Astronaut for Hire

A Traveler's Guide to the Planets

2/13/2010 12:39:00 AM

What are you doing for Valentine's Day? How about a romantic getaway to breathtaking canyons on Mars? You won't even need your passport.

The National Geographic Channel's 3-day, 6-part mini series A Traveler's Guide to the Planets starts tomorrow February 14. Each one hour episode will feature stunning images and the latest animations up close and personal with our planetary neighbors.  Below is the schedule for the NGC mini series event and a video clip from the Mars episode:

• Sunday Feb 14: Saturn 9pm ET/PT, Jupiter 10pm ET/PT
• Monday Feb 15: Mars 9pm ET/PT, Venus and Mercury 10pm ET/PT
• Tuesday Feb 16: Neptune and Uranus 9pm ET/PT, Pluto and Beyond 10pm ET/PT

The series also includes interviews with NASA experts in planetary analog environments that provide valuable insights into what a trip to another planet might be like. For example, here is what Steve Squyres has to say about Mars:

"Would I like to go to Mars? Oh in a heart beat. Absolutely. If there was any way for me to go to Mars I wouldn’t be screwing around with robots, I would want to go myself … The visual experience that you get from looking at the rovers’ pictures is intentionally like what you would get if you were looking out the visor of your helmet and a space suit on Mars."

Like Steve Squyres, I'm fairly partial towards Mars as the next most logical destination for exploration. Buzz Aldrin adamantly advocates Mars too.  This week we found out that NASA Administrator Bolden and the New York Times agree. Maybe we'll get there sooner rather than later thanks to NASA's recent re-structuring.

Also, check out this really comprehensive list of the Top 50 Online Videos for Space Geeks. Maybe the page's author can add these really stunning Mars animations composed from real HiRISE imagery. Or better yet, how about this hilarious fake NASA news conference from The Onion:


NASA Scientists Plan To Approach Girl By 2018 

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