The Mars Society announced today
that the Discovery Channel, has become a major sponsor of the Flashline Mars
Arctic Research Station, a simulated Mars exploration base slated for
deployment this summer on Devon Island in Nunavut, Canada. The station will
act as a laboratory for learning how to live and work on Mars, offering
researchers the opportunity to conduct systematic studies of the strategies,
technologies, human factors and hardware designs necessary to prepare for the
human exploration of Mars.
Robert Zubrin, president of the Mars Society, noted that. “Our agreement
with the Discovery Channel is important not only for our own current efforts,
but quite possibly for future Mars exploration as well. Private funding
supported Earth exploration in the past, and it may do so in the future. The
Mars Society/Discovery Channel partnership will, like the Flashline Station
itself, allow us to investigate and test new modes of operation and new ways
of thinking about supporting Mars exploration.”
Under terms of the sponsorship agreement, the Discovery Channel will
provide substantial financial support for the project. In return, it will
obtain exclusive TV media rights to activities within the Mars Arctic Research
Station during the 2000 and 2001 field seasons. The Discovery Channel plans to
produce several in-depth segments for its weekly science newscast, Discovery
News, in 2000 and a series of weekly half-hour programs in summer 2001.
Stephen Reverand is the executive producer for the Discovery Channel. Andy
Liebman of Chedd-Angier Productions is producer. Liebman is an award-winning
filmmaker responsible for such programs as “Scientific American Frontiers.”
Special online coverage from Devon Island will be available on
Discovery.com as the project kicks off in mid-July 2000. The site will host
daily webcasts from the research station in which Dr. Zubrin and the
scientists will discuss their activities and answer e-mail questions, allowing
people a unique window into the scientific expedition in progress.
Discovery.com will also post in-depth background on the history of the project
and more on what the team hopes to learn from the experience.
Located in the Canadian High Arctic, Devon Island is home to the 20-
kilometer diameter Haughton meteorite impact crater. The Haughton crater and
its surroundings on Devon Island have been identified as one of the premier
Mars analog sites on Earth, a location where a variety of geologic features
approximate those found on Mars. The Mars Society’s Flashline Station will
contribute and support investigations in this “Mars on Earth” environment, and
act as a tool for research into human Mars exploration.
About the Mars Society
Founded in August 1998, the Mars Society is a non-profit organization with
over 3,000 members representing 30 countries. Its purpose is to further the
goal of the exploration and settlement of the Red Planet via both public and
political outreach, and private research. For more information, visit the Mars
Society website at http://www.marssociety.org.
Discovery Channel is one of the United States’ two largest cable
television networks, serving 78.6 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.
Discovery Channel can be found on the Web at Discovery.com.
