devon
before the ice breaks up.
But for now, I won't share
these thoughts with the crew.
We'll have to go through
that, that pass over there
and then make it wider.
5 p.m.
As we make our way
deeper into the Arctic
the feeling of roving on Mars
grows stronger.
How far on Mars,
how deep into the planet
will our search for water
and life take us?
Where should we look first?
I keep thinking
about the giant scar
across Mars' surface.
Its origin is still a mystery.
It was once lined with
glaciers and contained lakes.
All long gone.
Whatever surface water Mars
might have had has vanished.
But some mornings,
her canyons fill with fog.
How do you get fog
without water?
Will we make our first contact
with another life form
beneath the Martian fog?
Keep right. Keep right.
Yeah, yeah.
The Arctic is tough.
We lack sleep.
Our faces and hands
are drying and wrinkled.
Midnight with the stars
and you
Midnight and a rendezvous
Your eyes..
We wash and scrub
with hard snow.
We melt fresh snow
for drinking water.
Yeah, boiling water.
We move sideways
to take up as little room
in the rover as possible.
I sleep on the floor.
- What is it, Jesse?
- Uh, cheeseburger?
No, it's Tang.
The Mars rovers
will be just as cramped
but you won't be able
to step outside for fresh air.
- Jesse, you're going outside?
- Uh, yes, I am.
More snow?
We're now like family members.
All these different guys
get along very well
despite the fatigue
and confined space.
Each one feels responsible
for the other.
We wouldn't have it
in any other way.
We're distracted by our jobs,
by simple survival
and Jean-Christophe's playlist
but we can't help wondering
what's happening back home..
And what lies ahead.
I can only imagine
our loneliness on Mars.
Two hundred million kilometers
from home.
6 a.m.
Lovely wake-up surprise.
We're losing
power steering fluid.
To check the fluid level,
we have to cut off the engine
which might not restart.
Conundrum time.
Without power steering,
we can't drive
but if our engine
doesn't restart
we're dead in the water.
Well, I think we need
to warm up first
and continue in a bit.
Alright. The power..
If we're about to lose
power steering
I'd let it stop and rest.
Let it rest
before you lose it completely,
and you're...
Yeah, so what,
what resting will do to it?
Well, I don't know.
Resting will
give... give it a break.
- And then what?
- And then, you know..
- And then what?
- And then keep going.
Is it gonna recover?
It... it should.
I don't know what's doing this.
The fluid's fine,
the belts are fine.
It doesn't make any sense
to give it a break, Jesse.
We are gonna fix it or we're
gonna have to keep on going.
I don't even know
if that does anything...
I'm about to take
a break myself!
Well, that's different,
that's okay.
Okay.
That's why we're saying
why don't you jump inside?
- Yeah.
- Okay.
I'm hearing
our mission clock tick away
but I need to give Jesse
some space.
We take a break
then time for MECO.
The NASA-speak
for Main Engine Cutoff.
Hey, uh, the power steering
fluid is in that box, right?
Well, we may not
need them to come back.
We can just join them there.
- Are we low?
- I don't know.
Just give me something.
Well, I... I can go ahead
and tell you
I don't think we are
'cause I can see it.
We're good.
It's right on the line.
We're good.
Ready?
Okay?
Transfer case
doesn't matter, but..
It doesn't matter.
As we leave the Jamesons,
we see fog.
The ice is already
breaking up ahead.
But where?
John is on the lookout
for open water.
Joe is far ahead. Maybe too far.
I don't like it.
Heya, Joe, Joe!
Can you slow down, and, uh,
wait up for us there?
We pretty much lost
sight of you.
Slow down please.
Thin ice. Thin ice.
Retreat. Thin ice.
Thin ice. Retreat.
Hey, John,
I think the back is in slush.
Joe! Joe!
Yeah, we're really stuck, Joe.
We're gonna need your help.
Come on back. Come on back.
4:00 p.m.
Our worst nightmare.
We've run into a lead.
The Okarian is sinking.
Each time I add power,
the rover sinks further in.
We're losing her.
- Have we made any progress?
- No.
Bring back the cable!
More cable! More!
More!
Hey, John,
upward with the winch.
I'm gonna go back
a tiny bit, John.
Okay? Keep going?
John, tell me what you're doing!
It's going down. It's going in.
No, I'm not.
I'm... I'm going slow.
The battery voltage
was drawn down to zero.
John, you're the man.
I got this.
We saved the Okarian.
It was a close call,
too close for comfort
but it could have been
much worse.
When I saw nothing but sky
through the windshield
I thought we were
going down for good.
I could see the Okarian
settling on the seafloor
alongside Franklin's
sunken ships.
We pulled through this time
but how many more leads
lie before us?
One minute, you're barreling
along, unstoppable
the next,
you're in survival mode.
The fine line is crossed
without warning.
I'm now confronting
the most critical decision
that any expedition leader
faces.
To continue on or to stop
before it's too late.
How many explorers have died
because they chose wrong?
Because they didn't abort
their mission
while it could still be saved?
Here's where we stand.
We need a new alternator,
new batteries
a new power steering system
and more time.
The passage is starting
to break up.
Devon is out of reach
for this year.
17 April.
We arrived in Cambridge Bay
at 2:00 p.m.
We couldn't reach Devon.
That hurts.
Plan B, the Okarian will be
flown to Resolute Bay
to get repaired
and put in hypersleep
until next spring.
Then, we'll wake her up for
another assault on Devon Island.
We made it.
Do Humvees dream
of diesel sheep?
5 May.
The Okarian's
had her beauty sleep.
We begin anew at the eastern
end of the Northwest Passage
in Resolute Bay.
Persistence.
That's what exploration takes.
It's not about smooth sailing.
It's about venturing
into the unknown
pushing the limits
of where you can go
and what you can do
to meet with what's out there.
I know where our small step
is taking us.
It's getting us ready
for the greatest adventure
of all time.
To us, the Northwest Passage
is not just a link
between two oceans.
It's a passage between
two worlds.
Our crew is reunited.
We're thrilled.
But it's our last chance
to reach Devon.
- Be safe.
- We're on our way.
6 May. 1:00 a.m.
The Okarian entered
Eleanor Valley.
We hope to reach
the coast by tomorrow.
Okay, Jesse, here we go.
Hey, Jesse, uh,
we're hearing a fairly
substantial knocking noise.
Uh, it looks, it sounds like
it's sorta coming
from the right front.
Seems like one of the components
that holds the track on,
uh, came loose there.
Okay, I guess
we're gonna have to stop.
Is everybody safe now?
Hey, Bill?
Hey, Bill, this is Pascal.
We have a situation
here with the, uh, Humvee.
Everybody's safe, we've had a..
A, uh, damaged rear
right gear hub.
Let's, uh, let's jack it up.
Take off the track and look
at what's going on here.
This happened in Africa
to me once.
We were doing 50 miles an hour
down the road, south to Khartoum
and looked at
the side view mirror
and the wheel is three feet out
from where it should be.
We'll see. We'll see.
We'll see, we'll see, we'll see.
We need Joe's sled too, huh?
Yeah, we need..
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
This is not an easy fix.
If it's.. If it's fixable.
We need to dig all the snow away
so we have a solid surface to..
Sure. So okay, guys.
We're gonna... we're gonna
stay here
we're gonna stay put.
We need the sled
with the spare, um..
- Track.
- Track.
And the inflatable jacks
as well.
Hey, uh, call AAA.
This whole piece
will get in there
but there's a keeper..
You can see where the keeper
is supposed to be right there?
- Yeah, it's shot.
- And..
Yeah, it's come out.
Houston, we've had a problem.
The critical part
connecting the drive train
to its matching track
has ruptured.
The hub is normally so robust
that we have no spare for it.
A replacement part
has to be flown up
to Resolute Bay from down south.
We're 70 kilometers
from Resolute Bay
but Joe knows the way well.
He'll head back there alone
to wait for the part.
This is going to take days.
Crap.
Uh, so, let me introduce
you to our cook.
This is our cook.
His name is Jesse.
And, uh, the chief of expedition
uh, Pascal
is looking for the comte
which a very good French cheese.
There, sausage, cheese,
everything you need to be happy.
John seems preoccupied.
I know him well.
That's not like him.
Something is wrong,
but I can't get it out of him.
A bit of sunshine here.
Camera roll.
Alright, Pascal.
So, where we at?
On Mars, you might be
stuck in a place
uh, by dust storm
for several days.
And that's what happened to us
uh, on the first two days
of our trip here.
Or you might be stuck somewhere
because of a mechanical problem.
This is what happened to us
here for three days.
Mars is really a complicated
and exciting place to explore.
But to us,
because we are here on Earth.
Mars is the closest planet where
we might find some answers
about the origins of life
and the possibilities
of alien life.
It has been a very humbling
series of discoveries.
We are trying to understand
why we even exist.
As usual,
when left to themselves
my thoughts turn to Mars
and our search for life there.
To discover signs
of ancient life on Mars
would be fascinating.
But the Holy Grail would be
to find live organisms.
For that, we must find
liquid water first.
Maybe where the planet
is still warm?
How about its volcanoes?
They're not extinct.
Just dormant.
It's almost midnight.
Our slow, cold sunset looks like
those captured on Mars
by the robots.
In New York this morning
It's about half past nine
It's been five days now.
Joe is still weathering
the storm in Resolute Bay.
John has been spending
more time alone.
But he opened up
to me this morning.
To my surprise,
he said it's time
to cut our losses
and to turn back.
Put an end
to an undoable journey.
I was shocked.
John's words carry the weight
of years of experience
survival and wisdom.
On this mission,
he's my anchor and my guide.
He's now recommending an abort.
If I decide to push on
I'll be going against
his best judgment.
My confidence is shaken.
For the first time,
I feel the full weight
of the expedition
on my shoulders alone.
Anyway, hardlock is if you
have tires and you need to..
- Yeah. - go through
sand or snow but..
Jesse regroups.
He knows that when
the replacement part arrives
he'll have his work
cut out for him.
He's tired but happy.
Jean-Christophe, as often
seems to be lost
in his thoughts.
Maybe he's dreaming of Mars
as I am.
We often chat in French
not to exclude
the rest of the crew
but to exchange memories
of our childhood.
Mark talks about his family
a lot back home.
He knows he won't be back
for his kid's birthday.
He still films non-stop
even though
we aren't going anywhere.
Okay, I just wanna take you out
on a little tour of my igloo.
Here's the fuel sled.
John's sleeping over there.
That's the Humvee.
Here.
Come inside.
There's, uh, my sleeping bag.
Got a little snow on it.
And, uh, I finally, uh..
Closed the chimney off
with my GORE-TEX jacket.
It keeps me warm. Kind of.
It's definitely blowing
pretty good out here.
Though it's not as bad
as it's been the last two days.
Let's go look at John's tent.
Okay.
John's tent. He's doing okay.
You can see the snow
is a little deep.
It's up to my knees.
There's Pascal..
And Jean-Christophe.
Whoo!
This is all the camera gear.
It's doing okay.
Good gravy, it's cold.
It's probably, uh,
I don't know, zero.
But with the wind chill
man, it's just, uh,
takes your breath away.
So that's about it.
Uh, gonna climb back
in the Humvee
and get some hot chocolate
or something.
Alright.
So when did you leave, uh,
Resolute? At what time?
- 4:00 - 4:00?
8:00 p.m.
Joe was back this evening
with the part we need.
Yeah. That's it.
How do you feel?
Oh, relieved.
Extremely relieved.
The broken hub
wouldn't come off.
It was frozen in place.
We turned our camping stove
into a makeshift blowtorch.
Where are all my tools
going to, man?
Right, Joe today
drove four hours
uh, in this whiteout alone
pulling on the snowmobile
and... and sled.
Uh, this one part that we were
needing to get replaced.
Uh, that was heroic.
Just for him to get... get to us
in time this evening
at... at 8:00 p.m.
Uh, Jesse, uh,
piled all the training
he got from AM General factory
in Humvees
and did a superb job
replacing the part
uh, with John's help.
John, of course, uh,
was fantastic as usual
and kept us alive
for the past five days.
Uh, and, uh
and you guys
from the Jules Verne's team
were fantastic too,
you were very patient.
Just, uh, never a complaint.
So that's remarkable.
I'm just here
to get everybody in trouble.
7:00 p.m.
The Okarian is fully
operational again.
We are good on food and fuel.
The weather forecast looks okay.
We are a go.
I know I'm going against
John's recommendation.
But the way I see it
we still have
safe abort options ahead.
11:00 p.m.
We've reached Eleanor Lake.
There is life beneath us
gasping for light
under the faint midnight sun.
There were once
frozen lakes on Mars.
Maybe like here,
teeming with life.
I've spent years of my life
studying spacecraft images
of Mars
trying to understand
this alien planet.
Everywhere fire, water
and ice have left their mark.
A water-rich planet,
that might have been
for a brief time,
Earth's sister.
I dream of journeying to Mars
not just through space,
but through time.
"The Martians were there"
"in the canal,
reflected in the water."
"The Martians
stared back up at them..
"For a long, long silent time
from the rippling water."
Here
So far away
Another time
and another place
At the edge
of breaking through
Again
I found my sense of wonder
1:00 a.m.
The coast.
Sea ice looks daunting
as if the raging ocean
had frozen in mid surge.
Devon is in sight
for the first time.
We are so near and yet so far.
We're going to go down here.
We're here right now.
We're gonna go down this way..
Out to the sea here
and then across
the smooth ice this way.
1:45 a.m.
We follow Joe very slowly.
Beneath the snow, the sea ice
might be breaking up already.
Seventeen.
Joe says the sea ice
is on the verge of collapsing.
The time for slow is over.
We have to make a dash
for Devon.
We're at the point of no return.
If anything stops us,
we won't have enough time
to get any part flown up
from the south again.
We'll have to abandon
the Okarian to her fate
as the ice eventually gives way.
On Mars,
rovers will die in sand.
We're on final approach
to Mars on Earth.
10:00 p.m.
In one instant,
my dream of many years
has come to an abrupt end.
Definitely not good.
Oh, merde.
- No. Hub and half shaft.
- Huh?
Hub and half shaft.. Which one?
Hub and half shaft..
A hidden block of ice
has ripped off
the rear left track
and destroyed the gear hub.
Our rover is history.
This expedition is a bust.
Keeping our crew safe is the
only thing that matters now.
We have to abandon the Okarian
and get everyone to shore.
The sea ice has begun
to break up around us.
As we began to evacuate
critical gear
Jesse mentioned our camp
on Devon.
- We need a new gear hub.
- Yeah.
- And you have a half shaft?
- Yeah.
A glimmer of hope
popped up in my mind.
The Okarian's only hope
the Mars-1, our twin Humvee,
is based on Devon
at camp, 50 kilometers away.
If we could get to the Mars-1
maybe we could scavenge
its rear left hub
and graft it on to the Okarian.
A mechanical organ transplant.
We have to act now.
It's a long and risky journey.
We have two snowmobiles.
Only two of us can go.
Jesse is best trained
to retrieve the part
John has the experience of long
snowmobile treks in Antarctica.
Godspeed.
- Drive safely.
- Oh, yeah.
Come back in one piece.
It's a gamble.
Splitting up is never good.
Especially if the team
is already small.
9:00 p.m.
John and Jesse
have reached the island.
We try to remain
in contact via sat phone.
There's been an accident.
It's John.
Riding through heavy snowfall
with poor visibility
he plunged over a precipice.
Jesse informs me that John's
left leg is badly bruised.
He's in agonizing pain.
Damn it.
We're stranded in the usual
middle of nowhere.
I can't believe
this is happening.
The crew's split up,
food's running low.
Maybe we've gone
one step too far.
Jean-Christophe shared
his concerns with me.
He feels that we're now
walking a very fine line.
Everything could go wrong
very quickly.
He's damn right.
He also said
my decision reminded him
of Shackleton's in Antarctica
a century ago.
When his ship, the Endurance
got locked in ice
and sank, he split up his crew
and went for help
with a small party.
After an impossible journey,
he returned as promised
and saved them all.
One of the greatest feats
in exploration history.
I'm no Shackleton,
but he inspired us all.
Mars will also have its heroes.
11:00 p.m.
We are not alone.
Alien life in an alien world.
Joe thinks he's been
circling us for two days.
To this awe-inspiring
creature, we are dinner.
Thankfully, we are not
as appetizing as we think.
Somehow, this beautiful
ghostly encounter
brings us luck.
After three days, this is
the most wonderful sight.
John and Jesse have
successfully retrieved
the critical geared hub
from the Mars-1.
We greet them as heroes.
They truly are.
We got a good route
in the land there.
- Jesse, you made it.
- Yeah, I made it.
Jesse shows us
a picture he took of camp
with the Mars-1.
On Mars, we'll definitely need
not just one, but two rovers.
One to rescue the other.
Hello, Pascal,
could you take the nut off
the back of that ball joint
behind you on the cooler?
This time, we must continue
at a walking pace.
Spare parts
are out of the question.
We're almost out of fuel.
Soon we'll be tapping
into our survival rations.
Just, just follow the track.
Okay, repeat that, John?
Just follow the track.
You want... you want us
to stay with the track?
We'll do the right track.
Obstruction on your left.
John and Jean-Christophe
decided to walk
in front of the rover
as short-range scouts
to locate buried obstacles.
There are many, too many.
The Arctic's grip continues
to close in on us.
It feels as if we're being
played with.
The closer we get to shore, the
more out of reach it seems.
We get stuck in snow,
again and again.
Devon Island, I love you.
Land sweet land.
Alright.
At 11:30 p.m. on 16 May
more than a year after first
launching from Kugluktuk
we've finally reached
the shore of Devon Island.
And Mark who's filming.
Hi, Mark.
This is a bottle of Dom Perignon
from Reims, France.
- Well..
- Here we are on Devon.
To the Northwest Passage.
- The finest crystal.
- Si, si.
- John.
- Cheers.
Here
So far away
Another time
Another place
The HMP Okarian has landed.
Edgar Rice Burroughs
wrote of the Yellow Martians
who escaped drought and war
to reach the planet's far north.
They were survivors
knights of the ice
and explorers.
They were called the Okarians.
Stand by, flight.
Going to Mars
is the exploration challenge
of our time.
We should not fear it
or postpone it
but embrace it
and make it succeed.
It will bring humanity together
and strengthen our character.
As I age, my dream of going
to Mars is slowly fading.
I may not make it.
But I have a new dream.
I wanna pass the torch to you
the next generation.
We dedicate
our polar adventure to you
who will live and witness
the journey to Mars.
Make us feel the pride
of being explorers again
and make humanity
a more peaceful
and promising species.
"Houston
we got a, uh, if you give us
through data, we got some.."
"The surface of Mars!"
Will you find life?
What kind of life will it be?
If it's a completely alien life
with its own DNA
that might tell us
there's a possibility
of life throughout the universe.
Saa, your video.
Earth will be up
in five minutes.
What if you find
that life on Mars
is similar to life on Earth?
Maybe life started on Mars
and came to seed the Earth.
We might all be
children of Mars.
Maybe all this time
the tantalizing call of Mars
has been a call to return home.
This is the final entry
in our expedition log.
Tonight, the children
of the Okarian
will be sleeping
at Mars-On-Earth
dreaming under the stars
of the day
you will be looking back
at the Earth
from the quiet rim
of Olympus Mons.
I'm Pascal Lee.
Signing off.
Apollo 11, Houston, we're
a go for undocking, over.
On the moon
I have seen
magnificent desolation.
Now humans are reaching
for this new world
this time, to stay
and then venture further
into space.
Before us now
is a giant leap
to Mars and beyond.
Imagine
The world
In a moment
Truth and the unseen
Time in a dream
Reach out
Breathe in
I'm ready to believe again
Hold on
Let go
Find a way
Home
Home
The daylight
Is falling
Beyond the last horizon
A passage you know
All across an endless sea
Reach out
Breathe in
I'm ready to believe again
Hold on
Let go
Find your way
Way back home Home
Way back home Home
Said you're gonna reach out
And you're gonna hold on
Find a way
Leading home
Said I'm gonna reach out
And then you're
gonna hold on
Find a way
Way back home
Reach out
Breathe in
You ready to believe again?
Alright
Hold on
Let go
I know you'll find it
I said yeah
Said I'm gonna be strong
Said I'm gonna hold on
For you
For you and for me
Hold on Faith
Let go
A little bit of love
"Before the cylinder fell,
there was a general persuasion
"that through all
the deep of space
"no life existed beyond
the petty surface
"of our minute sphere.
"Now we see further.
"Dim and wonderful is the
vision I have conjured up
"in my mind of life spreading
"throughout the inanimate
vastnesses of sidereal space.
Remote dream. It may be."
"Anything you dream is fiction"
"and anything you accomplish
is science."
"The whole history of mankind
is nothing but science fiction."
Midnight with the stars
and you
"It's one small step for man.."
"One giant leap for mankind."
1-4-0-7.
Down 81
minus 0-0.
Damn it.
We're stranded in the
usual middle of nowhere.
I can't believe
this is happening.
The crew's split up.
Food's running low.
Maybe we've gone
one step too far.
Why do we explore?
Why expose ourselves to danger?
I should blame childhood.
All those dreams,
all those fantasies
the books, the movies..
All drumming it into our
impressionable little heads.
I can still hear
these distant voices
that have inspired my life.
All I wanted
was to get the answer
to this ever elusive mystery.
"Are we alone?"
I always thought we would
find the truth there
on this tiny
far-off red glitter
in the night sky.
"Landing a man on the moon
and returning him
safely to the Earth."
"then Orson Welles
and the Mercury Theatre
on the air.."
"Professor Morse
of the McMillan University"
"reports observing a total
of three explosions"
"on the planet Mars
between the hours"
"of 7:45 p.m. and 9:20 p.m.
Eastern Standard Time."
"Professor Indelkoffer
expressed the opinion
"that the explosions on Mars
are undoubtedly
"nothing more than severe
volcanic disturbances
on the surface of the planet."
"How far is Mars
from the Earth?"
"Approximately
40 million miles."
"A red disk swimming
in the blue sea
with transverse stripes
across the disk."
"In your opinion
what do these transverse
stripes signify, professor?"
"Not canals, I can
assure you, Mr. Phillips
"although that's
the popular conjecture
of those who imagine Mars
to be inhabited."
Mars..
The Red Planet.
My mysterious island,
with not just one
but two little moons.
Deimos and Phobos.
A world I have scrutinized
and loved since I was a boy.
We've been staring up
at this distant reddish orb
since the dawn of humanity.
Our primal fear of Mars grew
wild when early telescopes
revealed its engineered surface.
The strange waterways we saw
fired up our imagination.
Some believed the Martians
were waiting
in the ruins
of their fading world
to launch an invasion of Earth.
Others said they were only
staring at us..
Waiting for their own
peaceful extinction.
"We know now
that in the early years
"of the 20th century
"this world
was being watched closely
by intelligences
greater than man's."
We dispatched robots first.
Their report,
desolation everywhere.
Just red dust.
Red from rust.
A barren world, frozen in time.
Windswept.
Lifeless.
Or so it seems.
If anything is alive there,
where is it hiding?
Our quest to find life on Mars
has begun with robots
but it will take humans
to make strides.
How do you prepare humans
for that kind of exploration?
You send them to the Arctic
to get stranded
while attempting to cross
the Northwest Passage.
It's all here in this journal
a record of our polar expedition
to prepare for Mars.
It chronicles our attempt
to get one step closer
to another world.
For thousands of years,
the Inuit and their ancestors
have lived here,
on both land and sea
at the edge of ice and life.
Some years ago, we established
a NASA research outpost
on Devon Island
the largest uninhabited island
in the world.
Mars-On-Earth, we call it.
Each summer, when the island
is free of snow
we go there to prepare
for Mars exploration.
We test spacesuits, robots,
rovers, and strategies.
We learn how to explore Mars.
This year,
we have a special payload
to deliver to Devon.
The HMP Okarian.
Our latest concept vehicle
for getting around on Mars.
Our mission
is no simple delivery
but the first expedition
of its kind.
For the next weeks, the Arctic
will be our alien world.
- Let's go.
- I can't see..
You think we can land
this thing up there?
- On top of that?
- Yeah.
Landing, sure, but we're not
gonna get it back up.
I don't know if I can do this.
I feel a little nervous.
Five metric tons
of steel and Kevlar.
Spartan comfort. Guzzles diesel.
The Okarian is designed
for long-distance drives on Mars
and we're gonna test it
to the max
taking it to Devon Island
by driving across
2000 kilometers
of Arctic sea ice.
This has never been done before.
I guess you could call it
the first Mars road trip
on Earth.
According to our calculations,
a five-ton rover
can be supported
by thick sea ice
but if we run into a crack
it won't matter how thick
the ice is
the Okarian will turn
into the yellow submarine.
- Ready?
- Ready.
Baby please don't go
Baby please don't go
Baby please don't go back
to New Orleans
Baby please don't go
Baby please don't go
Kugluktuk is our starting point.
Here, everything comes
together for the first time.
Equipment, food,
emergency supplies
our sleds and fuel, lots of it
and of course, our crew.
John Schutt
the veteran
of over 50 polar expeditions.
His job now
keep us on track and alive.
Why didn't you want
to talk to me?
I just wanted to stay home
in bed.
Actually, we wanna get out
of town as soon as we can.
The weather's coming in here
a little bit..
Everything I know
about surviving on ice
I learned from John.
Jesse Weaver.
Jesse's only 18.
An ace rider and mechanic.
He must keep our machines
running at all times.
Why do you wanna be
so much on the ice?
I'm just ready to get
the Humvee there.
To get everything done
said and done, and safely.
And I'm ready to see
this thing go.
I'm ready to see it in action.
If it's fixable,
Jesse will fix it.
Joe Amarualik.
Joe's an Inuk from Resolute
Bay and a Canadian Ranger
in the High Arctic.
A man of few words,
but they're all important.
His job is to find us
a safe path
through the cracked
and jumbled ice.
The ice keeps
building up my lens.
Mark Carroll.
He's filmed in the most
remote corners of our planet
and that's what
he's gotta do now
keep filming
no matter what happens.
His energy is impressive.
Jean-Christophe Jeauffre.
He has led many expeditions
around the world
making his first
polar voyage with us.
A keen naturalist
and adventurer.
He's here to tell our story.
So we're gonna leave
in a few minutes.
How do you feel?
Oh, this is a, a great moment.
Once this rover is on Devon
we'll be able to use it
with the other rover we have
the Mars-1, and, and learn
how to do Mars exploration.
To me, that's the most
exciting thing.
As for me, my job, basically,
is to get everyone in trouble.
Our route, the infamous
Northwest Passage.
The maze of seaways
connecting the Atlantic
and Pacific Oceans
that lured so many explorers
to their doom.
We only have a few weeks
to reach Devon
before the sea ice breaks up.
Everybody's ready?
We keep looking
at the camera, right?
Yes.
Daddy will come back soon.
Saa, Joe's five-year-old
son, has seen his dad
go on the land many times.
Saa is already
an expert on Mars.
Fingers crossed,
he'll get there one day.
Inuit are born explorers.
At 1 p.m., we officially
entered the Northwest Passage.
Somewhere below us,
in the dark Arctic abyss
lie the crew and ships
of John Franklin's
doomed expedition.
One hundred and twenty-seven
men and two powerful vessels
disappeared here in 1846.
They were looking
for the Northwest Passage.
John grew up reading
about the Northwest Passage.
He's about to find out
what all the fuss was about.
We have chosen to leave behind
our normal lives
with no regrets,
and lots of hopes.
As we advance into the unknown
it also dawns on me,
more than ever before
that the lives of my companions
are in my hands.
I have their trust.
I must live up to it.
You know that saying about
how failure isn't an option?
In fact, failure is always
an option.
Midnight.
Almost as bright as day.
The sun won't set for months.
The Arctic is hypnotic.
Mars will be beautiful too.
But beyond dangerous,
as in deadly.
8:30 a.m.
We're making better progress
today
but our fuel consumption
is still too high.
On Mars, the expedition
will stop many times
to collect and analyze data.
At 11 a.m., we paused
to study the sea ice.
Our planet's climate
has been changing fast
with big effects in the Arctic.
Our observations capture
a snapshot in time
of the thickness of the ice
along the Northwest Passage.
The sea ice is for now
no thinner than in past years
but hold on
its nature has changed..
Dramatically.
It no longer contains
the layers of old ice
that used to survive
several summers.
There's only new ice,
ice that will be gone
by the end of the summer.
Everywhere ice covers
are in retreat.
This is gonna be a sample.
Here, polar bear populations
are in dangerous decline.
As we gaze to another world
I see our own planet struggling.
The ecology of Earth
is shifting.
Did a similar shift
happen to Mars?
A global change
that forced water to recede
and turned an entire planet
into a desert?
If we want to find life on Mars
we must go after
its hidden waters.
On Earth, where there's water,
there's life..
Always.
Even here, beneath our sea ice,
life is stirring on all sides.
This place can be so quiet.
Much like Mars.
Complete stillness can be eerie.
Although now,
there's no more signal..
It's really finicky.
Bad news.
Our electrical system
seems to be failing.
We're losing our ability
to power
on-board computers
and instruments.
Yeah, so I've got 12 volts here.
Worse, we won't be
able to shut down
the Okarian's engine anymore,
it might not restart.
- Starting up.
- Thin ice. Thin ice.
Retreat. Thin ice. Retreat.
Okay, we're good.
We're getting an ice thickness,
the current ice thickness, here.
- 5.38 meters?
- Uh, uh, yup.
- Excellent.
- Which is wrong.
1.5, that's a lot.
Yeah, it's quite thick, so..
And here's the capper
a massive storm is approaching.
We can't afford to stop.
The clock is ticking.
4 p.m. No choice now.
We must hunker down.
Waiting is the name of the game.
On Mars, we'll need
to be patient too.
Dust storms can last for weeks
and engulf the whole planet.
Still, uh, completely whiteout.
Complete whiteout, uh,
we can't see anything around us
except, uh,
white and a few chunks
of blue ice, uh, all around us.
Uh, and we're getting snow
drifting in here a little bit.
But, uh, everything's okay,
spirits are high
and people are trying
to catch up on some sleep
and, uh, reading.
The Martian winds
raise the red dust.
It's fine-grained, abrasive
and toxic.
Dust will grind
into your spacesuit joints
and eat away the hardware.
If inhaled, it will clog
and burn the pores
of your lungs.
The art of living on Mars
will be the art
of managing the dust.
This intense heat, they
project in a parallel beam
against any object they choose,
by means of a polished
parabolic mirror
of unknown composition..
That is my conjecture
of the origin of the heat ray.
Not even filming.
Just hold on to it.
It makes you not wanna be
in prison, huh?
Oh, yeah.
Aside from the fact
that you might be some, you know
six foot eight, you know, guy
285 pound guy's boy toy.
What would be worse?
This weather sucks.
"Cables have been
received from English, French
"and German scientific bodies
offering assistance.
"Astronomers report
continued gas outbursts
at regular intervals
on the planet Mars."
8:00 a.m.
The Okarian is holding up well.
She's a real trooper.
Our electrical system,
not so much.
We have a dying alternator.
It's not fixable.
From here on, no more
recharging of anything.
We'll push on for now,
but I must resist
that mindless urge
to keep going no matter what.
What they call "Go fever."
Too many before us
have died from it.
For the first time, I'm thinking
we might not make it to Devon
before the ice breaks up.
But for now, I won't share
these thoughts with the crew.
We'll have to go through
that, that pass over there
and then make it wider.
5 p.m.
As we make our way
deeper into the Arctic
the feeling of roving on Mars
grows stronger.
How far on Mars,
how deep into the planet
will our search for water
and life take us?
Where should we look first?
I keep thinking
about the giant scar
across Mars' surface.
Its origin is still a mystery.
It was once lined with
glaciers and contained lakes.
All long gone.
Whatever surface water Mars
might have had has vanished.
But some mornings,
her canyons fill with fog.
How do you get fog
without water?
Will we make our first contact
with another life form
beneath the Martian fog?
Keep right. Keep right.
Yeah, yeah.
The Arctic is tough.
We lack sleep.
Our faces and hands
are drying and wrinkled.
Midnight with the stars
and you
Midnight and a rendezvous
Your eyes..
We wash and scrub
with hard snow.
We melt fresh snow
for drinking water.
Yeah, boiling water.
We move sideways
to take up as little room
in the rover as possible.
I sleep on the floor.
- What is it, Jesse?
- Uh, cheeseburger?
No, it's Tang.
The Mars rovers
will be just as cramped
but you won't be able
to step outside for fresh air.
- Jesse, you're going outside?
- Uh, yes, I am.
More snow?
We're now like family members.
All these different guys
get along very well
despite the fatigue
and confined space.
Each one feels responsible
for the other.
We wouldn't have it
in any other way.
We're distracted by our jobs,
by simple survival
and Jean-Christophe's playlist
but we can't help wondering
what's happening back home..
And what lies ahead.
I can only imagine
our loneliness on Mars.
Two hundred million kilometers
from home.
6 a.m.
Lovely wake-up surprise.
We're losing
power steering fluid.
To check the fluid level,
we have to cut off the engine
which might not restart.
Conundrum time.
Without power steering,
we can't drive
but if our engine
doesn't restart
we're dead in the water.
Well, I think we need
to warm up first
and continue in a bit.
Alright. The power..
If we're about to lose
power steering
I'd let it stop and rest.
Let it rest
before you lose it completely,
and you're...
Yeah, so what,
what resting will do to it?
Well, I don't know.
Resting will
give... give it a break.
- And then what?
- And then, you know..
- And then what?
- And then keep going.
Is it gonna recover?
It... it should.
I don't know what's doing this.
The fluid's fine,
the belts are fine.
It doesn't make any sense
to give it a break, Jesse.
We are gonna fix it or we're
gonna have to keep on going.
I don't even know
if that does anything...
I'm about to take
a break myself!
Well, that's different,
that's okay.
Okay.
That's why we're saying
why don't you jump inside?
- Yeah.
- Okay.
I'm hearing
our mission clock tick away
but I need to give Jesse
some space.
We take a break
then time for MECO.
The NASA-speak
for Main Engine Cutoff.
Hey, uh, the power steering
fluid is in that box, right?
Well, we may not
need them to come back.
We can just join them there.
- Are we low?
- I don't know.
Just give me something.
Well, I... I can go ahead
and tell you
I don't think we are
'cause I can see it.
We're good.
It's right on the line.
We're good.
Ready?
Okay?
Transfer case
doesn't matter, but..
It doesn't matter.
As we leave the Jamesons,
we see fog.
The ice is already
breaking up ahead.
But where?
John is on the lookout
for open water.
Joe is far ahead. Maybe too far.
I don't like it.
Heya, Joe, Joe!
Can you slow down, and, uh,
wait up for us there?
We pretty much lost
sight of you.
Slow down please.
Thin ice. Thin ice.
Retreat. Thin ice.
Thin ice. Retreat.
Hey, John,
I think the back is in slush.
Joe! Joe!
Yeah, we're really stuck, Joe.
We're gonna need your help.
Come on back. Come on back.
4:00 p.m.
Our worst nightmare.
We've run into a lead.
The Okarian is sinking.
Each time I add power,
the rover sinks further in.
We're losing her.
- Have we made any progress?
- No.
Bring back the cable!
More cable! More!
More!
Hey, John,
upward with the winch.
I'm gonna go back
a tiny bit, John.
Okay? Keep going?
John, tell me what you're doing!
It's going down. It's going in.
No, I'm not.
I'm... I'm going slow.
The battery voltage
was drawn down to zero.
John, you're the man.
I got this.
We saved the Okarian.
It was a close call,
too close for comfort
but it could have been
much worse.
When I saw nothing but sky
through the windshield
I thought we were
going down for good.
I could see the Okarian
settling on the seafloor
alongside Franklin's
sunken ships.
We pulled through this time
but how many more leads
lie before us?
One minute, you're barreling
along, unstoppable
the next,
you're in survival mode.
The fine line is crossed
without warning.
I'm now confronting
the most critical decision
that any expedition leader
faces.
To continue on or to stop
before it's too late.
How many explorers have died
because they chose wrong?
Because they didn't abort
their mission
while it could still be saved?
Here's where we stand.
We need a new alternator,
new batteries
a new power steering system
and more time.
The passage is starting
to break up.
Devon is out of reach
for this year.
17 April.
We arrived in Cambridge Bay
at 2:00 p.m.
We couldn't reach Devon.
That hurts.
Plan B, the Okarian will be
flown to Resolute Bay
to get repaired
and put in hypersleep
until next spring.
Then, we'll wake her up for
another assault on Devon Island.
We made it.
Do Humvees dream
of diesel sheep?
5 May.
The Okarian's
had her beauty sleep.
We begin anew at the eastern
end of the Northwest Passage
in Resolute Bay.
Persistence.
That's what exploration takes.
It's not about smooth sailing.
It's about venturing
into the unknown
pushing the limits
of where you can go
and what you can do
to meet with what's out there.
I know where our small step
is taking us.
It's getting us ready
for the greatest adventure
of all time.
To us, the Northwest Passage
is not just a link
between two oceans.
It's a passage between
two worlds.
Our crew is reunited.
We're thrilled.
But it's our last chance
to reach Devon.
- Be safe.
- We're on our way.
6 May. 1:00 a.m.
The Okarian entered
Eleanor Valley.
We hope to reach
the coast by tomorrow.
Okay, Jesse, here we go.
Hey, Jesse, uh,
we're hearing a fairly
substantial knocking noise.
Uh, it looks, it sounds like
it's sorta coming
from the right front.
Seems like one of the components
that holds the track on,
uh, came loose there.
Okay, I guess
we're gonna have to stop.
Is everybody safe now?
Hey, Bill?
Hey, Bill, this is Pascal.
We have a situation
here with the, uh, Humvee.
Everybody's safe, we've had a..
A, uh, damaged rear
right gear hub.
Let's, uh, let's jack it up.
Take off the track and look
at what's going on here.
This happened in Africa
to me once.
We were doing 50 miles an hour
down the road, south to Khartoum
and looked at
the side view mirror
and the wheel is three feet out
from where it should be.
We'll see. We'll see.
We'll see, we'll see, we'll see.
We need Joe's sled too, huh?
Yeah, we need..
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
This is not an easy fix.
If it's.. If it's fixable.
We need to dig all the snow away
so we have a solid surface to..
Sure. So okay, guys.
We're gonna... we're gonna
stay here
we're gonna stay put.
We need the sled
with the spare, um..
- Track.
- Track.
And the inflatable jacks
as well.
Hey, uh, call AAA.
This whole piece
will get in there
but there's a keeper..
You can see where the keeper
is supposed to be right there?
- Yeah, it's shot.
- And..
Yeah, it's come out.
Houston, we've had a problem.
The critical part
connecting the drive train
to its matching track
has ruptured.
The hub is normally so robust
that we have no spare for it.
A replacement part
has to be flown up
to Resolute Bay from down south.
We're 70 kilometers
from Resolute Bay
but Joe knows the way well.
He'll head back there alone
to wait for the part.
This is going to take days.
Crap.
Uh, so, let me introduce
you to our cook.
This is our cook.
His name is Jesse.
And, uh, the chief of expedition
uh, Pascal
is looking for the comte
which a very good French cheese.
There, sausage, cheese,
everything you need to be happy.
John seems preoccupied.
I know him well.
That's not like him.
Something is wrong,
but I can't get it out of him.
A bit of sunshine here.
Camera roll.
Alright, Pascal.
So, where we at?
On Mars, you might be
stuck in a place
uh, by dust storm
for several days.
And that's what happened to us
uh, on the first two days
of our trip here.
Or you might be stuck somewhere
because of a mechanical problem.
This is what happened to us
here for three days.
Mars is really a complicated
and exciting place to explore.
But to us,
because we are here on Earth.
Mars is the closest planet where
we might find some answers
about the origins of life
and the possibilities
of alien life.
It has been a very humbling
series of discoveries.
We are trying to understand
why we even exist.
As usual,
when left to themselves
my thoughts turn to Mars
and our search for life there.
To discover signs
of ancient life on Mars
would be fascinating.
But the Holy Grail would be
to find live organisms.
For that, we must find
liquid water first.
Maybe where the planet
is still warm?
How about its volcanoes?
They're not extinct.
Just dormant.
It's almost midnight.
Our slow, cold sunset looks like
those captured on Mars
by the robots.
In New York this morning
It's about half past nine
It's been five days now.
Joe is still weathering
the storm in Resolute Bay.
John has been spending
more time alone.
But he opened up
to me this morning.
To my surprise,
he said it's time
to cut our losses
and to turn back.
Put an end
to an undoable journey.
I was shocked.
John's words carry the weight
of years of experience
survival and wisdom.
On this mission,
he's my anchor and my guide.
He's now recommending an abort.
If I decide to push on
I'll be going against
his best judgment.
My confidence is shaken.
For the first time,
I feel the full weight
of the expedition
on my shoulders alone.
Anyway, hardlock is if you
have tires and you need to..
- Yeah. - go through
sand or snow but..
Jesse regroups.
He knows that when
the replacement part arrives
he'll have his work
cut out for him.
He's tired but happy.
Jean-Christophe, as often
seems to be lost
in his thoughts.
Maybe he's dreaming of Mars
as I am.
We often chat in French
not to exclude
the rest of the crew
but to exchange memories
of our childhood.
Mark talks about his family
a lot back home.
He knows he won't be back
for his kid's birthday.
He still films non-stop
even though
we aren't going anywhere.
Okay, I just wanna take you out
on a little tour of my igloo.
Here's the fuel sled.
John's sleeping over there.
That's the Humvee.
Here.
Come inside.
There's, uh, my sleeping bag.
Got a little snow on it.
And, uh, I finally, uh..
Closed the chimney off
with my GORE-TEX jacket.
It keeps me warm. Kind of.
It's definitely blowing
pretty good out here.
Though it's not as bad
as it's been the last two days.
Let's go look at John's tent.
Okay.
John's tent. He's doing okay.
You can see the snow
is a little deep.
It's up to my knees.
There's Pascal..
And Jean-Christophe.
Whoo!
This is all the camera gear.
It's doing okay.
Good gravy, it's cold.
It's probably, uh,
I don't know, zero.
But with the wind chill
man, it's just, uh,
takes your breath away.
So that's about it.
Uh, gonna climb back
in the Humvee
and get some hot chocolate
or something.
Alright.
So when did you leave, uh,
Resolute? At what time?
- 4:00 - 4:00?
8:00 p.m.
Joe was back this evening
with the part we need.
Yeah. That's it.
How do you feel?
Oh, relieved.
Extremely relieved.
The broken hub
wouldn't come off.
It was frozen in place.
We turned our camping stove
into a makeshift blowtorch.
Where are all my tools
going to, man?
Right, Joe today
drove four hours
uh, in this whiteout alone
pulling on the snowmobile
and... and sled.
Uh, this one part that we were
needing to get replaced.
Uh, that was heroic.
Just for him to get... get to us
in time this evening
at... at 8:00 p.m.
Uh, Jesse, uh,
piled all the training
he got from AM General factory
in Humvees
and did a superb job
replacing the part
uh, with John's help.
John, of course, uh,
was fantastic as usual
and kept us alive
for the past five days.
Uh, and, uh
and you guys
from the Jules Verne's team
were fantastic too,
you were very patient.
Just, uh, never a complaint.
So that's remarkable.
I'm just here
to get everybody in trouble.
7:00 p.m.
The Okarian is fully
operational again.
We are good on food and fuel.
The weather forecast looks okay.
We are a go.
I know I'm going against
John's recommendation.
But the way I see it
we still have
safe abort options ahead.
11:00 p.m.
We've reached Eleanor Lake.
There is life beneath us
gasping for light
under the faint midnight sun.
There were once
frozen lakes on Mars.
Maybe like here,
teeming with life.
I've spent years of my life
studying spacecraft images
of Mars
trying to understand
this alien planet.
Everywhere fire, water
and ice have left their mark.
A water-rich planet,
that might have been
for a brief time,
Earth's sister.
I dream of journeying to Mars
not just through space,
but through time.
"The Martians were there"
"in the canal,
reflected in the water."
"The Martians
stared back up at them..
"For a long, long silent time
from the rippling water."
Here
So far away
Another time
and another place
At the edge
of breaking through
Again
I found my sense of wonder
1:00 a.m.
The coast.
Sea ice looks daunting
as if the raging ocean
had frozen in mid surge.
Devon is in sight
for the first time.
We are so near and yet so far.
We're going to go down here.
We're here right now.
We're gonna go down this way..
Out to the sea here
and then across
the smooth ice this way.
1:45 a.m.
We follow Joe very slowly.
Beneath the snow, the sea ice
might be breaking up already.
Seventeen.
Joe says the sea ice
is on the verge of collapsing.
The time for slow is over.
We have to make a dash
for Devon.
We're at the point of no return.
If anything stops us,
we won't have enough time
to get any part flown up
from the south again.
We'll have to abandon
the Okarian to her fate
as the ice eventually gives way.
On Mars,
rovers will die in sand.
We're on final approach
to Mars on Earth.
10:00 p.m.
In one instant,
my dream of many years
has come to an abrupt end.
Definitely not good.
Oh, merde.
- No. Hub and half shaft.
- Huh?
Hub and half shaft.. Which one?
Hub and half shaft..
A hidden block of ice
has ripped off
the rear left track
and destroyed the gear hub.
Our rover is history.
This expedition is a bust.
Keeping our crew safe is the
only thing that matters now.
We have to abandon the Okarian
and get everyone to shore.
The sea ice has begun
to break up around us.
As we began to evacuate
critical gear
Jesse mentioned our camp
on Devon.
- We need a new gear hub.
- Yeah.
- And you have a half shaft?
- Yeah.
A glimmer of hope
popped up in my mind.
The Okarian's only hope
the Mars-1, our twin Humvee,
is based on Devon
at camp, 50 kilometers away.
If we could get to the Mars-1
maybe we could scavenge
its rear left hub
and graft it on to the Okarian.
A mechanical organ transplant.
We have to act now.
It's a long and risky journey.
We have two snowmobiles.
Only two of us can go.
Jesse is best trained
to retrieve the part
John has the experience of long
snowmobile treks in Antarctica.
Godspeed.
- Drive safely.
- Oh, yeah.
Come back in one piece.
It's a gamble.
Splitting up is never good.
Especially if the team
is already small.
9:00 p.m.
John and Jesse
have reached the island.
We try to remain
in contact via sat phone.
There's been an accident.
It's John.
Riding through heavy snowfall
with poor visibility
he plunged over a precipice.
Jesse informs me that John's
left leg is badly bruised.
He's in agonizing pain.
Damn it.
We're stranded in the usual
middle of nowhere.
I can't believe
this is happening.
The crew's split up,
food's running low.
Maybe we've gone
one step too far.
Jean-Christophe shared
his concerns with me.
He feels that we're now
walking a very fine line.
Everything could go wrong
very quickly.
He's damn right.
He also said
my decision reminded him
of Shackleton's in Antarctica
a century ago.
When his ship, the Endurance
got locked in ice
and sank, he split up his crew
and went for help
with a small party.
After an impossible journey,
he returned as promised
and saved them all.
One of the greatest feats
in exploration history.
I'm no Shackleton,
but he inspired us all.
Mars will also have its heroes.
11:00 p.m.
We are not alone.
Alien life in an alien world.
Joe thinks he's been
circling us for two days.
To this awe-inspiring
creature, we are dinner.
Thankfully, we are not
as appetizing as we think.
Somehow, this beautiful
ghostly encounter
brings us luck.
After three days, this is
the most wonderful sight.
John and Jesse have
successfully retrieved
the critical geared hub
from the Mars-1.
We greet them as heroes.
They truly are.
We got a good route
in the land there.
- Jesse, you made it.
- Yeah, I made it.
Jesse shows us
a picture he took of camp
with the Mars-1.
On Mars, we'll definitely need
not just one, but two rovers.
One to rescue the other.
Hello, Pascal,
could you take the nut off
the back of that ball joint
behind you on the cooler?
This time, we must continue
at a walking pace.
Spare parts
are out of the question.
We're almost out of fuel.
Soon we'll be tapping
into our survival rations.
Just, just follow the track.
Okay, repeat that, John?
Just follow the track.
You want... you want us
to stay with the track?
We'll do the right track.
Obstruction on your left.
John and Jean-Christophe
decided to walk
in front of the rover
as short-range scouts
to locate buried obstacles.
There are many, too many.
The Arctic's grip continues
to close in on us.
It feels as if we're being
played with.
The closer we get to shore, the
more out of reach it seems.
We get stuck in snow,
again and again.
Devon Island, I love you.
Land sweet land.
Alright.
At 11:30 p.m. on 16 May
more than a year after first
launching from Kugluktuk
we've finally reached
the shore of Devon Island.
And Mark who's filming.
Hi, Mark.
This is a bottle of Dom Perignon
from Reims, France.
- Well..
- Here we are on Devon.
To the Northwest Passage.
- The finest crystal.
- Si, si.
- John.
- Cheers.
Here
So far away
Another time
Another place
The HMP Okarian has landed.
Edgar Rice Burroughs
wrote of the Yellow Martians
who escaped drought and war
to reach the planet's far north.
They were survivors
knights of the ice
and explorers.
They were called the Okarians.
Stand by, flight.
Going to Mars
is the exploration challenge
of our time.
We should not fear it
or postpone it
but embrace it
and make it succeed.
It will bring humanity together
and strengthen our character.
As I age, my dream of going
to Mars is slowly fading.
I may not make it.
But I have a new dream.
I wanna pass the torch to you
the next generation.
We dedicate
our polar adventure to you
who will live and witness
the journey to Mars.
Make us feel the pride
of being explorers again
and make humanity
a more peaceful
and promising species.
"Houston
we got a, uh, if you give us
through data, we got some.."
"The surface of Mars!"
Will you find life?
What kind of life will it be?
If it's a completely alien life
with its own DNA
that might tell us
there's a possibility
of life throughout the universe.
Saa, your video.
Earth will be up
in five minutes.
What if you find
that life on Mars
is similar to life on Earth?
Maybe life started on Mars
and came to seed the Earth.
We might all be
children of Mars.
Maybe all this time
the tantalizing call of Mars
has been a call to return home.
This is the final entry
in our expedition log.
Tonight, the children
of the Okarian
will be sleeping
at Mars-On-Earth
dreaming under the stars
of the day
you will be looking back
at the Earth
from the quiet rim
of Olympus Mons.
I'm Pascal Lee.
Signing off.
Apollo 11, Houston, we're
a go for undocking, over.
On the moon
I have seen
magnificent desolation.
Now humans are reaching
for this new world
this time, to stay
and then venture further
into space.
Before us now
is a giant leap
to Mars and beyond.
Imagine
The world
In a moment
Truth and the unseen
Time in a dream
Reach out
Breathe in
I'm ready to believe again
Hold on
Let go
Find a way
Home
Home
The daylight
Is falling
Beyond the last horizon
A passage you know
All across an endless sea
Reach out
Breathe in
I'm ready to believe again
Hold on
Let go
Find your way
Way back home Home
Way back home Home
Said you're gonna reach out
And you're gonna hold on
Find a way
Leading home
Said I'm gonna reach out
And then you're
gonna hold on
Find a way
Way back home
Reach out
Breathe in
You ready to believe again?
Alright
Hold on
Let go
I know you'll find it
I said yeah
Said I'm gonna be strong
Said I'm gonna hold on
For you
For you and for me
Hold on Faith
Let go
A little bit of love
"Before the cylinder fell,
there was a general persuasion
"that through all
the deep of space
"no life existed beyond
the petty surface
"of our minute sphere.
"Now we see further.
"Dim and wonderful is the
vision I have conjured up
"in my mind of life spreading
"throughout the inanimate
vastnesses of sidereal space.
Remote dream. It may be."