Hollywood, California, November 8, 2018 (SPX) Then the screen thundered as space is understood to require brute force to get there. Then the complexities of living on Mars is brought too life in a new twisted use of scripted, news reels and documessaging. Ron Howard's injection into the storyline seems to be an unleashing of curiosity of what Mars homesteading could really be like. The ability to grab the wildest minds on the planet and rub elbows the rapid prototyping king in Elon Musk might have changed story telling as we know it.

Will it survive, or will you survive? The Mars effort has potential to continue the acceptance of man stepping out. What is it? Life is in water and we now know water is everywhere. The simplest explanation of life on Mars will be microbes. This writer still wonders that the current span of man over time could mean the replication of evolution to a scale that again will require storytelling to be slowly believed and understood by man.

For the Mars storyline Penicillin played the hero microbe award. I asked Sammi Rotibi (The Darkest Minds), a lead actor in the Mars series, "Since I am allergic to Penicillin maybe I should not consider going to space?"

Sammi bust out laughing and gave a hardy handshake.

Mars is presenting humans again as just transferred tribes to create a natural fiction. But, at least this time space talk about sex is straight up. Heck humans are getting made and the practice in that important role is quite entertaining. Again, working standard human conflicts into potential living on Mars. It works.

As Sammi and I laughed the lead actress, Jihae (Mortal Engines), and President of Advanced Rockets Corporation, Mr. Othniel Mbamalu, all gathered for a picture. Both Mr. Rotibi and Mr. Mbamalu are from Nigeria. The tickle of Sammi's native tongue was fun to watch as foreigners in foreign lands make familiar their conversations quickly.

In the storyline for episode 4 of season 2 of Mars is really focused on rapid decision making, in particular for basic survival. Musk could have been one of the ones on the floor foaming at the mouth with the Mars bug, but still he'd have a keyboard to tweet something like: At 4:20 I noticed that I was missing something.

I didn't get the chance to ask Ron Howard how he lets go a piece of his art. Intently I watch as Ron was immersed in the roof-top TV screen with Hollywood elites resting in black fluffy chairs with National Geographic take home blankets. (Thanks, it's soft.) Ron's face was a kid and at no point did expressions show changes were needed. I enjoyed watching the creator as much as what he created.

The event was a keen hipster scene. National Geographic's MARS Under the Stars Screening was at E.P. and L.P in West Hollywood. The drink menu was space inspired and the foodies were pleased too.

I got the chance to ask a few questions to Stephen Petranek, MARS scientific advisor, co-executive producer and Big Thinker; award-winning author of How We'll Live on Mars, upon which the series is based

1) Do you think humans living on Mars is too ambitious an idea?

There is really very little that's ambitious about humans wanting to live on Mars or being able to do so, because we've had all the technology we need to accomplish that for at least 30 years.

In the early 1970s, as the Apollo program was coming to an end, Werner von Braun, the great NASA rocket scientist, proposed that we land humans on Mars next. He thought it could be done by 1985. (We haven't had the rocket to do it until recently when SpaceX successfully tested its Falcon Heavy Rocket and NASA tested its SLS rocket, but that is a matter of will and investment.

The old Saturn 5 rocket that got us to the Moon reconfigured with more power in the second and third stages or with a fourth stage could have gotten us there long ago.) From habitats to space suits to growing food in greenhouses using the Martian soil, we're prepared. We have the technology we need to keep people alive on Mars indefinitely. That said, there would be enormous challenges and probably some dramatic failures along the way.

2) I am allergic to Penicillin, should I avoid space?

You're probably referring to the primitive microorganism we find on Mars in the series that threaten the Colonists. We don't know yet if there actually is life on Mars, but it is more doubtful than probable. And we don't know if that life will be threatening to humans. But we have many tricks up our sleeve, like sulfa drugs, that can attack a primitive bug we might become exposed to.

3) With what you have learned about Mars, and if you could go, how long would it take to prepare and how do you prepare?

You don't really have to prepare much as a passenger for the kind of Mars rocket that Elon Musk foresees SpaceX building. Yes, you'd need a few hours of training to know what to do in an emergency (not unlike what flight attendants go through for commercial airlines). And yes, you would be wise to build up your strength before the journey because you'll lose about 1% of your muscle mass for each month of weightlessness on the journey there.

That said, on Mars you won't need nearly as much muscle strength as on Earth, because Mars only has 38% as much gravity force as Earth.

You would be wise to get involved in some serious talk therapy before you go to be certain your subconscious mind agrees with your conscious thoughts about what a glorious adventure it would all be. Psychological, rather than physical, health will be far more important if you leave Earth on a one-way trip to Mars.

MARS is a scientifically and technologically rigorous series that premieres on the National Geographic channel on November 12.

+ See the Trailer here

Related Links
Mars at National Geographic
Mars News and Information at MarsDaily.com
Lunar Dreams and more

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