BBC The Sky at Night - Mars Planet of Dreams (2020)

Mars has fascinated us ever since we first looked up to the heavens. We have imagined alien civilisations, exotic life forms and even dreamed of travelling there ourselves. But after the first probes flew past the Red Planet, and with each subsequent mission that has orbited or landed on its surface, that vision has changed. We have come to realise that the planet is, most likely, dead. But that hasn’t dimmed our hopes for finding evidence of past life. And our desire to travel there and colonise the Red Planet still endures.

From the very beginning of this exploration, the BBC has recorded our shifting perception of Mars. Since the Sky at Night started broadcasting in 1957, there have been over 50 episodes devoted to Mars and more than ten episodes of Horizon. This programme looks back at that coverage.

BBC Site

Snippet from Wikipedia: Mars

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. The surface of Mars is orange-red because it is covered in iron(III) oxide dust, giving it the nickname "the Red Planet". Mars is among the brightest objects in Earth's sky, and its high-contrast albedo features have made it a common subject for telescope viewing. It is classified as a terrestrial planet and is the second smallest of the Solar System's planets with a diameter of 6,779 km (4,212 mi). In terms of orbital motion, a Martian solar day (sol) is equal to 24.5 hours, and a Martian solar year is equal to 1.88 Earth years (687 Earth days). Mars has two natural satellites that are small and irregular in shape: Phobos and Deimos.

The relatively flat plains in northern parts of Mars strongly contrast with the cratered terrain in southern highlands – this terrain observation is known as the Martian dichotomy. Mars hosts many enormous extinct volcanoes (the tallest is Olympus Mons, 21.9 km or 13.6 mi tall) and one of the largest canyons in the Solar System (Valles Marineris, 4,000 km or 2,500 mi long). Geologically, the planet is fairly active with marsquakes trembling underneath the ground, dust devils sweeping across the landscape, and cirrus clouds. Carbon dioxide is substantially present in Mars's polar ice caps and thin atmosphere.

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0

Full Version Available Upon Request
Related Documentary