Passage to Mars Page #3

is still too high.

On Mars, the expedition

will stop many times

to collect and analyze data.

At 11 a.m., we paused

to study the sea ice.

Our planet's climate

has been changing fast

with big effects in the Arctic.

Our observations capture

a snapshot in time

of the thickness of the ice

along the Northwest Passage.

The sea ice is for now

no thinner than in past years

but hold on

its nature has changed..

Dramatically.

It no longer contains

the layers of old ice

that used to survive

several summers.

There's only new ice,

ice that will be gone

by the end of the summer.

Everywhere ice covers

are in retreat.

This is gonna be a sample.

Here, polar bear populations

are in dangerous decline.

As we gaze to another world

I see our own planet struggling.

The ecology of Earth

is shifting.

Did a similar shift

happen to Mars?

A global change

that forced water to recede

and turned an entire planet

into a desert?

If we want to find life on Mars

we must go after

its hidden waters.

On Earth, where there's water,

there's life..

Always.

Even here, beneath our sea ice,

life is stirring on all sides.

This place can be so quiet.

Much like Mars.

Complete stillness can be eerie.

Although now,

there's no more signal..

It's really finicky.

Bad news.

Our electrical system

seems to be failing.

We're losing our ability

to power

on-board computers

and instruments.

Yeah, so I've got 12 volts here.

Worse, we won't be

able to shut down

the Okarian's engine anymore,

it might not restart.

- Starting up.

- Thin ice. Thin ice.

Retreat. Thin ice. Retreat.

Okay, we're good.

We're getting an ice thickness,

the current ice thickness, here.

- 5.38 meters?

- Uh, uh, yup.

- Excellent.

- Which is wrong.

1.5, that's a lot.

Yeah, it's quite thick, so..

And here's the capper

a massive storm is approaching.

We can't afford to stop.

The clock is ticking.

4 p.m. No choice now.

We must hunker down.

Waiting is the name of the game.

On Mars, we'll need

to be patient too.

Dust storms can last for weeks

and engulf the whole planet.

Still, uh, completely whiteout.

Complete whiteout, uh,

we can't see anything around us

except, uh,

white and a few chunks

of blue ice, uh, all around us.

Uh, and we're getting snow

drifting in here a little bit.

But, uh, everything's okay,

spirits are high

and people are trying

to catch up on some sleep

and, uh, reading.

The Martian winds

raise the red dust.

It's fine-grained, abrasive

and toxic.

Dust will grind

into your spacesuit joints

and eat away the hardware.

If inhaled, it will clog

and burn the pores

of your lungs.

The art of living on Mars

will be the art

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