JPL and the Space Age: The Changing Face of Mars

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
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Published 2022-03-31
Other than Earth, no planet in our solar system has been so thoroughly or long examined as Mars. For decades, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has continuously explored the Red Planet with an array of orbiters, landers, and rovers.

What laid the groundwork for this unparallel record of exploration? This 90-minute documentary describes the challenges of JPL’s first attempts to send spacecraft to the Red Planet.

For much of human history, Mars was no more than a tiny reddish dot in the sky. But in 1965, the first spacecraft ever to visit Mars, JPL’s Mariner 4, began to change our understanding of the planet with its grainy black and white images. The data from Mariner 4, and from missions that followed, were full of confusing data for scientists to understand.

The Changing Face of Mars reveals, through archival footage and interviews with key scientists and engineers, JPL's first roles in exploring the Red Planet, from Mariner 4, through the 1976 arrival of the Viking orbiters and landers.
All Comments (21)
  • @JohnIwaszko
    Not only the best, the most accurate I have ever seen or read, telling the story accurately and without hype or bias.
  • @texleeger8973
    I was a NASA-freak kid. I remember when Navy and USAF missiles couldn't get off the ground. But then it became more successful and it was A-OK all the way. Mercury astronauts were superheroes. All liftoffs were TV adventures. And JPL was residence of the gods. It was a time for pride and glory and all the excitement a kid could ever want. It was my time and the memories are sweet.
  • @FredPlanatia
    I really appreciated the part of this report devoted to George Pimentel - when I was at Berkeley he was still active though he'd mellowed after having been diagnosed with cancer. He loved science and yet encouraged junior scientists to remember to live life and balance that against the intense fever that can accompany a devoted career in science. He also knew that it was essential the public be included in the human venture of science, to understand why it brings excitement to help push back against the vast veil of ignorance in human's understanding of the cosmos. I am grateful to have known such a man.
  • @andrewbarenborg2290
    I must be a serious geek but at 57:07 Ray Bradbury reading that poem really hit the heart strings. I wish we, as a society, still felt the same way about space exploration as past generations did.
  • @kennethsnyder9236
    Most definitely enjoyed the detail description of space exploration provided for the public viewing
  • @mashmash7877
    50 to 60 years later mars is still a mystery with much unanswered questions
  • @TropicalCoder
    I just saw my whole life pass before my eyes. I witnessed every event on the road to mars, beginning when I was a young man. Before that in my youth I read Bradbury, and in my childhood, Edgar Rice burroughs, and dreamed of mars. This wonderful documentary put that all in perspective for me. Now I continue to follow the adventures of Curiosity and Perseverance, but I am jaded. This planet is a barren desert. After all that effort, there is nothing there for us.
  • @stevenpilling5318
    That was an excellent documentary. It not only brought back memories and answered old questions, but it put a human face on one of the great scientific quests of our times.
  • @michaeldowney6361
    I was just starting Junior HS when Mariner 4 project was underway. I never dreamed that I would one day work on the manned space program. None of my work would have been possible without the dedicated efforts of those pioneers. Now retired, I hope that, in some small way, my work will help to stir the imagination of some young STEM professional to push the program across the threshold of manned planetary exploration.
  • @chasetronicsinc7719
    Glad and proud to have served our country as part of the Appollo Moon Program and now I am greatful to see such a good documentary on our Mars ventures. This was well done and very fasinating to watch ! Thanks NASA/JPL !! Special thanks to all the men and women involved in this Mars Mission! Now we are planning to return to the moon and later to Mars with the new "Artimus" Program so, a special shout-out to all those involved ! 😊 God Bless ! 😊 Grandpa Ron
  • @MaryAnnNytowl
    Oh, what memories! I was little, but these missions were what first made me fall in love with science! ❤❤
  • @Gwaithmir
    I still remember getting up at 2:00 a.m. and turning on the TV to see the first pictures from Mars. I was 17 years old at the time. The first couple of pictures had to be extrapolated from the data stream by an artist.
  • @cliffb1
    I have really enjoyed each of the videos that JPL have produced about their endeavours in space exploration. Behind the scenes footage, the great scientists and engineers, footage of some of the spacecraft involved, what a treat! i hope the team that makes these videos continue to make many more. After all, the missions and stories behind them must be almost as infinite as space itself. Well done everyone at JPL!
  • @tanzanos
    This is how documentaries should be. No sensetionalism, no political correctness; just science. A big thank you.🖖👍
  • @spiggensengineering1963
    Man these are great, the humor and emotion behind the engineers and the scientists really get to me. You do an amazing job of showing the humans behind these incredible missions!
  • @lunatom3
    Lovely and wonderful! Brings back my childhood blood-driven drive to become an engineer, aspiring astronaut, etc++. Please share more of this stuff!
  • @tankej
    What a professional job. The interviews, footage, and main narrative are captivating and compelling - bravo and thank you!
  • @maskotep
    Watched this on Discord with a few friends. We were hooked all the way through!