{"id":18277,"date":"2018-11-12T17:18:56","date_gmt":"2018-11-12T09:18:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/elon-musk-and-mars-take-the-spotlight-in-national-geographic-tv-doubleheader\/"},"modified":"2018-11-12T17:18:56","modified_gmt":"2018-11-12T09:18:56","slug":"elon-musk-and-mars-take-the-spotlight-in-national-geographic-tv-doubleheader","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/elon-musk-and-mars-take-the-spotlight-in-national-geographic-tv-doubleheader\/","title":{"rendered":"Elon Musk and Mars take the spotlight in National Geographic TV doubleheader"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_461731\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-461731\" style=\"width: 630px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full-width wp-image-461731\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/181112-elon-fh21-630x377.jpg\" alt=\"Elon Musk\" width=\"630\" height=\"377\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/181112-elon-fh21-630x377.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/181112-elon-fh21-768x460.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/181112-elon-fh21-1260x755.jpg 1260w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/181112-elon-fh21.jpg 1801w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-461731\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">SpaceX founder Elon Musk watches February\u2019s ascent of the Falcon Heavy rocket in a scene from National Geographic\u2019s \u201cMars: Inside SpaceX.\u201d (National Geographic \/ RadicalMedia via YouTube)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Science fiction blends with fact in tonight\u2019s double dose of Mars from National Geographic\u2019s TV channel.<\/p>\n<p>Truth to tell, there\u2019s more fact than fiction: The first show in the double feature is \u201cMars: Inside SpaceX,\u201d which wraps a tale of past and future space exploration around an inside look at SpaceX\u2019s first Falcon Heavy launch in February.<\/p>\n<p>Then there\u2019s the season premiere of \u201cMars,\u201d the semi-scripted, semi-documentary series that\u2019s serving up a second set of six episodes.<\/p>\n<p>Both shows are eye-openers.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Ron Howard on the hybrid storytelling in National Geographic series &quot;Mars&quot;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/SsNUlLllnXA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\" data-width=\"800\" data-height=\"450\" style=\"display: block; margin: 0px; width: 800px; height: 450px;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>For \u201cInside SpaceX,\u201d National Geographic had exclusive access to the rocket company\u2019s facilities for February\u2019s headline-grabbing launch. We see Musk showing his kids around the access tower at Kennedy Space Center\u2019s historic Launch Complex 39A and weighing go\/no-go decisions inside the mission control room.<\/p>\n<p>The back-and-forth in the control room clears up the mystery behind the countdown holds that popped up in advance of the Falcon Heavy\u2019s liftoff.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou guys, I\u2019m gonna give us a little more time to decide,\u201d launch director Ricky Lim says at one point.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYeah, hold the clock for now,\u201d Musk replies.<\/p>\n<p>The key moment comes when Musk runs outside to watch the Falcon Heavy\u2019s ascent. \u201cThat\u2019s unreal!\u201d he exults, with a smile of pure joy breaking out on his face.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMars: Inside SpaceX\u201d also tells the story of SpaceX\u2019s sometimes-shaky beginnings, and provides historical context for Musk\u2019s overarching aim of turning humanity into a multiplanetary species.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s one of those things that\u2019s a reason to live,\u201d Musk explains.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Mars Season 2 \u2013 Trailer | National Geographic\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/dMkZtgJxmvU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\" data-width=\"800\" data-height=\"450\" style=\"display: block; margin: 0px; width: 800px; height: 450px;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The first episode in the second season of \u201cMars\u201d turns the focus to the year 2042, five years after the conclusion of the first season. Life on Mars gets complicated for the Red Planet\u2019s first residents and their not-for-profit research organization when a for-profit mining operation arrives and starts drilling.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to dealing with the basic challenges of life on a new world \u2014 such as pregnancy and birth, illness and death&nbsp;\u2014 the researchers and the miners have to figure out how to resolve the tension between exploration and exploitation.<\/p>\n<p>Scenes in the fictional narrative are intercut with on-camera interviews with present-day \u201cBig Thinkers\u201d (including Musk) and documentary footage that delves into contemporary parallels to the problems of 2042.<\/p>\n<p>For example, the tug of war over Martian territory sets the tone for reflecting on a similar tug of war over Arctic resources.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a constant push-pull between science and industry, and as a result, emotions run high,\u201d Dee Johnson, showrunner for the second season, said in a news release. \u201cAlthough conflicting, their agendas are not mutually exclusive; with the advancement of science and exploration also comes industry and money-making.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Will terrestrial squabbles over resources provide lessons for future Martians? Or in a weird way, could the fictional frictions of 2042 teach us a thing or two about solving 2018\u2019s troubles? As they say in Hollywood, and might well say someday in Hellas Planitia, stay tuned.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cMars: Inside SpaceX\u201d and the second-season premiere of the \u201cMars\u201d hybrid series both make their debut on the National Geographic Channel tonight. Check local listings for times. The first season of \u201cMars\u201d is freely available via National Geographic\u2019s website.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SpaceX founder Elon Musk watches February\u2019s ascent of the Falcon Heavy rocket in a scene from National Geographic\u2019s \u201cMars: Inside SpaceX.\u201d (National Geographic \/ RadicalMedia via YouTube) Science fiction blends with fact in tonight\u2019s double dose of Mars from National Geographic\u2019s TV channel. Truth to tell, there\u2019s more fact than fiction: The first show in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1045,367,5128,5129,316,4551],"class_list":["post-18277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-elon-musk","tag-mars","tag-mars-miniseries","tag-national-geographic-channel","tag-spacex","tag-television"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18277"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18277"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18277\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}