“On Mars,”
a one-hour documentary about Earth’s nearest planetary relative, will
air on the Discovery Channel Monday, March 13 at 10 p.m. ET/PT and
will repeat Saturday, March 18 at 1 p.m. ET/PT.

The documentary features commentary by some of the same
scientists who acted as consultants for the new Touchstone Pictures
release “Mission to Mars,” including Matt Golembek, chief scientist
for the Mars Pathfinder Mission, and former NASA astronaut Story
Musgrave.

Even before man first walked on the moon, we have dreamed about
exploring the surface of Mars. The red planet still presents itself as
both a fascination and a scientific challenge. “On Mars” explores the
possibility that, early in this century, we will send a manned
expedition to Mars.

By examining the current and proposed technology and speaking
with scientists who have made the study of Mars their life’s work, the
documentary illustrates that a voyage to Mars is no longer the stuff
of science fiction.

Additionally, throughout the special, viewers will be treated to
a behind-the-scenes look at the making of “Mission to Mars,” which
opens March 10 in theaters nationwide, directed by Brian De Palma and
starring Gary Sinise, Tim Robbins, Don Cheadle, Connie Nielsen and
Jerry O’Connell.

What we will find when we get to Mars and what we may learn about
our own planet’s natural history by probing its surface are just two
of the many questions that will be addressed when the Discovery
Channel presents “On Mars” in March.

Discovery Channel is one of the United States’ two largest cable
television networks, serving 77.7 million households across the nation
with the finest in informative entertainment.

Discovery Networks, a division of Discovery Communications Inc.,
operates and manages Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Travel
Channel, Discovery Health Channel, Discovery People, Discovery Kids
Channel, Discovery Science Channel, Discovery Home & Leisure Channel,
Discovery Civilization Channel, Discovery Wings Channel and Discovery
en Espanol. The unit also markets and distributes BBC America.

Contact:

Discovery Channel

Laurie Goldstein, 301/771-5921
or

Buena Vista

Suzy O’Hara, 818/567-5736