Science Resources RSS Feeds
|
 |
 |
 |
| View Larger Image | Roving Mars | DVDStarring: Paul Newman, Stephen Squyres, Rob Manning (IV), Charles Elachi, Wayne Lee (II)
Directed By: George Butler (II)
| List Price: | $29.99 | | Price: | $26.99 | | You Save: | $3.00 (10%) | | | Available: | Usually ships in 24 hours |
| | Binding: | DVD | | Rating: |  | | Run Time: | 40 minutes | | Format: | AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC | | Studio: | Buena Vista Home Entertainment | | Number of Discs: | 1 | | Aspect Ratio: | 1.78:1 | | Release Date: | July 31, 2007 | | Sales Rank: | 25,070th |
|
FEATURES | - Action. Drama. Anticipation. Exultation. Experience it all as you join the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity for an awe-inspiring journey to the surface of the mysterious red planet. Through the eyes of these two intrepid, death-defying rovers, and with NASA scientists and engineers at your side, you'll see Mars in a way no one ever has before. You'll feel what it's like to stand on t
|
EDITORIAL REVIEWS |
Product Description
Action. Drama. Anticipation. Exultation. Experience it all as you join the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity for an awe-inspiring journey to the surface of the mysterious red planet. Through the eyes of these two intrepid death-defying rovers and with NASA scientists and engineers at your side you'll see Mars in a way no one ever has before. You'll feel what it's like to stand on the startling surface of the planet that's intrigued mankind for eons. And you'll uncover its ultimate mystery: Is there life on Mars? ROVING MARS -- It's the ride of a lifetime.System Requirements:Running Time: 40 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DOCUMENTARIES/MISC. Rating: G UPC: 786936292619 Manufacturer No: 04096700 |
Amazon.com
When you consider the odds against success, the achievements on glorious display in Roving Mars are almost miraculous. This excellent IMAX production follows the familiar IMAX format; at 40 minutes in length, it's not as wide-ranging as other documentaries might be, but in chronicling the design, launch, and successful landings of NASA's robotic Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity, it offers an unprecedented level of visual splendor, highlighted by amazingly accurate computer-animated depictions of what really happened when the rovers arrived at their destination. Financed by Disney, and combining the talents of veteran IMAX director George Butler and top-ranking Hollywood producer Frank Marshall (best known for his frequent collaborations with Steven Spielberg), this celebration of science and technology begins with a raspy introduction narrated by Paul Newman (who had recently voiced the character of "Doc" in Disney/Pixar's Cars), then dives right into the formidable challenge of launching and landing the rovers on time and budget, with a looming deadline of optimal Mars/Earth orbital alignment occurring only once every 26 months. At NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, we see highly skilled engineers addressing every challenge and every possible contingency, and project leader Steve Squyers serves as our informative host and enthusiastic populist for space exploration. After launching in June and July of 2003, the rovers traveled for seven months and 300 million miles to Mars, landing on the red planet in January 2004. Every aspect of the mission is covered in concise detail, and tension escalates as touch-down (achieved with the now-familiar "bouncing balloon" landing system) draws near. What's most remarkable, even to the crew at JPL, is that Spirit and Opportunity succeeded far beyond their mission expectations, becoming one of NASA's most triumphant achievements in interplanetary exploration. The photos, chemical analyses, and other data gathered on Mars were intended to prove the past existence of water on Mars (and hence the possibility of life), and in this and many other respects, Roving Mars stands as a breathtaking tribute to the men, women, and robots who've given us a greater understanding of the planetary system we call home. --Jeff Shannon On the DVD Roving Mars is presented in both full-screen and widescreen formats, and is accompanied by two excellent bonus features. First up is "Mars: Past, Present, and Future," a 25-minute "making of" featurette that provides additional educational detail about our closest planetary neighbor, along with behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with key personnel at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Then comes the 50-minute featurette "Mars and Beyond," originally broadcast in 1957 as an episode of Walt Disney's popular Disneyland TV show. Typical of that series, it's a wildly imaginative, cleverly animated look at Mars and its significance in the history of mankind. Even after more than half a century, it's filled with scientific and speculative details that are sure to engage anyone's sense of wonder. --Jeff Shannon |
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.0 based on 23 reviews)
|
Roving Mars by Barry Williams  2 Stars
October 30, 2009
The title of this DVD is a bit misleading. I was expecting to see actual images of Mars as seen from the Mar's rovers. Granted a few actual images were displayed but nothing that couldn't be obtained on the net.
The dvd largely concentrates on the planning of the rovers up to launch. Animation then takes over with the landing of the rovers and exploration of the surface.
Non the less the Dvd is enjoyable with great attention paid to the accuracy of the animation. Obviously it could not be expected to see the actual landing and deployment of the rovers if it weren't by animation.
If you are wanting to see real images of the Mars surface forget this DVd and wait until a Dvd comes out that does show the real images obtained from the rovers.
| |
A little disappointing by Frank J. Perricone (People's Republic of Vermont)  3 Stars
May 15, 2009
The concept is great, and you will learn a lot of great stuff about Mars and the voyages there. But the execution fails slightly to live up to the promise. It suggests that you'll feel like you're on Mars, and there's a bit of that, but most of it feels like computer-generated imagery more than actual footage, or the actual footage feels low-resolution. Somehow, it all manages to fail to coalesce into a real feeling of being there. The disc would be a solid disc on its own terms, but it just promises too much.
| |
It's okay. by Hospicio A. Yballe III (San Francisco, Ca. USA) 3 Stars
April 24, 2009
I love Disney, and I am very interested in watching documentaries. Although the movie is really beautiful, I thought it was too short. It's great, but I just wish there was more.
| |
Best thing is old Disney film by George Sarant (New York, NY United States)  4 Stars
January 27, 2009
The Mars exploration is relatively short and there are too many talking heads. The best thing on this DVD is a really great Disney film from 1957 called "Mars and Beyond." I saw it as a child and it still holds up.
| |
Entertaining and love the music by C. Lin (Chicago, IL) 4 Stars
December 28, 2008
While the DVD does not compare to seeing this on IMAX, it is still a nicely done documentary and easily the most successful Mars mission to date (2008). The mission and the technical aspects are well explained, nicely shot, the score is perfect, and you really develop an emotional attachement to the rovers.
| |
SIMILAR PRODUCTS |
| NOVA: Welcome To Mars
Go inside mission control and explore Mars with rovers Spirit & Opportunity. Take an astounding look at the red planet in this interplanetary adventure that picks up where the acclaimed film MARS Dead or Alive left off. From the white-knuckle landings of the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity, through months of frustrating setbacks and elating discoveries, Welcome to Mars captures the gripping drama and the breathtaking images of the most significant mission events. Mission Control and...
| ![Space Station/Mission to Mir Imax [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51QN4MbBljL._SL160_.jpg)
| Space Station/Mission to Mir Imax [Blu-ray]
Also With: Tom Cruise (Performer)
Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 10/14/2008 Run time: 47 minutes
| 
| NOVA - Mars, Dead or Alive
Starring: Stacy Keach; Peter Thomas (VI); Don Wescott
Directed By: Nova
Inside NASA’s risky field trip to the Red Planet. Two-thirds of all spacecraft previously launched to Mars never reached their destination. Now, in a pioneering and risky mission, twin rovers named Spirit and Opportunity hurtle toward Mars at 12,000 miles per hour, with Spirit scheduled to touch down first. In the final "six minutes of terror" a parachute will open, giant protective airbags will inflate around the lander, and retrorockets will fire for a few seconds before Spirit is cut...
| ![Cosmic Voyage/Destiny in Space [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51R0uTuCI5L._SL160_.jpg)
| Cosmic Voyage/Destiny in Space [Blu-ray]
Also With: Morgan Freeman (Performer)
Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 10/14/2008 Run time: 40 minutes
| 
| Magnificent Desolation - Walking on the Moon (IMAX)
Starring: Tom Hanks, John Corbett, Bryan Cranston, Matt Damon, Morgan Freeman
Directed By: Mark Cowen
Only 12 have walked on the moon. You're next! Presented and narrated by Tom Hanks, Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon is an IMAX documentary film that transports the viewer to lunar surface, where they can walk alongside the 12 extraordinary astronauts who have been there, experiencing what they saw, heard, and felt.DVD Features:
Other
Photo gallery
|
|
|
|
