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JPL and the Space Age: Landing on Mars

59 minutes 44 seconds
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Space rover floating down with a parachute flying behind it. Text reads, “Landing on Mars, JPL and the Space Age.”

In the summer of 2003, two rovers began their journeys to Mars at a time when the Red Planet and Mars were the nearest they had been to each other in 60,000 years. The rovers had been built at breakneck speed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. But now, there were new pressures. Other nations were flying missions to Mars too. What if they succeeded and JPL didn’t? And the greatest pressure was knowing of NASA’s recent loss of the space shuttle Columbia and its crew. NASA was in great need of a success. Part of the "JPL and the Space Age" series.

Media Details

Runtime: 59 minutes 44 seconds

Black and white photo of a man posing with a small space rocket next to him. Text reads, “Frank J. Malina, The American Rocketeer, Beginnings of the Space Age.”
JPL and the Space Age
Episode 1
1 hours 29 minutes 19 seconds
Grade Level: 10 - 12
Woman with her back facing us and a man sitting next to her are on computers at a long desk. There’s a sign above the computer screens that reads, “Jet Propulsion Laboratory. California Institute of Technology.”
JPL and the Space Age
Episode 2
53 minutes 17 seconds
Grade Level: 10 - 12
View of the moon with half of it covered in darkness
JPL and the Space Age
Episode 3
58 minutes 54 seconds
Grade Level: 10 - 12
View of Mars in space. Text reads, “The Changing Face of Mars.”
JPL and the Space Age
Episode 4
1 hours 26 minutes
Grade Level: 10 - 12
Still image from: JPL and the Space Age: The Stuff of Dreams
JPL and the Space Age
Episode 5
1 hours 27 minutes 8 seconds
Grade Level: 10 - 12
White glowing orb on a black background. Text reads, “The Footsteps of Voyager.”
JPL and the Space Age
Episode 6
55 minutes 38 seconds
Grade Level: 10 - 12
View of Earth in space. Text reads, “To The Rescue.”
JPL and the Space Age
Episode 7
57 minutes 28 seconds
Grade Level: 10 - 12
Black Background with text that reads, “The Pathfinders.”
JPL and the Space Age
Episode 8
59 minutes 56 seconds
Grade Level: 10 - 12
Black and white photo of a man walking up steps to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory building. “The Breaking Point.”
JPL and the Space Age
Episode 9
1 hours 47 minutes 4 seconds
Grade Level: 10 - 12
Bright white orb on a black background. Text reads, “Saving Galileo, JPL and the Space Age.”
JPL and the Space Age
Episode 10
59 minutes 31 seconds
Grade Level: 10 - 12
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