Here is the draft script of the television program. Some small bits may change, but this should provide a fairly good preview for those who are interested. It is quite lengthy, and will be continued in Parts 2 and 3.

INSIDE RAIN COVER = Mission Director Center, with remote cameras trained on pad 17
NOTE: SUBJECT TO PERMISSIONS THIS AREA MAY REPLACE WAYNE AT PAD 17 COMPLETELY!

WORCESTER, MA (former home of Robert H. Goddard)
Sullivan Middle School (or TBD)
guest = MATT GOLOMBEK
host = NEIL TYSON (director, Hayden Planetarium, AMNH)

A. PRESENTER ANNOUNCE

graphics to come!
PASSPORT TO KNOWLEDGE
AND...
THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY (IN NEW YORK CITY) PRESENT...
LIVE FROM MARS

1.1 TEASE: Mars Global Surveyor countdown and launch
(01:45)
VTR / 01:30 / CAMILLE v.o. and live as needed
NASA announcer on tape:
5...4...3...2...1.... the beginning of a new era of Mars Exploration

CAMILLE vo:
THIS WAS THE SCENE AT CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA, ON NOVEMBER 7TH, 1996, AS NASA'S "MARS GLOBAL SURVEYOR" SPACECRAFT TOOK OFF ON A 9-MONTH JOURNEY TO THE RED PLANET...

rocket disappears into clouds: animation of MPF in space,leaving Earth...
IN THIS FIRST "LIVE FROM MARS" PROGRAM YOU'LL FIND OUT HOW >YOU< CAN TRAVEL TO MARS, ALONG WITH NASA'S MISSIONS...

1.2 CAMILLE >voice over< scenes at SAEF 2 LIVE /
this uses ONLY the remote camera inside the room, NOT CM on camera until 1.5

YOU'LL GO BEHIND THE SCENES AT CAPE CANAVERAL, WHERE NO KIDS HAVE GONE BEFORE, AND MEET "MARS PATHFINDER", NASA'S SECOND SPACECRAFT, DUE TO LAUNCH IN EARLY DECEMBER...

TONY introduced, with Pathfinder and 3rd stage over his shoulder: he acknowledges CM's comments with a wave.

YOU'LL ALSO MEET PEOPLE LIKE TONY SPEAR, THE PATHFINDER PROJECT MANAGER, WHOSE JOB IS TO MAKE SURE EVERYTHING, AND I MEAN >EVERYTHING< IS "AOK"...

1.3 NEIL in Worcester, intro kids and MATT LIVE /

NEIL (with super) intros Worcester students and MATT and VO intros WAYNE (who's at KSC on VTR)

super: NEIL TYSON, Director, Hayden Planetarium, NYC

NEIL to camera, surrounded by kids with MATT foreground: UP HERE IN WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS -- A PLACE WHERE AMERICA'S SPACE PROGRAM BEGAN WITH A BOY WHO LOVED FIREWORKS -- THESE MIDDLE SCHOOLERS AND LOTS OF YOU OUT THERE WILL GET A CHANCE TO INTERACT WITH "MARS PATHFINDER" PROJECT SCIENTIST, MATT GOLOMBEK...

1.4 WAYNE @ Pad 17 VTR /

NEIL continues VO VTR pix from Cape: WAYNE waves on tape to acknowledge intro:

...AND BACK DOWN AT THE CAPE, "GLOBAL SURVEYOR" MISSION PLANNER WAYNE LEE WILL TELL US ALL ABOUT THE ROCKETS THAT WILL TAKE US TO MARS

1.5 CAMILLE THROWS TO OPEN... LIVE /
CAMILLE on camera beside TONY

super: CAMILLE MOODY U. Nevada, Las Vegas CAMILLE to camera
WE'LL ALSO BE HEARING FROM PROJECT MANAGER DONNA SHIRLEY... AND TAKING QUESTIONS BY E-MAIL.

SO HERE WE GO WITH LIVE FROM MARS... PROGRAM 1, "COUNTDOWN"... 5...4...3...2....1

1.6 KIDS IN WORCESTER SHOUT US DOWN TO "LAUNCH"
LIVE/ 00:05
NEIL leads kids in live countdown

NEIL, MATT and students
5...4...3...2...1

B. UNDERWRITER ANNOUNCE (00:15)
VTR / 00:15
LIVE FROM MARS IS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION, NASA AND PBS TEACHER RESOURCE SERVICES

2.0 SHOW OPEN (02:05)
VTR / 00:20 SOT

3.0 CAMILLE AND KIDS APPROACH SAEF 2 (02:35)
VTR / 00:30 / CAMILLE v.o.
aerial overview, walking towards and into SAEF 2... lots of industrial pipes, warning signs, etc. "KEEP OUT!"

aerial:
PART OF TODAY'S PROGRAM IS COMING TO YOU FROM THIS VERY SECURE BUILDING DOWN HERE AT THE CAPE... IT'S CALLED SAEF 2, WHICH STANDS FOR... (TK: RICHARD DOWLING!)

CAMILLE and kids walk up: (pre-tape 11/18? 11/19?) OUTSIDE, THERE ARE LOTS OF INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH PIPES, AND WARNINGS SIGNS...

we see the viewing windows, but also the doors and flashing lights:
INSIDE THERE'S ONE OF THE CLEANEST CLEAN ROOM IN THE WORLD... SO THIS IS AS FAR AS ANYONE GETS WITHOUT SPECIAL PRECAUTIONS... AND OUR STUDENTS ARE GONNA HAVE TO STOP HERE...

4.0 CAMILLE DONS PROTECTIVE GEAR (03:05)
VTR / 00:30 / CAMILLE v.o.
getting dressed in bunny boots, mask, air-shower, etc.

CAMILLE in the changing room
BUT WITH SPECIAL PERMISSION FROM NASA, I'M BEING ALLOWED TO TAKE YOU INSIDE THIS "E.R." FOR SPACECRAFT, ALONG WITH A LIVE CAMERA.

she dresses
FIRST, I HAVE TO PUT ON THESE HOSPITAL-STYLE SCRUBS...

we see and hear what happens as she puts on the mask A FACE-MASK... DON'T WANT TO TAKE EARTH MICROBES TO MARS!

close-up of the vibrating floor mat
AND THEN IT'S A BUNNY-BOOT SCRUB...

CAMILLE shouts over the air shower noise, from behind the face mask
AN AIR SHOWER... AND WE'LL BE BACK WHEN I'M CLEAN ENOUGH TO GO INSIDE@!#!

MEANWHILE, SOME OF YOUR PEERS GOT TO SEE PARTS OF THE CAPE YOU CAN'T VISIT ON ANY REGULAR FIELD TRIP... OVER TO YOU, KIDS!

5.0 KID'S EYE TOUR OF KSC (06:05)
VTR / 03:00 / CAMILLE bridging v.o. as needed from the classic shot of the VAB, the old Explorer 1 launch pad, the Shuttle flame pits, Pad 17 during the erection of the MPF Delta rocket, etc. Narrated v.o. and on camera by Michael Deane's students from McNair Magnet School

HI. I'M MORGAN CABLE AT CAPE CANAVERAL WITH SOME FLORIDIANS FROM THE MCNAIR SCHOOL. WE'RE GOING TO GIVE YOU A KIDS' EYE VIEW AND A SPECIAL TOUR OF THE CAPE.

RIGHT BEHIND US IS THE VEHICLE ASSEMBLY BUILDING. IT WAS DESIGNED TO HOUSE THE HUGE SATURN ROCKETS THAT CARRIED THE APOLLO ASTRONAUTS TO THE MOON... NOW IT'S USED TO ASSEMBLE THE SPACE SHUTTLES

AFTER A SHUTTLE IS FLOWN IN FROM CALIFORNIA, IT'S ASSEMBLED OR REPAIRED IN THE VAB. THEN IT'S PUT ON A HUGE CRAWLER AND ROLLED OUT TO EITHER (PAD) 39A OR 39B ON THE CRAWLER. THIS CRAWLER GOES ONLY 5M.P.H. AND IT TAKES A WHOLE NIGHT JUST TO GET OUT TO THE LAUNCH PADS.

NOW WE'RE GOING TO PARTS OF THE CAPE YOU'VE PROBABLY NEVER SEEN BEFORE!

HERE WE ARE AT THE FLAME TRENCH AT LAUNCH COMPLEX 39A... THIS IS THE PLACE WHERE ALL THE EXHAUST FROM THE SHUTTLE BOOSTERS COMES OUT TOPPED OFF BY300,000 GALLONS OF WATER.

THESE ARE THE PIPES THAT CARRY THE WATER THE 300,000 GALLONS OF WATER AND MORGAN'S THERE TO SHOW YOU HOW BIG THEY ARE.

THESE TUBES BEHIND ME CARRY MILLIONS OF GALLONS OF WATER TO THE TRENCHES OVER HERE AND THE HEAT CREATED INTO STEAM IS FLUSHED OUT OF THE TRENCHES AND IT CAN GET UP TO 3 MILES AWAY FROM THE LAUNCH PAD.

ANOTHER REASON FOR PUMPING THE WATER INTO THE TRENCH IS WHAT IT SAYS "SOUND SUPPRESSION SYSTEM"... THE LAUNCHING OF THE SHUTTLE CREATES ALOT OF SOUND (WHICH COULD SET UPVIBRATIONS WHICH MIGHT DAMAGE THE SHUTTLE.)

[SHUTTLE LAUNCH TRANSITION]

THIS IS A BURROUGHS COMPUTER USED TO LAUNCH JOHN GLENN INTO SPACE...

[GLENN STOCK FOOTAGE]

...IN THE 1960'S. SEE HOW LONG THIS COMPUTER IS? THE AVERAGE LAPTOP (TODAY) HAS MORE POWER.

[LAPTOP SHOT]

(KIDS AT THE AIR FORCE ROCKETRY MUSEUM)

WE'RE HERE AT THE BUNKER THAT WAS USED TO LAUNCH THE REDSTONE MISSILES WITH THE MONKEYS IN THEM. THIS REALLY REMINDS ME OF SOMETHING OUT OF AN OLD 50'S SCI FI MOVIE. THERE'S BUTTONS AND DIALS AND WHEELS EVERYWHERE. THERE'S "BJ" OVER AT THE FIRING CONSOLE.

THE RED BUTTON!

READY... 3..2..1..IGNITION!

[REDSTONE LAUNCH]

THIS IS A REDSTONE ROCKET... IT SEEMS REALLY PUNY COMPARED TO THE DELTA ROCKETS GOING TO MARS... FROM THE REDSTONE WE'RE GOING OVER TO THE PADS WHERE THE PAYLOADS TO MARS ARE GOING TO BE LAUNCHED

IT'S A BIG TOWER... THIS IS MY FIRST TIME SEEING ONE OF THESE AND I THINK THAT THIS IS SO INCREDIBLE BECAUSE I DON'T THINK THAT I WILL EVER BE ABLE TO COME OUT HERE THIS CLOSE TO SEEING ONE OF THESE AGAIN.

HEY THIS IS PRETTY EXCITING! RIGHT BEHIND ME AS YOU CAN SEE THEY ARE LOADING THE FIRST STAGE OF THE DELTA ROCKET ON LAUNCH PAD 17B

(HARDHAT MAN TALKING)
"THEY WILL ADD A SECOND STAGE TO THIS ONE ONCE IT IS UP."

(KIDS ASKS MAN) THAT'S THE BOTTOM ONE RIGHT THERE? YUP, RUNS ON OXYGEN AND KEROSENE. THEY'RE MEDIUM WEIGHT ROCKETS. THAT'S ASKING QUITE A LOT FOR CARRYING A PAYLOAD TO MARS."

YOU'RE PROBABLY WONDERING WHY WE'RE ALL WEARING HARD HATS, BUT ALL PERSONNEL THIS CLOSE TO THE LAUNCH PAD HAVE TO WEAR THEM. IT'S FOR SAFETY REASONS

THIS LAUNCH PAD IS THE EXACT PLACE THAT THE (PATHFINDER) ROCKET WILL BE LAUNCHED FROM ON DECEMBER 2

[DELTA LAUNCH FOOTAGE (STOCK) WITH MORGAN'S VO:]

KSC IS SURROUNDED BY A WILDLIFE PRESERVE CALLED THE MERIT ISLAND WILDLIFE REFUGE. THE MIWR IS HOME TO MANY SPECIES OF BIRDS, PLANTS, AND ANIMALS THAT MIGHT BE THREATENED OR ENDANGERED. KSC WORKS REALLY HARD SO THEIR ACTIVITIES DO NOT DAMAGE THIS ENVIRONMENT.

WATER DOWN HERE IS FULL OF LIFE WHICH IS WHY FINDING WATER ON MARS CAN HOLD POSSIBILITIES OF LIFE ON MARS

(KIDS CLOSE)

WE'RE HERE AT THE CRAWLER THAT CARRIES THE SPACE SHUTTLE FROM THE VAB TO THE LAUNCH PAD. THIS CRAWLER WEIGHS 6 MILLION POUNDS, IN FACT, EACH ONE OF THESE CLEETS WEIGHS 1 TON. THAT ENDS OUR TOUR OF THE CAPE.

FROM ALL THE KIDS FROM MCNAIR, SO LONG!

6.0 NEIL AND THE SNC METEORITE: WORCESTER (13:20)
LIVE / 00:45
This is a piece of Mars... something like this... ALH 84001, but we don't know quite where it came from... so we have to go back... which is where MATT comes in...

NEIL:
SO IT TAKES A LOT OF EFFORT TO GET TO MARS... BUT SOMETIMES, VERY RARELY, MARS COMES TO US!

ECU meteorite
THIS IS ONE OF THOSE INCREDIBLY RARE MARTIAN METEORITES YOU MAY HAVE BEEN READING ABOUT. THIS IS CALLED... (AMNH DATA TK...) AND COMES FROM OUR COLLECTION AT THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY. IT WAS FOUND IN... IN THE YEAR...

WHAT SEEMS TO HAVE HAPPENED WITH THESE OBJECTS IS...

(gives condensed description of how the SNC meteorites got here)

THIS ONE DOES >NOT< HAVE ANY EVIDENCE OF POSSIBLE MARTIAN LIFE FORMS, WHICH IS WHY I'M ALLOWED TO HANDLE IT. IT'S ONE OF ONLY 12 (CHECK) MARTIAN METEORITES TO BE FOUND...

UNFORTUNATELY WE DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHERE ON MARS IT CAME FROM... WHICH IS WHY WE NEED TO SEND THESE UPCOMING MISSIONS TO MARS, RATHER THAN JUST WAITING HERE DOWN ON EARTH FOR MORE CHANCE DELIVERIES!

BUT WHY ARE MATT AND HIS COLLEAGUES, AND MILLIONS OF PEOPLE ALL AROUND THE WORLD, ASTRONOMERS AND REGULAR FOLKS ALIKE, SO INTERESTED IN THE PLANET MARS?

7.0 WHY MARS? (12:35)
VTR / 03:30 / NEIL v.o.
the lure and lore of Mars... early telescope views... Lowell and Mars mania... Mariner, Viking results... volcanoes, valleys, channels... the question of water and of life (past, present, future?)

MARS, THE RED PLANET, IS EARTH'S NEIGHBOR, THE NEXT PLANET OUT FROM THE SUN. NAMED FOR THE ROMAN GOD OF WAR, MARS RESEMBLES EARTH IN MANY WAYS.

IT HAS DESERTS... SAND DUNES... POLAR CAPS... CANYONS... EXTINCT VOLCANOES... EVEN SIGNS OF ANCIENT RIVER CHANNELS, LAKES AND FLOODS, ALMOST CERTAINLY CAUSED BY LIQUID WATER!

MARS IS HALF THE DIAMETER OF EARTH... BUT IF YOU IGNORE EARTH'S OCEANS, EARTH AND MARS HAVE JUST ABOUT THE SAME SURFACE AREA.

MARS, HOWEVER, IS FAR COLDER, AND HAS A VERY THIN ATMOSPHERE... LESS THAN 1 PERCENT OF EARTH'S AT SEA LEVEL....

FOR MORE THAN 300 YEARS EVEN OUR BEST TELESCOPES COULD SEE ONLY BLURRY, SHIMMERING IMAGES, DISTORTED BY EARTH'S OWN ATMOSPHERE...

STILL, OBSERVERS COULD NOTE THE ANNUAL GROWTH AND RETREAT OF THE POLAR CAPS, AND AS EARLY AS 1700 HAD TIMED ITS ROTATION RATE FROM (THE MOTION OF) LARGE SURFACE FEATURES, AND DETERMINED THE MARTIAN DAY WAS ABOUT 40 MINUTES LONGER THAN OUR OWN.

IN 1877, THE ASTRONOMER GIOVANNI SCHIAPARELLI PUBLISHED A MAP OF MARS SHOWING LARGE STRAIGHT FEATURES HE CALLED "CANALI", ITALIAN FOR "CHANNELS". CONVINCED THESE WERE ARTIFICIAL, THE AMERICAN ASTRONOMER, PERCIVAL LOWELL, WROTE ABOUT MARS AS "THE ABODE OF LIFE," A DESERT PLANET INHABITED BY INTELLIGENT BEINGS, ENGAGED IN A HEROIC STRUGGLE TO KEEP CIVILIZATION ALIVE BY PLANET-WIDE ENGINEERING!

NOT EVERYONE AGREED.... BUT THE POSSIBILITY OF LIFE ON MARS WAS WELL ESTABLISHED BEFORE THE BEGINNING OF THE SPACE AGE.

IN THE LATE '60S, U.S. MARINER SPACE PROBES RETURNED THE FIRST CLOSE-UP IMAGES OF MARS.

THERE WERE NO "CANALS", BUT THERE WERE SPECTACULAR SURFACE FEATURES LIKE VALLES MARINERIS, ("VAL-LAYS MARIN-AIR-RIS") A GIGANTIC CANYON THAT WOULD STRETCH FROM NEW YORK TO LOS ANGELES.

OUR BEST INFORMATION ABOUT MARS COMES FROM THE TWO VIKING SPACECRAFT LAUNCHED IN 1975. EACH CONSISTED OF AN ORBITER AND A LANDER.

VIKING ONE TOUCHED DOWN ON JULY 20, 1976, IN THE REGION KNOWN AS CHRYSE PLANITIA... ("CRY-SAY PLAN- ISHIA") THE "PLAINS OF GOLD". VIKING RETURNED THE FIRST PICTURES FROM THE SURFACE OF MARS... AND TESTED SOIL SAMPLES FOR SIGNS OF BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY... WITH NEGATIVE, BUT PUZZLING, RESULTS THAT ARE STILL BEING DEBATED TODAY.

THE VIKING PROBES CONTINUED SENDING DATA FOR 6 YEARS, BOTH FROM ORBIT AND THE SURFACE, REVEALING TANTALIZING EVIDENCE OF CLOUDS AND FROSTS AND WATER, HINTS OF A TIME WHEN MARS WAS WARMER AND WETTER. THE ORBITERS PHOTOGRAPHED SIGNS OF ANCIENT FLOODS AND WHAT LOOKED LIKE RIVER BEDS, WHILE THE LANDERS SENT DAILY WEATHER REPORTS OF TEMPERATURE, WIND SPEED AND AIR PRESSURE.

THIS NASA COMPUTER SIMULATION SHOWS WHAT IT MIGHT BE LIKE TO FLY ACROSS THE SURFACE OF MARS...

DOWN INTO ITS CANYONS...

AND UP ACROSS THE THARSIS BULGE TO A CHAIN OF FOUR GIGANTIC SHIELD VOLCANOES.

ONE OF THESE, OLYMPUS MONS, IS THE LARGEST VOLCANO IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM, HIGHER THAN MT . EVEREST, BIG ENOUGH TO COVER THE STATE OF KANSAS!

SCIENTISTS BELIEVE MARS IS A PLANET UNDERGOING GREAT CLIMACTIC CHANGE. IF WE CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT'S HAPPENING ON MARS WE MAY HAVE A BETTER CHANCE OF UNDERSTANDING IMPORTANT EFFECTS IN OUR OWN CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENT HERE ON EARTH.

WE NEED MORE ACCURATE MAPS PROVIDING DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT MARTIAN TOPOGRAPHY.

WE WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE COMPOSITION OF THE MARTIAN SOIL AND ROCKS. WHAT THREW MARS INTO THE GRIP OF AN ICE AGE? IF THERE WERE ONCE LAKES AND FLOWING RIVERS, WHERE'S ALL THAT WATER NOW? LOCKED IN PERMAFROST? BURIED BENEATH THE POLAR CAPS?

AND IF THERE WAS ONCE WATER, MIGHT THERE HAVE BEEN LIFE? IF THERE'S NO EVIDENCE OF LIFE ON MARS NOW, MIGHT THERE BE FOSSIL EVIDENCE OF EXTINCT LIFEFORMS?

MISSIONS LIKE PATHFINDER AND MARS GLOBAL SURVEYOR SHOULD HELP US FIND ANSWERS TO SOME OF THESE QUESTIONS AND IN THOSE ANSWERS MAY LIE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF OUR HOME PLANET, EARTH.