Mars Rising

"Mars Rising" shot in HD in over 90 locations, the documentary series "Mars Rising" explores how the challenges being grappled with today will lead to a manned mission to Mars in the next 20 years. Film crews captured interviews, training sessions and experiments in the United States, Russia, Chile, China, Europe and across Canada, including the Canadian Arctic. Over 300 scientists from diverse backgrounds and nationalities were consulted for the series and more than 60 space experts, including former and current astronauts, appear on camera. Among the critical subjects explored through the series include spaceship design, possible trajectories, rocket fuel, finding new life forms, new thoughts on astronaut selection and training, space suit engineering, medical training for deep space, blasting through the Mars atmosphere, life support systems and robotics.

Among the distinguished experts appearing in the series, three experts with very different backgrounds stand out: James Garvin, lead scientist for Mars and Lunar Exploration at NASA; Paul Delaney, Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Toronto's York University; and Academy-Award winning filmmaker James Cameron ("Titanic") who is a member of NASA's special advisory committee. The astronauts interviewed on "Mars Rising" include Chris Hadfield, the first Canadian mission specialist and the first Canadian to operate the Canadarm in orbit; Canadian Dave Williams currently on board the Atlantis and expected to make three space walks on the Shuttle Endeavour in August 2007; retired NASA astronaut Jerry Linenger, who spent 132 days aboard the ISS Mir in 1997; and Jeffrey Hoffman who was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame earlier this year.

William Shatner narrates "Mars Rising" - and it's not the first time that the multiple-award-winning actor has worked with Discovery Channel Canada! Commissioned by Discovery Channel, the hit 2005 special "How William Shatner Changed the World" was hosted and narrated by the Star Trek icon, and based on his book, I'm Working On That. The cheeky and irreverent doc showcased the brightest minds of Silicon Valley and their Trek-inspired inventions that have changed the world. (Source: http://www.discoverychannel.ca/shows/showdetails.aspx?sid=26)