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Posted by: slinted Dec 6 2005, 10:08 PM

This isn't really a Spirit only topic, but since she has been on Mars a bit longer, I'll give her the honor of this thread.

http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/rovingmars/

January 27 release

Posted by: SigurRosFan Dec 7 2005, 08:30 AM

A martian year in 40 minutes?

Posted by: mars loon Dec 31 2005, 02:54 AM

This long awaited IMAX movie has been highlighted in a new article (DEC 30) by Alan Boyle in his Cosmic Log from MSNBC:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3217961/

there are long and informative quotes from Steve Squyres in the article.

and you absolutely must check out the thrilling trailer

http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/rovingmars/index.html

Posted by: Shaka Dec 31 2005, 03:06 AM

Somebody tell me I'm having a nightmare!

Hawaii's only Imax theater recently converted to a CIRCUS!!

To quote a Great American, Mr. C. Brown Esq. " AAAAAAAGGGGGGHHH!!!"

Posted by: djellison Dec 31 2005, 11:04 AM

The Trailer made me cringe, the voice over was shocking

The imagery should be good though


Doug

Posted by: chokai Dec 31 2005, 10:47 PM

At least it didn't start out with: "In a world...."

I remember at the book signing Steve mentioning when asked about the movie that some of the super-high res panoramas were nearly IMAX sized themselves when pieced together, specifically Burns Cliff. Here's hoping the movie entered post-production recently enough that we'll get the Columbia Hills summit pans.

Posted by: djellison Dec 31 2005, 10:50 PM

Well - IMAX resolution is, last I heard approx 5616 x 4096 pixels - so a full Pancam 3-frame-tall-postcard can be had in shot with room to spare - but it would still be 4 screens across

Doug

Posted by: lyford Dec 31 2005, 10:59 PM

You are of course referring to http://www.collegehumor.com/movies/1633395/
I hope the trailer is not indicative of the cheesy tone of the movie itself... but Disney is as Disney does....

Posted by: djellison Dec 31 2005, 11:08 PM

Magnificent Desolation was reasonably tasteful, some cringing moments, but on the whole made up for by spectacular imagery.

I just hope that MER is done justice.

Doug

Posted by: mars loon Jan 1 2006, 12:09 AM

I am surprised you guys don't like the Roving Mars trailer.

I found the trailer moving and motivating and have high hopes for the film since Dan Maas and Steve Squyres are involved.

Finally, The "Heroes of Mars Exploration" on the giant screen with the amazing adventures and exploits of Spirit and Opportunity. My hope is this film will be hughly successful with the general public and stimulate funding for the exploration of Mars and beyond for NASA.

Cassini would make for a great follow-up film.

We who love astronomy and space exploration, and inhabit this forum, depend on the good will of the public to finance these explorations. Thats why this movie is important. So, I am praying for it to be a winner in every sense !!!

ken

Posted by: BPCooper Jan 1 2006, 02:50 AM

I personally can't wait for this one. Of course the real movie isn't voice overs, this is a trailer :-D

Posted by: Bob Shaw Jan 1 2006, 02:39 PM

Here's a teaser...

Bob Shaw

Posted by: lyford Jan 1 2006, 08:46 PM

Well, I am always wary of overly dramatic music and effects; I find it the cinematic equivalent of TYPING IN ALL CAPS WITH LOTS OF EXCLAMATION POINTS!!!!!!!! I also hate trailers that show all the good bits of the movie so there is nothing left to pay for in the theatre, but since most of us already "know the ending" that wasn't a problem here. It's maybe too much to expect IMAX to let the story and images speak for themselves without hyping up a whole emotional human epic story line of a story of planetary human epic emotions. I just hope they don't Disney it up too much with the swelling music and the slow motion hugging and tearful high fives during the landing sequence:

Insert treacly violins here

I thought the PBS specials did a decent job of balancing coverage of the science, engineering and human angles of the mission.

But snarky as I am, I really can't wait, even though the nearest IMAX to me is about 100 miles away. I can't miss the interviews, or the full size panoramas, or even just for the giant size Delta II launch at full volume!

Insert earth shaking rumbling here

Posted by: djellison Jan 1 2006, 08:54 PM

I love the two Nova programs, the first was my favorite, it covered the development and testing and just a few days after landing. The 'chute tests, airbag tests, Steve worrying about having Mini-TES being shock tested. It was a cracking insight into the development of it all. The Comet-Impact program I saw about DI didnt really capture things the same way, but it was quite good, particularly figuring out how to do the solar arrays.

Dan did some great anims for the first of the two MER Nova programs showing them squishing MER into the pathfinder sized lander, very funny

I'm looking forward to the MER Imax hugely, just the V.O. for the Trailer, and to be honest with most trailers that come out of Hollywood, make me cringe. We dealt with a V.O. artist for a project at work, he was a Brit but his 'reel' had some hillarious hollywood like VO's in it - had us in stitches

Doug

Posted by: PhilCo126 Jan 2 2006, 06:08 PM

Can't wait to get this Disney production on DVD

Posted by: lyford Jan 2 2006, 08:35 PM

I loved the http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/transcripts/3201_mars.html bit when Gorevan from Honeybee was fretting about the blueberries and how they might ruin the RAT... to drill or not to drill. A nice insight into the personalities involved and how cooperative these missions really are.

Posted by: mars loon Jan 2 2006, 09:35 PM

I highly recommend both NOVA programs as I wrote in this thread earlier
http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.php?showtopic=1140&view=findpost&p=31952
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/mars/

Also I had the priviledge to meet Steve Gorevan when I invited him to give a lecture in Princeton, NJ a few months back. Another great guy with a great story to tell. He even loaned me a scale model RAT for my Mars outreach presentations. So far the RAT's have done well over 100 grindings and brushing vs a spec of 6. Honeybee is a 1st class company

some details in this thread:
http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.php?showtopic=1385

for anyone who may be in the Philadelphia area, my next presentation (with the RAT model) is here on Jan 11, click on meetings:
http://www.rittenhouseastronomicalsociety.org/

Posted by: djf Jan 16 2006, 07:43 PM

Wired News http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,70014-0.html?tw=wn_tophead_3 about the upcoming release of "Roving Mars". Not a whole lot of new info, but http://www.wired.com/news/technology/gallery/1,70014,1.html.

Posted by: Toma B Jan 16 2006, 07:51 PM

WOW!!! These are awesome...Can you see Opportunity rover in these images? So tiny...so precious...

Posted by: jaredGalen Jan 16 2006, 07:54 PM

Whoa, the crater seems a hell of a lot bigger than I had thought.
Looks pretty cool though.

Posted by: lyford Jan 16 2006, 10:54 PM

Descriptive PDF http://adisney.go.com/disneypictures/rovingmars/BVRovingMarsEdGuidePages.pdf
Looks like they are going to use some of those http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/specialEffects/spirit/shots - nice to finally "see" the rovers from the 3rd person perspective in the environments that we have come to know and love.
Though the movie site (btw, did I tell you how much I HATE flash websites?) doesn't have the theatre listings yet...

Posted by: mars loon Jan 19 2006, 04:27 PM

Space.com has a new article about the IMAX Film "Roving Mars" here:

http://space.com/entertainment/060119_ent_roving_mars.html

NASA’s Mars Rovers to Hit the Silver Screen
By Tariq Malik
Staff Writer
posted: 19 January 2006

quote from first few paragraphs:

NASA’s hardy twin robots Spirit and Opportunity currently roving across the surface of Mars will be immortalized in a fresh documentary about their wildly successful mission.

Disney’s new IMAX film Roving Mars, set to open nationwide on Jan. 27, chronicles the exploits of NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission that entered its third year exploring the surface of the red planet this month. Originally slated for a 90-Martian day mission, Spirit and Opportunity have consistently surpassed the expectations of their handlers and filmmakers throughout their mission.

“My original idea was to wait for the rovers to die and that it would be a dramatic ending,” Roving Mars director George Butler told SPACE.com. “However, these rovers won’t die, which is excellent news.”

Posted by: djf Jan 24 2006, 06:52 PM

Looks like it will be http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/space/2006-01-22-rover-imax_x.htm.

So who's planning on seeing it opening day? I'm probably headed to Grand Rapids for an afternoon showing on Friday...

Posted by: paulanderson Jan 24 2006, 07:20 PM

I'm in North Vancouver, a suburb of Vancouver. We have a great IMAX theatre right across the inlet from me, beside the cruise ship terminal (nice location!), which is one of the two showing it in Canada so far (that's it?). I don't know if there are any other forum members near here or not, but I definitely want to see it. Spirit and Oppy deserve to be on the big screen!

Posted by: Tom Tamlyn Jan 25 2006, 01:43 AM

In Community Chit Chat I've http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.php?showtopic=2111&pid=38178&st=0&#entry38178 a NYC field trip to see the film.

TTT

Posted by: elakdawalla Jan 25 2006, 08:23 PM

I got to go see a screening of Roving Mars last night and just posted a review in my http://planetary.org/blog/. The short version: cool film, definitely see it if you can, the animations have been lovingly re-updated to place the rovers in 3D environments based on rover imagery. But in the end I was disappointed by how little actual Mars imagery they used and how much of it was animation, and they failed to tell much of the story of the sagas of both rovers after they landed in the narration. Still, it is well worth going to see it on the IMAX screen. I loved the super-close-up shots of the rovers being built as much as I loved the scenes from Mars. Bill Harris and his pals over in the http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.php?showtopic=2000 will want to watch that part of the movie again and again!

--Emily

Posted by: elakdawalla Jan 25 2006, 08:29 PM

Also, they handed out a CD with stills from the movie at the screening. I pulled out all the simulated views and cut them all down to half resolution to be able to upload them here. Enjoy. According to the fine print on the booklet that came with the disk these images are only to be used to discuss the movie, not for any other purpose, so don't go and use them on your websites...but nobody will know if you use them as desktop wallpaper!

--Emily

Posted by: odave Jan 25 2006, 08:36 PM

About which sol(s) does the movie end on? Sounds like pretty much gets as far as Steve's book did. And as you say, hopefully we'll get an updated edition of the movie when the rovers finally die (SS: "they are not immortal, I'm convinced of this" )

Posted by: elakdawalla Jan 25 2006, 08:43 PM

Well, the movie lacked much sense of time passing on Mars and didn't really tell the Mars part as a story following landing, so it didn't really end on a specific sol. Adirondack was the only rock target mentioned by name, and then the narration said they headed for the hills. They showed blueberries from Opportunity but really didn't say much about what was going on with Oppy after that. The last Spirit view shown was some time before the summit but it was too quick for me to say exactly which one it was -- looking at the Pancam team site I'm guessing it was somewhere around the Thanksgiving pan but I'm not too sure, it could have been later. The last Opportunity view shown was Rub Al Khali.

--Emily

Posted by: AlexBlackwell Jan 25 2006, 08:54 PM

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/25/movies/25mars.html?8hpib
By DAVID M. HALBFINGER
The New York Times
January 25, 2006

Posted by: DrZZ Jan 26 2006, 02:52 PM

Just ran acress this:
Squyres and filmaker George Butler http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/01/24/DI2006012401059.html at washingtonpost.com at 2pm EST Jan 26. There is an address to send questions.

Posted by: djellison Jan 26 2006, 03:05 PM

Anyone noticed how innacurate the tracks are in Endurance crater

Doug

Posted by: Tman Jan 26 2006, 03:46 PM

I buy the wonderful sunset Rover ...and wallpaper what's that?

Thanks for the pics!

Posted by: Tman Jan 26 2006, 03:55 PM

I can hardly remember. Anyway the (great) view looks stunning real-like

But I guess the Rover on Burns Cliff is a bit too slope for surviving.
Thats better: http://www.marsgeo.com/Opportunity/BurnsCliff.htm

Posted by: lyford Jan 26 2006, 04:44 PM

http://www.moviewavs.com/cgi-bin/mp3s.cgi?Napoleon_Dynamite=lucky.mp3

Where in the LA area is it showing? I didn't see it listed as a opening city at the http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/space/2006-01-22-rover-imax_x.htm article or at the horrible http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/rovingmars/

Can't wait to see the opening sol numbers in Variety

Posted by: ljk4-1 Jan 26 2006, 06:39 PM

Cornell goes to the movies: Mars and Steve Squyres' rovers star in IMAX spectacular

http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/Jan06/MER.imax.lg.html

Jan. 26, 2006

By Lauren Gold
lg34@cornell.edu

Thanks to a combination of coincidence, luck and a few handy connections, the red planet is a star in the story of the durable twin Mars rovers, which hits the extra-big screens in IMAX theaters in New York, Washington, D.C., and two dozen other cities across North America on Friday, Jan. 27.

The 40-minute film, "Roving Mars," is the story of the journey of the rovers Spirit and Opportunity -- as well as the journey of their creators. Directed by George Butler and produced by Frank Marshall, the movie chronicles the rovers' early development to their treks across two very different regions of Mars. The rovers are still going strong, having far exceeded their projected life span of 90 days.

Equipping the rovers with IMAX-quality cameras was a priority for NASA's Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission from the beginning. "We set for ourselves the goal of making two robot field geologists," says Steve Squyres, Cornell's Goldwin Smith professor of astronomy and the mission's principal investigator. Cornell astronomy Associate Professor Jim Bell, leader of the panoramic camera (Pancam) team for the mission, says that meant giving the rover cameras 20/20 stereo vision -- "the first time we've had human resolution on Mars."

Documenting the mission for a film, though, was not originally in NASA's plans. That idea came together in part thanks to Squyres' younger brother, Tim, an Academy Award-nominated film editor (and like his older brother, a Cornell alumnus). Tim pitched the idea to Butler and Marshall, who then did their own share of pitching to NASA before they were granted access for filming.

The pivotal point occurred just before Spirit's launch in June 2003, when tension was at its peak and the team didn't want to be slowed down by a camera crew. So Butler rented the IMAX theater at Cape Canaveral to show the MER team his last movie: a documentary about the journey of Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton.

"You could feel this chill go through the room," says Steve Squyres. From that moment, Butler's film crews had full access.

But neither Butler's crews nor the rovers' cameras on Mars could capture images of the rovers themselves once they were in orbit. That's where Cornell alumnus Dan Maas, creator of Emmy-nominated Maas Digital in Ithaca came in. Maas had created animation for the MER mission in the past -- as well as for other NASA missions, including Deep Impact.

Maas delivered brilliantly, says Steve Squyres -- creating a seamless transition between actual footage and 12 minutes of lifelike animation that stays true to the mission data. It's all meticulously "real," the mission's lead scientist says, from the placement of rocks on the surface of Mars to the way the rovers bounced down on opposite sides of the planet in January 2004 enclosed in pillows of hand-stitched airbags.

"Those are the actual bounces. That's not a Hollywood recreation," he says of Maas' computer-created feeling of authenticity. "Dan did spectacular work."

The film, which is sponsored by Lockheed Martin and released by Walt Disney Co., is not heavy on science but is an exhilarating ride that captures the spirit of exploration to a faraway place -- in thrilling full color.

"That doesn't happen when you put a picture on your monitor; it doesn't happen when you make a printout," says Bell. "It will be that immersion experience -- of being completely surrounded and overwhelmed with Mars. I want people to have the experience of being there. I think it's going to be spectacular."

And if viewers -- especially the youngest ones -- get inspired to do some exploration of their own, says Steve Squyres, the movie will have served its purpose. Because when Mars hosts its first human explorers, they most likely will be, Squyres believes, today's elementary school students.

"What I would most like is if some kid watches this movie and says, 'I want to go there,'" says Steve Squyres. "And then actually does it."

-30-

Media Contact: Press Relations Office
(607) 255-6074
pressoffice@cornell.edu
--

Cornell University News Service/Chronicle Online
312 College Ave.
Ithaca, NY 14850
607-255-4206
cunews@cornell.edu
http://www.news.cornell.edu

Posted by: jrdahlman Jan 27 2006, 05:43 PM

Hmmm. Haven't seen it yet, but I keep reading capsule reviews like this:

"Roving Mars

Thanks to the combined efforts of, oddly, NASA, Walt Disney, and defense monolith Lockheed Martin, you can see the red planet up close and personal for the first time in IMAX super size. Except that is, that for the most part, you can't. Despite our best scientific efforts and millions of dollars, it seems that the only way we can get a close-up look at our nearest planetary neighbor, sadly, is still through CGI. Roving Mars starts off promising, tracking the buildup to the breakthrough mission that sent two robots to the Martian surface. But at the touchdown, just when it should be getting good, the film becomes a special effects minefield. The real Mars images are given short shrift – with still photos shown only briefly – in favor of sexier, slick, glossy, hypercolorized CG recreations (think Nova on steroids). It's too bad, because though often gritty and black and white, the pictures of the rocky, barren landscape are spectacular in their true otherworldliness and don't need the cosmetic surgery makeover."

(review by Sabrina Crawford, San Francisco Bay Guardian, a local weekly paper.)

I'd still like to see it, but I think people on this forum who've lovingly worked on assembling the REAL Mars pictures are going to be a little disappointed.

Maybe we should edit our own "Imax"-like movie? As in, "this is what you should have used"?

Posted by: mcaplinger Jan 28 2006, 12:00 AM

From your blog:

"They spent several minutes building up the tension that surrounded Spirit's landing, and the horrible 10 minutes of silence that followed it."

I don't suppose they left in any of the voice traffic from MSSS (call sign "MGS MOC") reporting during that period (in admittedly cryptic terms) that we had enough data from the UHF pass that the rover had to have survived the landing? I feel a bit cheated out of my place in history by JPL's failure to understand what I was saying, and I've never seen a transcript or heard a recording that included that traffic. Oh well

Posted by: elakdawalla Jan 28 2006, 12:06 AM

Not that I remember; I believe that most of the voice traffic during that period was Wayne Lee but I could be wrong about that. You're not the only one who is feeling cheated right now. I feel like none of the science team except Steve got any love from this movie. There wasn't a single shot from inside either the Science Assessment or SOWG areas of building 264.

Thanks for mentioning that "MGS MOC" voice traffic though -- I had completely forgotten about it, but you jogged my memory. I remember thinking, "What the heck does that mean? Is it time to celebrate now?"

--Emily

Posted by: ljk4-1 Jan 28 2006, 12:27 AM

'Roving Mars' is part drama, part suspense and all a tribute to NASA team

http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/Jan06/MER.imax.premiere.lg.html

Jan. 27, 2006

By Lauren Gold
lg34@cornell.edu


WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The IMAX movie, "Roving Mars," which had its world premiere in Washington, D.C., yesterday (Jan. 26), is part detective story, part drama, part suspense.

It begins with the central mystery -- was Mars ever capable of supporting life? -- and continues through the mission's meticulous planning and testing phases. It shows launch day for the Mars rover Spirit on a sunny day at Cape Canaveral in June 2003, and the day, seven months and 300 million miles later, when the rover entered the Martian atmosphere, dutifully deploying parachutes and airbags and bouncing and rolling to a stop.

Then the suspense, as for a few agonizing minutes the rover communicates nothing to the mission's operators at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. All that can be heard are the tense words: "We currently do not have a signal from the spacecraft. Please stand by."

Until the signal finally comes, and the room erupts. And the thrill spills beyond the IMAX screen and into the audience.

The premiere of Disney's "Roving Mars" at the Lockheed Martin IMAX theater at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum was an evening of celebrating two teams: the 4,000 scientists, engineers and support staff who made NASA's Mars Exploration Rover mission a success -- and the smaller group that coalesced on the side to document the mission for the IMAX film.

The celebrities at the event included Steve Squyres, Cornell astronomer and the mission's principal science investigator; Hollywood director George Butler; producer Frank Marshall; and a host of NASA and Lockheed Martin officials. All ambled down the red carpet to the museum's atrium, accessorized with movie posters, tables of appetizers and two talking (and more than a little impertinent) robots, both named Sprocket.

Inevitably there was also a model of the Mars rover, presiding on a platform at the entrance -- the model built by Cornell students four years ago and now permanently on display at the Smithsonian.

If there was another star of the evening, it was the quiet-mannered Dan Maas, animator and Cornell alumnus behind 12 of the film's 40 minutes. Maas' work -- seamless, indistinguishable from the film's actual footage of the mission and filled with true-to-Mars details -- earned him raves from Butler and Squyres. Marshall -- meeting Maas in person for the first time on the red carpet before the film, blurted, "Oh my gosh, let me hug you," He called Maas, "One of the most talented men I've ever met."

Milling around Maas outside the theater after the film, admirers couldn't say enough. "Beautiful," "Amazing," "Stunning," they said. "You really brought it to life."

By the time the audience of media and guests from Cornell, NASA and Lockheed Martin settled into their seats in the steeply raked theater, the mood was set.

The ultimate success and longevity of both rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, still plugging along on opposite sides of Mars two years after their landing, makes the story even more compelling. But producer Marshall admitted it put him in a bit of a quandary.

The story he pitched to Walt Disney Co. was much more straightforward: "They're born, they go up there and rove around, and they die," he said. When they didn't die, no one was quite sure how to proceed. "We said, we've got to figure out another ending. [Spirit and Opportunity] have gone the distance -- way beyond our wildest dreams," he recalled.

As the evening wound down, the thrill of the whole endeavor -- "an interplanetary hole-in-one," as Squyres had characterized Opportunity's landing in Eagle crater on Jan. 24, 2004 -- stuck.

NASA administrator Michael Griffin expanded on the theme "People talk about teamwork -- about people pulling together to get a touchdown," Griffin said. "This was like 10 touchdowns.

"To the success of Spirit and Opportunity, and the people who operate the rovers, both of whom refuse to quit."

-30-

Media Contact: Press Relations Office
(607) 255-6074
pressoffice@cornell.edu
--

Cornell University News Service/Chronicle Online
312 College Ave.
Ithaca, NY 14850
607-255-4206
cunews@cornell.edu
http://www.news.cornell.edu

Posted by: Shaka Jan 28 2006, 12:37 AM

Friends, I'm afraid this is how the media work. Don't think of it as malevolence. It's just shallow focus on the bottom line, combined with cheerful indifference to the meaningful details. So it shall always be.

Posted by: mcaplinger Jan 28 2006, 04:12 AM

Yeah, sorry about that. For the MER-B landing we tried to pre-script our report for more clarity, but they got the tones quickly so it didn't matter. I don't think many of the MER people understood how the MGS link was going to tell them and on what timescale.

Aviation Week got it mostly right, but identified me as Mike Malin. Grrr.

"At 8:44 p.m. Michael Malin of MGS reported that the satellite had received more than 240 kilobytes of UHF data--so much data that most of it must have come from the surface. But from the anxious looks on controllers' faces it appeared no one heard him. Malin made more increasingly positive reports over the next several minutes that also seemed to fall on deaf ears."

Posted by: djellison Jan 28 2006, 08:43 AM

That was YOUR voice for Mer A? Wow - you knew before anyone else that Spirit was alive basically.

I'd have been tempted to do this....

FD "MGS MOC - Flight"
You "Go ahead flight"
FD "Do you see anything yet"
You "Nope - not a thing. Nothing, bugger all"
FD "OK, Keep us posted"

Just to keep the suspense up a bit longer, then 5 minutes later

You "Flight MGS MOC"
FD "Go Ahead MGS MOC
You "I've got like, a quarter of a meg of stuff here from that thingie of yours, do you want me to put it on a data stick, or email you or something?"



Doug

Posted by: Shaka Jan 28 2006, 09:06 AM

HAR! HAR! HAR! HAR! HAR! HAR! HAR! har!
Dougie, me darlin', y' may be "Member No. 1". Y' may be "The Administrator". But, God luv ya, y'can let yer hair down too. We all treasure that!

Posted by: Bob Shaw Jan 28 2006, 12:51 PM

Doug:

Luxury. We'd have had to use semaphore...

(etc)

Being first to confirm the MER landing is a helluva thing for a CV, though! Pity it turned into a Buzz Aldrin moment (he was actually the first person to speak from the surface of the Moon, not Neil Armstrong, when he gave a brief status check upon landing - before 'Tranquility Base here...').

Bob Shaw

Posted by: djellison Jan 28 2006, 02:04 PM

From memory here....and I'll get it wrong I'm sure

"OK Engine stopped, ACA out of detent ,Descent Engine Command Override, Off. Engine Arm, Off. 413 is in."

It's SOMETHING like that. Whenever you see a clip on TV, they go "OK Engine Stop, Tranquility base here, the Eagle has landed" andin my brain, I drop in the lines they 'missed'

Doug

Posted by: chris Jan 28 2006, 03:52 PM

Very good Doug! The http://history.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.html gives us:

102:45:40 Aldrin: Contact Light.
102:45:43 Armstrong (on-board): Shutdown
102:45:44 Aldrin: Okay. Engine Stop.
102:45:45 Aldrin: ACA out of Detent.
102:45:46 Armstrong: Out of Detent. Auto.
102:45:47 Aldrin: Mode Control, both Auto. Descent Engine Command Override, Off. Engine Arm, Off. 413 is in.
102:45:57 Duke: We copy you down, Eagle.
102:45:58 Armstrong (on-board): Engine arm is off. (Pause) Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.

Posted by: ElkGroveDan Jan 28 2006, 04:13 PM

Good points both of you. I remember hearing the question on a game show "What was the first word spoken from the surface of the moon?" The answer was given as "Houston". But clearly poor old oft-forgotten Buzz Aldrin gets the nod here with the word "contact."

Posted by: john_s Jan 28 2006, 04:35 PM

I love this forum- wonderful to get tidbits like this. I hope posting here will help to restore your rightful place in history...

Back to the movie. We saw it last night, in a packed theater in Denver (nice to see folks turning out en masse for this!). I thought it was actually pretty good. The Earth-based stuff was excellent (the parachute deployment in the wind tunnel was particularly wondeful) and I wouldn't begrudge a frame of it if only the movie had been longer overall- it would definitely have been nice to spend a larger fraction of the total time on Mars. I guess they were afraid that the general public would quickly tire of rocks and hills and sand, and they might be right for all I know- as someone who can't get enough of rocks and hills and sand it's hard for me to judge.

I was amazing to see the Pancam panoramas on the Imax screen- I want a screen like that in my living room so I can fully appreciate the panoramas produced by the folks on this forum. Great too to see Opportunity bouncing into Eagle crater, the way I'd always imagined it.

There is a much longer movie waiting to be made about MER- I hope it happens sometime.

Posted by: ElkGroveDan Jan 28 2006, 04:40 PM

That was you? As a fan and follower of MGS for years, I heard that comment at the time, and actually wondered if I was correct in assuming that the folks at Malin were involved. Neato.

Posted by: djellison Jan 28 2006, 05:09 PM

Excitingly, it's 'OK'


MC - fear not - your moment of fame is available to download....

http://www.planetary.org/radio/show/00000100/

09:28

Flight : MGS MOC this if Flight on MER A Ops
MGS MOC : Go ahead flight
Flight : Can you give me a current status please
MGS MOC : We're not quite yet able to say how much data volume we're getting, stand by and I will let you know ASAP



13:14
MGS MOC : Flight MGS MOC (with more than a little noticeable excitement)
Flight : Go MGS MOC
MGS MOC : I have some indication of greater than 240 kilobytes of MR data at this point which may be indicitive of reception after landing...we'll have to wait about another 4 minutes to get this data back down

16:43
MGS MOC : Flight MGS MOC I have positive confirmation of more than 240 kilobytes of MR data (Planetary society then go wild - THEY know what it means)

18:10
MGS MOC : Flight MGS MOC
Flight : Go MGS MOC
MGS MOC : I have 16 frames in lock, we see it in lock earliest is 04:24:57, latest is at 04:28:57 which is considerably after the expected landing time (translate as....why are you not going nuts, I've got data from your rover right here) I'm still waiting for the second chunk of data, standby

At this point we give Wayne Lee a slap for calling you Mike Malin

21:01 the "It's THERE..it's THERE" LGA beep - and they finally figure the spacecraft is OK - MGS MOC thinks "for god's sake -I was telling you that 5 minutes ago!!"



Doug

Posted by: mcaplinger Jan 28 2006, 07:00 PM

Wow, thanks Doug! And thanks also for including the time indices so I didn't have to listen to all of the commentary. (sorry Donna)

Frankly, what I said seems clearer than I remember it being -- I'm not sure why the JPL people continued to be in suspense as much as they did.

It's funny, we had NASA TV on in San Diego but with the volume turned down, and Wayne Lee's commentary wasn't on the voice loop we were on, so we really didn't have much sense of what the mood was at JPL. After they got the tones back the loop went nuts, so much so that I couldn't get a word in edgewise to indicate that we were pushing the UHF data back to JPL -- hence my "I assume you see your data" after it had come up on their screens.

If I had heard him, I would have asked the flight director to tell Wayne Lee I wasn't Malin...

I did get a call about a half hour after this point saying that our processing software had incorrectly time-tagged the EDL data, so I was in the office for a few hours after that making sure the next MGS pass would have good time tags. (It turned out the problem was due to the non-standard way we were processing the EDL data so as to tell how much we were getting in as close to real-time as possible.)

Posted by: djellison Jan 28 2006, 07:57 PM

Just thought of a question and YOU would be the man to answer. Reading the Flight Director reports over at the MER Notebook, I and saw mention that using MGS MOC relay, they tended to have trouble with image file products. I know that they dropped the MGS UHF passes after, what, 6 months or so ( I assume to do more work with MGS's instruments instead of having to have science downtime for relay? ) - but any idea what/how/why/where the trouble w.r.t imaging products was?

I have the full Opportunity EDL as about 50 mins of DVD, but it's a lady at MSSS that time I think, not sure who - but she mentions that MOC had started taking 'the global image' which I presume is http://www.msss.com/moc_gallery/r10_r15/images/R13/R1303894.html + http://www.msss.com/moc_gallery/r10_r15/images/R13/R1303895.html ?

Doug

Posted by: mcaplinger Jan 28 2006, 09:11 PM

There were two factors. First, Odyssey has more a lot more memory onboard for UHF data, and it can send it to Earth 2-3x faster than MGS. So Odyssey was much preferred for UHF passes. Also, when MOC is used for UHF data it can't do much else, whereas the Odyssey science instruments can carry on pretty much normally through a UHF pass.

Second, the design of the Mars Relay on MGS didn't include any handshaking, so a small amount of data was probably dropped every 16 seconds, and this might have impacted image processing. I'm not really sure how the MER UHF handled the lack of handshaking, if at all.

You can read a lot more info about the MR on the MSSS website, http://www.msss.com/mars_images/mars_relay/mer/



That was Elsa Jensen, the MOC operations supervisor at MSSS. She got a credit in Squyres' book and I didn't.

We took global maps on the landing orbit for both rovers. See http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2004/01/07/
(doesn't look like we did a similar release for MER-B.)

Posted by: djellison Jan 28 2006, 10:05 PM

Allow me.... (attached)

Is it fair to describe MGS as being from the 'old school' of spacecraft systems, whereby much of it works based on 'data rates' - wheres Odyssey is more from the new school of spacecraft which simply generates files? I suppose this is a symptom of the carry over from '92.

Doug

Posted by: djellison Jan 29 2006, 12:09 AM

And to add to that, from the day Spirit Landed - the MOC WA Globals of the South Pole one after the other. One could make, if you did this for months of imagery, a nice movie showing the expansion and shrinkage of the cap over the seasons.

Doug

Posted by: dvandorn Jan 29 2006, 01:40 AM

This is followed, as most people may recall but that none of the transcripts ever capture, by Charlie Duke's immediate response to Armstrong's "quote." Now, keep in mind that Duke was the only person, other than Armstrong, who knew that Neil was going to change the LM's callsign after touchdown -- so he *knew* what to say next, and he still almost blew it:

Duke: Rog, Twank -- Tranquility, we copy you on the ground. You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue, we're breathin' again, thanks a lot.

-the other Doug

Posted by: mcaplinger Jan 29 2006, 03:39 AM

Actually, the Mars Observer/MGS data architecture is amazingly clean -- each instrument gets its own allocation of downlink rate (most of it goes to MOC) and there's no need to adjudicate downlink usage; it's all pre-allocated. There's no waste because everyone uses their entire allocation (in the MGS case we have a lot of planning and sequencing software that insures this.)

Odyssey and MRO use "APIDs" -- ways of prioritizing how all the various data products are prioritized and sent down. It may have some benefits, but it also requires more coordination between data producers. Both systems work but the MGS scheme is simpler.

Odyssey can send more data simply because it has more memory -- its RAD6000 has 128 MB whereas MOC has 12 MB -- and its downlink is faster (about 128Kbits/sec max, compared to MGS's ~80 Kbps.)

Posted by: Bob Shaw Jan 29 2006, 11:03 AM

oDoug:

I was going to mention that, but decided to be kind - I think, just maybe, Charlie Duke was a leeeeetle bit stressed at that point. Can't think why!

Bob Shaw

Posted by: ilbasso Jan 29 2006, 08:31 PM

And of course Charlie Duke had his own chance to utter the first words from the moon on Apollo 16:

104:29:36 Duke: Contact! Stop. (Pause while they drop to the surface) Boom!

[Young, from the 1972 Technical Debrief - "When we got the Contact light, I counted the 'one-potato' and shut the engine down. The thing fell out of the sky the last 3 feet. I know it did. I don't know how much we were coming down, maybe a foot a second."]

[Duke, from the 1972 Technical Debrief - "I don't remember exactly, but about 1.8 (fps) - I think I saw - right before touchdown."]

[Young, from the 1972 Technical Debrief - "I wouldn't (want to) stroke that gear (by shutting down the engine earlier), man. I'll tell you, that would really jar your teeth."]

104:29:40 Duke: Pro. Engine Arm. (Pause) Wow!!! (Garbled) man! Look at that!

Posted by: fredk Jan 29 2006, 08:31 PM

Well, that was undeniably worth the $9! Beyond what's already been said, I'll add that it was incredible just to see the rovers sitting in the labs! IMAX has so gall-darned much resolution that it really felt like I was "actually there".

It was great fun being able to identify features in the landscape during the landing sequences - it was almost as I've often imagined it would be like to actually stand on the surface at Gusev or Meridiani - the shocking strangeness of being immersed in an alien landscape combined with the profound familiarity that I have with the sites from rover imagery. "Where the @*&# am I? Wait a minute - that's the rim of Bonneville! And that's..." Heck, I even recognized individual rocks at Spirit's site!

One other note - the latest imagery I saw was the sol 583 to 586 summit pan (with rover deck). Not bad - that was (officially!) released December 5th. Make sure you stick through the credits!

Posted by: CosmicRocker Jan 30 2006, 05:33 AM

This may be "old news" for most of you, but after reading so many negative to neutral reviews, this one had a different point of view.

http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=167652

Posted by: ljk4-1 Jan 30 2006, 02:02 PM

The Space Review: Roving Mars in IMAX
---

The latest entry in the library of space-themed IMAX movies takes
viewers on a trip to Mars. Jeff Foust reviews "Roving Mars", the
story of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover mission.

http://www.thespacereview.com/article/545/1

Posted by: MizarKey Jan 30 2006, 05:43 PM

According to http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/rovingmars/ and following the links for 'find a theater', there's only three IMAX theaters in California showing the thing and they are all within 100 miles of each other up near the San Francisco area.
There used to be an IMAX about 45 miles from me (I'm in the Central Valley), but now the closest is 193 miles (according to mapquest). For my work I have to drive to Sacramento once a month (roughly 222 miles from me up the 99). I plan on making a detour to the Dublin screen this month...only adds another 77 miles to the overall trip.

Posted by: odave Jan 30 2006, 06:18 PM

It didn't open in the Detroit area either Maybe they didn't think there'd be enough sales. But it is in Grand Rapids, which, for me, is at a distance that requires a day trip and associated long-haul child wranglers^H^H^H babysitters. I'll make the trip, though.

Posted by: ljk4-1 Jan 31 2006, 03:40 PM

Cornell, IMAX Go to Mars:

http://www.cornellsun.com/news/2006/01/31/News/Cornell.Imax.Go.To.Mars-1545226.shtml

On the front page of the Cornell Daily Sun:

http://www.cornellsun.com/media/paper866/documents/y4z4y46z.pdf

Posted by: ljk4-1 Jan 31 2006, 05:06 PM

A review from Science Fiction Weekly:

"The new IMAX film Roving Mars does a good job at recapturing some of that euphoria, as seen through the eyes of those who created the rovers.

"Unfortunately, this film doesn't do as good a job at documenting the experience, or conveying the wonder that is Mars."

...

"The movie is based on a book by NASA's Steve Squyres, who also provides some of the hyper-enthusiastic narration (the rest of the narration tends towards the melodramatic, as does the score). Sadly, the script could have used some assistance: A big deal is made early on about how the initial parachute designs failed, but the film lacks follow-up on how, exactly, NASA solved this problem. Like the interviews, the footage—including that from the actual launch and landing—lacks a timestamp to provide context as to when these events occurred. And Spirit's early mechanical difficulties are glossed over entirely, even though that was a real-life dramatic moment at that time."

The complete review is here:

http://www.scifi.com/sfw/issue458/screen3.html

Posted by: Shaka Jan 31 2006, 07:58 PM

I haven't seen the film, and won't anytime soon, since Hawaii's IMAX theater converted to a circus recently. I do get the impression from this thread that the film falls well short of conveying the full impact of what is happening on Mars. The excitement we in this forum feel, may not be reaching the broader public as it could and should! What percentage of the world's population will ever see an IMAX film? Is Imax the medium of choice for spreading the Gospel of Marsaphilia ? I think NASA, if it truly wants the world to get behind the colonization of the solar system, has both a duty and an opportunity to infect new generations with the 'bug' that infects us. We are some 600 enthusiasts. Why aren't we 600,000?. The internet does or will soon reach billions. That's why I think the full potential of this medium - right through to virtual reality - ought to be exploited by NASA as a major priority. Nothing lends itself to this effort better than the MER saga. Emily has broached this issue in her thread, but it shouldn't be left to We happy few, we band of brothers to foster this issue. It's time for NASA, and, indeed, space agencies around the world, to make a serious effort to move space exploration from a peripheral obsession of a fringe group, to a central focus of human aspirations. We 600 do have ideas, contacts, imagery, voices to help get the ball rolling. Perhaps we ought to try.

Posted by: MaxSt Feb 1 2006, 12:38 AM

In New York it's $12 ticket, for 40 min movie...

Posted by: Shaka Feb 1 2006, 01:10 AM

I've a hunch you've not seen an IMAX film before. If they were any longer people would be getting motion sickness and vomiting in the aisles. Some people come close as it is.
Not many cinemascope films can leave you leaning against the walls as you stagger out of the theater, with the feeling that you'd just been 'teleported' somewhere else. The special big cameras, processing facilities, projectors and theaters all add to the cost.
Most people come out thinking their $12 was well spent.

Posted by: mars loon Feb 1 2006, 01:30 AM

Shaka,

this is precisely why I give lectures to all types of groups at schools, museums, colleges, astronomy clubs, science fairs, etc to educate the public and motivate kids to study math and science. NASA does need our support to get out the word. The budget climate is very tight and science funds are sadly being cut, including on the missions we here cherish. Several other UMSF members, like Doug, likewise give talks.

ken

Posted by: Shaka Feb 1 2006, 01:58 AM

And a fine effort it is, too, Ken. But look at your list of venues. You're preaching to the choir! We need to get the message through to everybody ! We need to reach the farmers and the sports jocks and the painters and musicians and writers. All 600 of us talking around the clock can't do that. The World Wide Web possibly can reach them, and if it can then maybe science funds won't be cut because our public will demand it. A lot of schoolteachers would be willing to direct their students to the website, because they're desperate to see their charges enthusiastic about anything! But it takes a big operation - like NASA - with a meaningful budget and the basic raw materials, to hire the professional media types to put this together. Emily and her colleague and the 600 of us are not enough to more than start it off.

Posted by: mars loon Feb 1 2006, 02:24 AM

Actually I'm not preaching to the choir most of the time and do try to reach those you suggest. Your point is valid. And you'd be surprised at the diversity of opinions and lack of knowledge or understanding even within the astro community. There are those within this community who would kill a mission if it goes a bit over budget (without being specific). So things are not always that clear cut

Basically you have to start somewhere and try something and I also speak as a volunteer for TPS which has over 100,000 members.

Websites are helpful, but speaking in person to a crowd is I think much more effective and is a learning experience for me too.

As for NASA and communications efforts, that is complicated due to federal regulations as I have discussed with them.

Posted by: Shaka Feb 1 2006, 03:20 AM

Ken, I agree with all your points insofar as I understand them (I'm unfamiliar with the "TPS" or the laws governing NASA's activities) I too have done more than my share of lecturing to audiences, from grade school classes to more Lions and Rotary Clubs than I care to remember (chicken, potatos, peas and sweet white wine...GOD!). The subject was Marine Biology, not space exploration, but the techniques and rewards are similar - people can be enthused about both. But you can only reach those who come to hear your lecture. The young students, like the university seniors I got paid to lecture to, were a captive audience, but they were truly open to inspiration - one shy 4th-grader paid me the ultimate compliment outside afterward:"I woulda paid 50 cents to hear it." But in all I only reached less than 1% of the local gradeschoolers in my 25 years in academia.
As to the "astro community", you probably know lots more about this than I do (you may be a member) but the cut-throat atitudes you imply are inevitable in a tightening budget scenario. The key is to reverse the scenario and that takes mass public support. People like us who are enthralled by space exploration are scorned and derided by a major segment of the public and the lawmakers. I want to see that scorn turned into nodding respect. We should use all the tools in the box to do that.

Posted by: MaxSt Feb 1 2006, 04:54 AM

I saw many. Including long ones.

Posted by: mars loon Feb 1 2006, 05:12 AM

TPS is the planetary society

anyway we are a bit off topic and I'm hoping to see Roving Mars soon at the nearest theater in NYC

Posted by: hendric Feb 1 2006, 07:37 PM

Saw Magnificent Desolation and Roving Mars back to back at the local IMAX here in Austin, TX. Roving Mars was pretty good. I plan on getting it on DVD once it comes out. The launch sequence is probably the closest I'll ever come to a real launch. My 3 yr old son kept carrying on about how the "rocket broke" (S1 seperation). He was excited when the the petals opened up "There's a robot in there!" There were a few sad sniffles from the audience when they went over the rovers dying. I think they should have added a few seconds stating "...But not yet!" with the rovers zooming around mars for a few extra minutes. Someone did comment after the movie that "This was just a taste, now I want more info." I guess they should have added a link to the Nasa webpage or something.

Posted by: djellison Feb 2 2006, 12:42 PM

I've emailed SS to ask if he know if/when/why Roving Mars will make it to Europe.

I've also emailed the Imax theatres at the BFI, Science Museum and @Bristol ( the three I have visitied ) to see if they know if/when they will be showing it - as none of the Imax theatres I know of in the UK even have it listed as 'coming soon'

Doug

(reply from @Bristol who say they are going to see it at the end of March and decide if they want to show after that)

Posted by: Ames Feb 2 2006, 03:12 PM

I shall be first in the queue(line) as it is just a few miles from my house - Hurrah!

I have also emailed them asking if it is going to be shown - the more interest we register the more likely they are to show it.

I'llalso prompt a few friends do similar.

Nick

Posted by: djellison Feb 2 2006, 03:34 PM

The Science Museum say no plans to show it - although it may appear later in the year.

Doug

Posted by: jamescanvin Feb 2 2006, 11:56 PM

A few miles, pah: I used to live just 250 meters away from the Bristol IMAX - then I moved, it's 17000km away now!

Must email my new local IMAX about it...


James

Posted by: djf Feb 3 2006, 06:09 AM

Overall, I enjoyed Roving Mars when I saw it last week. I won't bother rehashing issues of CG, sounds in a vacuum, etc. For its intended audience I find it difficult to imagine how they could have done significantly better with 40 minutes to work with.

One aspect I especially liked were the gorgeous, high-detail shots of the flight hardware. The best images I'd previously encountered were the NASA press photos, which are IMHO of marginal quality. With proper motion picture lighting and color correction the rovers gleam, almost jewel-like, on the screen. This film represents the best look most people will ever get at these machines; and one really couldn't ask for a better record than several thousand IMAX frames. Much is made in the film about the fact nobody now living might see these spacecraft again. But I felt that theme was undercut by how "present" the assembly/testing scenes make the rovers to the audience.

Something that originally occurred to me watching "Mars: Dead or Alive" and was reinforced while watching Roving Mars is how important cordage and fabrics are to these missions: the parachutes, bridles, airbags, airbag retraction tendons, and all that cable lacing. While the materials are new, most of this would be familiar to someone from the 19th century. Watching the technician hand-tying what appeared to be surgeon's knots around the cable bundles, I couldn't help but think of the of the continuity between the ships of exploration like Endurance and Fram and these spacecraft. It is truly a testament to the art knotting that this is still the best way to secure bundles, even when you have $800M to spend!

And while on the subject of films, perhaps if http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2006/01/27/DDASMUSSENBR.DTL of Roving Mars it might have a chance at the Oscars.

Posted by: djellison Feb 3 2006, 01:13 PM

BFI London (the dedicated London Imax theatre) say they'll make a call on it at the end of this month probably.

Doug

Posted by: ilbasso Feb 4 2006, 11:29 PM

Just saw the film today at the Smithsonian Institution's Udvar-Hazy Center (the giant hangar wing of the Air & Space Museum). It was much better than I had prepared myself for, sine I am NOT a fan of Disneyfication of science. We've seen some of the launch and landing shots before, but the IMAX experience really surrounds you. SS provided wonderful narration. The assembly and testing sequences were awesome.

My daughter and her fiance saw the film with me. The fiance, who is not a space buff, remarked at how insignificant he suddenly felt in the time and space of the Universe, realizing how vast Mars is and how long these rocks have waited there for someone to find.

Posted by: Bob Shaw Feb 4 2006, 11:38 PM

Yes, but he *would* say that, wouldn't he!

Hehe.

Corrupt your grandkids!

Bob Shaw

Posted by: CosmicRocker Feb 5 2006, 06:43 AM

I managed to see it today, and it was awesome.


Doug: That person just doesn't get it, but after they see it, I'm certain they'll show it.


I'm certainly not qualified to be a movie critic, but I would have to guess that anyone who hangs out here would love this movie. I could nit-pick it, but if their time budget really was only 40 minutes, I think they did a pretty good job. The highly detailed images of the hardware really impressed me, although I was really waiting for the highly detailed images of the rocks and Martian geomorphology to come. After having been fooled several times about the size of the rovers and the parts of the rovers seen in some of the imagery, this film finally put it all into perspective for me.

The "enhanced" Maas animation was quite fine, though one could complain about the cheesy image used for the Moon, and the sounds in a vacuum. Beyond the amazing hardware assembly and testing stuff, I really appreciated the various fly-throughs of the pancam panoramas and the digital terrain of Mars. I could have sat through more of those.

After recently having to create a highly-condensed MER presentation for the general public myself, I'd say this was a very fine piece of work. If I had to find a problem with it, it would only be that the "time budget" was too short. Might we hope for a "roving Mars II" sequel? I hope to go to see it another time. I'll give it five stars.
*****

Posted by: mars loon Feb 5 2006, 04:40 PM

CR thanks for the summary

I am really surprised/dissapointed at the limited run of theaters, only a few locations in 15 US States. In the entire NE there are just 3 in the NYC area and 1 in RI and nothing between NYC and Washington, DC. Sadly this will severly limit the viewership. Hopefully more will come online in the future

Posted by: mcaplinger Feb 5 2006, 05:38 PM

I don't know much about the economics of IMAX in general or of non-commercial IMAX theaters like those at museums. The commercial theaters have 35mm IMAX blowups of Hollywood movies competing with science productions, and that probably makes science a tough sell. I suspect that showing ROVING MARS is fairly costly for a museum theater, but I don't know how much. And I understand that even running an IMAX theater is pretty expensive; $150K just for annual maintenance.

Of course, in San Diego the only IMAX option we have is the dome at the Fleet Space Theater, which makes watching most IMAX films a painful experience anyway, IMHO.
But it's surprising that the California Science Center in LA isn't getting it either.
Maybe the release was timed too closely with MAGNIFICENT DESOLATION.

Posted by: jrdahlman Feb 6 2006, 06:33 PM

Finally got to see Roving Mars (due to the advantage of having a job in San Francisco).

Wow! Any cynicism I had before it started ("What, no 3D?") was gone, and I left with a big grin at the end.

I agree: with 40 minutes, they filled out the time just right. CG or not, no 3D or not, once the camera dives down into the Big Red Marble you're just swept away and going along for the ride. It's a story of Mars and the rovers, not just the pictures they took; and anyway, who could resist the "helicopter" sweep at the end of the little rover chugging along a big mountain? (Of course we could all suggest our version of what to use--such as the "Rocky Martian High" summit.)

I will say the IMAX-effect goes a long way towards "being there." Not sure if a little video version of the same movie would be as effective. I sure noticed that during the previews for Hollywood movies "coming soon in IMAX"--Superman looked just as real! It's the peripheral vision: as the size of regular movies screens shrink in inverse proportion to the number of screens per plex, IMAX may be the last place you can go where it's big enough to just "lose yourself" into the movie.

About the only complaint I have (besides turning up the sound of all rocket blasts up to THX break-your-eardrums level), is that the editing cuts *so smoothly* from the real launch footage to Maas CG of the launch that I almost wanted a "Simulation" stamp on the bottom of the screen. Years from now, are our kids going to be playing a "what's real and what isn't?" game with this footage? *I* could tell, but how could the kids in the theater tell?

Two other things for our forum readers:

1. In one of the pre-launch rocket shots, you can see an array of cameras ready to film the launch. I wonder if one of the cameras was BJ Cooper's?

2. Obviously IMAX filming was planned from the start of the mission. Do all missions get IMAX'd? Who decides what missions are "IMAX-worthy" and what aren't? Did New Horizons make the cut? BJ Cooper, was there a big fat IMAX camera next to yours to catch your "Picture of the Day" in motion?

Anyway, all those with Marsless IMAXes, start a petition to "Bring Us Mars!"

Posted by: mars loon Feb 7 2006, 04:05 AM

Sadly very few get IMAX'ed. There have been excellent IMAX films on Shuttle and ISS. I would love to see one for Cassini.

Posted by: Oersted Feb 17 2006, 12:01 AM

unfortunately the Cassini camera resolution is not really IMAX ready... a few 2-3 image panos have been made, but not many...

Posted by: dvandorn Feb 17 2006, 02:21 PM

I went to see Roving Mars a couple of days ago. Except for the fact that it's way too short, at only 43 minutes, I was highly impressed.

Once again, Steve Squyres comes off as one of the best spokesmen NASA has ever had -- full of energy and enthusiasm for his subject. The visuals -- especially the Don Maas animations-on-steroids they use (with extraordinary new detail and landing animations at the real landing sites) -- are just spectacular. Watching Spirit roll to a stop over the exact ground I became so familiar with from the initial pans, was a truly outstanding experience. And watching Oppy curl into the cup at Eagle Crater was even more satisfying.

However, what really got to me was something out in the lobby.

The Minnesota Space Frontiers Society (if I'm remembering the name of the organization correctly) has built a 1-to-1 scale, full-size model of a MER. It's on display at the Great Clips IMAX Theater at the Minnesota Zoo where Roving Mars is currently playing in my area.

It's a rather rough model -- the wheels are inflatable rubber, the deck panels are plywood and sag, the HGA conduit is PVC piping -- but it's the right size.

I walked up to it and found that, at 6'2", I was looking *directly* into the pancam lenses. They are exactly at my eye level.

I knew this was the case, but this rough model really brought it home to me -- the MERs are looking at the scene from *exactly* the same standpoint as I would if I was standing on the surface of Mars.

That was a real kick.

One last thing -- someone had taken a little stuffed toy and set it on top of the rover deck, tied to the pancam mast. It was a very simple toy -- a short, semi-segmented tube. It was billed as a Martian Microbe! Scaled 1,000,000X the original, as found in the carbonate globules of that Martian meteorite that was all the rage a few years back.

It was a really fun afternoon...

-the other Doug

Posted by: ljk4-1 Feb 17 2006, 02:37 PM

Not to deflate your story or your enjoyment of that day, but I recall Jim Bell saying
several times at least that the MERs with their Pancam mast were as tall as a "ten
year old boy." Now I don't know many 10 year olds who are 6 foot 2 inches tall,
so I am wondering if the space society made the rover model taller than it really is.

How tall are the MERs exactly with the Pancams up?

Posted by: ugordan Feb 17 2006, 02:51 PM

That's not down to resolution as much as coverage. Cassini NAC also has a 1 megapixel, 12-bit CCD just like the rovers do. Cassini's resolution in fact is much higher than the rovers pancam as the narrow angle camera is a telescope with a 0.35 degree FOV.
It just boils down to the fact you can't really make impressive panoramas when >90% of the space around you is a pitch black void...

Posted by: jamescanvin Feb 17 2006, 10:41 PM

From the bottom of the wheels to the center of the Pancam lenses is 1545mm - which is 5' 1".

Human eyes are what? 6" from the top of your head? So it's the view is the same as someone ~5' 7".That's pretty close to average http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_height. - not 6' 2" though.

James

Posted by: helvick Feb 17 2006, 10:53 PM

Hmmh - mebbe I'm not a typically average human but my eyes are only about 10cm\4 inches from the top of my head. And I'm 5'11. 6" seems a bit on the high side.

Posted by: mars loon Feb 17 2006, 11:07 PM

Boy you guys are really splitting hairs. perhaps the lower martian gravity accounts for the difference

Posted by: Bob Shaw Feb 17 2006, 11:09 PM

Splitting hairs? Has one of those guys got an Afro?

Bob Shaw

Posted by: Oersted Feb 17 2006, 11:32 PM

Yes, good point, I didn't explain myself well enough. What would be nice would be a better lens system, with the ability to zoom in more. Anyway: 60 x 10 1-megapixel images in huge panoramas covering Saturn or the moons (and not the black surrounding void) on a fly-by would be fantastic.

Regarding an upcoming Rover IMAX-movie, when our two intrepid explorers finally conk out. I think it would be totally cool to have Squyres walking ALONGSIDE the rovers in a generated copy of the actual landscape they went through. Commenting along the way, picking up the rocks they've imaged up clase, "scaling" Husband Hill in boots and a widebrimmed hat and generally just adding the human scale to the whole experience. It would really be a way of showing that we, human beings, have already been to Mars through our eyes and instruments on the rovers.

Posted by: jamescanvin Feb 18 2006, 02:07 AM

Whatever! I new I should have gone and looked in the mirror before making up a number off the top of my head!

Posted by: Shaka Feb 18 2006, 03:23 AM

One of them never removes his bowler.

Posted by: AlexBlackwell Mar 2 2006, 01:58 AM

Two reviews of Roving Mars were published recently.

Excerpt of http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/311/5764/1102 in the February 24, 2006, issue of Science:

And an excerpt of http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v440/n7080/full/440028a.html in the March 2, 2006, issue of Nature:

Posted by: hendric Mar 2 2006, 04:14 AM

My 3yr old knows that Spirit and Opportunity are rovers and on Mars. He can even say their name. He was out of his seat when he saw there was a "rover inside the triangle!" He calls them "rover robots".

Posted by: Borek Mar 3 2006, 01:43 PM

There's large full view of Saturn and rings that's over 8000 px wide. I guess it must be mind boggling view in IMAX.

Posted by: Bubbinski Mar 15 2006, 12:39 AM

I saw Roving Mars about a month ago at a local IMAX theater (not Clark Planetarium....instead it was Jordan Commons) and my grandpa and I were the only two people at that showing

It was a good show, should have been longer with a lot more footage and it should have told more of the story (the computer flash issues that nearly killed Spirit, for example). But the scenes they did show were great.

Hopefully when the MER mission ends someone will put out a follow on IMAX movie with the full story, and a comprehensive, well-written book with lots of pictures, data, and discussion. I know I'd buy it. And if one of the model companies does a MER kit, I'd build it for sure. (I want to scratchbuild my own MER rover in 1/12 or 1/24 scale).

Posted by: indy Mar 29 2006, 01:24 PM

Hi! For the Aussies here I just discovered that Roving Mars is starting tomorrow Thursday 30 March!!! Wow! I had no idea. Last month when I rang the Imax at Darling Harbour they told me it wouldn't be starting until later in the year - they never said next month! So it's really starting tomorrow! Can't wait to see it. Anyone else going? Here's the session times at the Sydney Imax site and the 2nd link has a review. Hope to see lots of marsaholics there.

http://www.imax.com.au/film.asp?id=83&s=coming

http://www.yourmovies.com.au/movies/?action=movie_info&title_id=25287

Posted by: djellison Mar 29 2006, 02:10 PM

Insert 'still not out anywhere in the UK' rant here.


Doug

Posted by: indy Mar 29 2006, 02:19 PM

Hey catch a flight to Sydney. The sun's shining and the surf's up!

Posted by: jamescanvin Mar 30 2006, 01:19 AM

Wow, thanks for the heads up! I'll cirtainly be going very soon, would be great to have a UMSF.au outing to see it sometime





And I have a spare room, 3 mins from the beach, 30 mins from the IMAX (CitiRail dependent )

Posted by: indy Mar 30 2006, 01:58 AM

That would be really great if some Aussie UMSFers could get together to see it. What about a weekend?

Posted by: Ant103 Mar 30 2006, 09:20 AM

I want to watch Roving Mars, but nothing in France . When this Imax film arrive in France???
I'd seen the trailer and this will be amazing...

Posted by: indy Mar 30 2006, 01:23 PM

Here's a nice ad from today's Daily Telegraph (Sydney). Wish I knew where to find a poster of this. Really hope folks in the UK, France and everywhere else will get to see it soon.

Posted by: chokai Mar 30 2006, 08:08 PM

Not sure if this has been mentioned yet.. But about a week ago Apple posted HD trailers for Roving Mars on thier excellent Trailer website, both of which are considerably larger and higher quality than the original one I saw back in January.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/disney/rovingmars/hd/

Still not running in Seattle, even though we have two IMAX theaters (technically). I may have to go to Vancouver...

Posted by: indy Mar 31 2006, 01:54 AM

Thanks for the HD trailers. Only one thing about that site - you can't save a copy. The more I hear of all the places that don't have it yet the more I think that we're incredibly lucky to have it in Sydney. Perhaps you could contact the 2 IMAX theatres in Seattle and ask when they're getting it. Might save you a trip to Vancouver.

Posted by: CosmicRocker Mar 31 2006, 05:50 AM

It is absolutely outrageous that this movie is not available in all the civilized nations of the world. The heck with the trailers. Demand the real thing.

Posted by: Shaka Mar 31 2006, 06:07 AM

It is, Tom. It is.
Sorry, Guys. It's not available in Hawaii either, but I never claimed we were "civilized". (We still throw virgins into volcanos. When we can find any.)

Posted by: indy Mar 31 2006, 06:31 AM

Hahaha! Just goes to show how civilised we are in Australia. And of course Darling Harbour is one of the loveliest spots in Sydney and the IMAX theatre is right next to the water with a beautiful view. Oh, and we don't just want Roving Mars released all over the world, we want it on DVD too!

Posted by: Bob Shaw Mar 31 2006, 11:11 AM

Don't be silly. There's *lots* of volcanoes on Hawai'i! In fact...

Bob Shaw

Posted by: Shaka Mar 31 2006, 07:00 PM

Actually, Bob, there are fewer active ones than you might think. (It doesn't work with inactive vents; the virgin just climbs out again, fighting mad.) To locate an active crater and a virgin within reasonable proximity of each other can be quite a challenge! (Word has gotten around.)

Posted by: lyford Mar 31 2006, 07:37 PM

If you have a download manager or website grabber you can dl the smaller file at this address:

http://movies.apple.com/movies/disney/roving_mars/roving_mars_h480p.mov

In Safari (Mac OS X) you can just paste that address in the Downloads window and it will save it to your hard drive. You can play with the address if you want the fire res ones. Good luck!

Posted by: Pavel Mar 31 2006, 11:03 PM

But try finding a virgin there!

Posted by: Bob Shaw Mar 31 2006, 11:16 PM

And there's lots of Hawai'i on volcanoes!

But, this thread is virgin on the ridiculous...

Bob Shaw

Posted by: indy Apr 1 2006, 03:48 AM

The program I have for saving clips only works on Windows format ones but I managed to save it from the IE cache. Many thanks for the link.

Posted by: indy Apr 1 2006, 05:47 AM

Here's some reviews, most are very positive.

http://www.straight.com/content.cfm?id=15737

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/26/AR2006012602294.html

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/reviewsnews.php?id=12908

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060127/COLUMNISTS14/601270312/1080/ENTERTAINMENT03

http://metromix.chicagotribune.com/movies/mmx-060127-movies-review-mars,0,4540564.story?coll=mmx-movies_top_heds

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/01/27/DDG96GT2EV1.DTL&type=movies

And this site has more pics from the movie than any others I've seen to date

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/stills.php?id=3035

I tried the allposters.com site to see if they had the movie poster. I mean I figured that since they have posters from every other movie around, including totally crap ones, they would be sure to have Roving Mars. I should have known better. So all I could do was request it and give my email for notification. I figure the more people who request it the better the chances they might get it in stock.

Lastly, this is the largest version I've found of the poster. Wish it was bigger.

Posted by: CosmicRocker Apr 1 2006, 07:54 AM

It took me a while to catch on, but now I think I am seeing the word play in your humor, Bob.

Posted by: Shaka Apr 1 2006, 06:05 PM

You're supposed to say, "Oh, for goodness' sakes, Bob!" or just OFGSB.
(They can't help it. It's racial heritage.)

Posted by: indy Apr 6 2006, 04:34 AM

What's happened to all the Aussies here? I've seen Roving Mars but I definitely want to see it again and would love to discuss it with other marsaholics. I had a lovely trip on the monorail down to Darling Harbour. It was a beautiful day and the place looked like a picture postcard with lots of tourists strolling around. Lots of people in the theatre too - far more than I expected - and I had to queue up, but really nice to see a good crowd there. So are we getting together?

Posted by: ljk4-1 May 12 2006, 09:14 PM

For anyone anywhere near Central New York State:

“Roving Mars” launches Saturday, May 13 at the MOST in Syracuse, NY!

Now, for the first time, experience the reality of the mysterious Mars surface as seen through the eyes of two intrepid explorers – “Spirit” and “Opportunity.” These Mars Rovers’ dogged quest over the rugged terrain may even answer that persistently haunting question – Is there, or was there ever, life on Mars? Produced for the giant IMAX® screen by Academy Award® nominated filmmaker Frank Marshall, directed by George Butler, and music composed by Phillip Glass.

The giant screen film opens on Saturday, May 13 at noon with additional shows at 2, 4, 6 and 8 p.m. The MOST and its Bristol IMAX® Omnitheater are located in Syracuse’s historic Armory Square at 500 South Franklin Street.

Find out more at http://www.most.org.


Save the Date for Alien Earths!

Have you ever looked up at the night sky and asked, “Are we alone?” Chances are, you’ve at least considered the possibility of extraterrestrial life. That is why the new Alien Earths exhibit at the MOST is an experience not to be missed. Officially opening to the public June 3, MOST members are offered a special sneak peak on June 2 from 6 to 9 pm.

Posted by: djellison May 12 2006, 09:37 PM

And across the Atlantic, every Imax theatre in the British Isles is still not showing it.

Doug

Posted by: jamescanvin May 21 2006, 04:43 AM

Finally went to see Roving Mars last night, I know, I know, what took me so long?

Absolutely brilliant! For the 40mins that IMAX films all have to be squeezed into I don't see how it could have been any better.

Loved seeing all the closeups of the rovers I love so much before launch, especially all the bits we see so often, (the IDD and the deck) from different angles.

Loved the new Dan Maas animation, I've never been to a real launch, but I almost feel like I have after seeing it, hearing it, and feeling the room shake as Spirit launched.

I was almost as nervous watching the EDL as I was at the time! And watching the Sprit roll over Sleepy Hollow and stopping in just the right place was awsome. Same with Oppy, just seeing Eagle from 'the air' gave me a much better feeling of the place.

And talk about saving the best till last, the flyover of Endurance with tiny Oppy up there at Burns cliff was truly unforgettable! I can't wait to see somthing similar for Victoria.

I might have to go again now...

Hope you guys in Europe get it soon - for anyone who hangs out around here it is truly unmissible.

James

Posted by: ElkGroveDan May 24 2006, 04:27 AM

I got to meet Dr. Mark Adler tonight at a special screening of Roving Mars here in Sacramento. The event was put on by the California Space Authority who I work closely with in my job. I had a few minutes to talk to Dr. Adler before the film and then quite a bit more time afterwards as the JPL people were packing up their boxes and the other guests were leaving.

Most interesting was during his slide show and chat prior to the movie he mentioned the point where Spirit was cleaned by "dust devils". I noticed during the movie that Squyres was more careful in how he worded that. Afterwards I asked Dr. Adler if he really meant to say that the panels were cleaned by the dust devils. He agreed that there is some disagreement, but it is by no means settled that dust devils were NOT the cause. Let me try that again for those of you who's primary language isn't English. Squyres position on the dust devils and the solar panel cleaning is still being debated. Adler also noted that there are advocates of a process whereby sublimation of CO2 ices lifted the dust off the panels. I was a bit incredulous over that one, but he insisted that it is being given serious consideration as a possible cleaning cause.

With regard to Opportunity's progress I told him of our arrival date pool here and that I had picked sol 902, which most of us now think will be a little late. Adler said he thought that sol 902 was a little too soon.

Finally I talked to him about the long hours during the early days of the two missions and how things had settled down. He said that they don't do anything on weekends. There is just one person there "to keep an eye on things". I asked him about the occasions when they might have restricted sols on a Thursday and Friday, do they perhaps work on those weekends. He said no. So it seems that we could have 3-5 days of total inactivity.

As for the movie, that was the coolest darn IMAX I've seen yet, and I've seen a lot of them. That flight down Valles Marineris will make you grab the edge of your seat. There's also one into Gusev crater. I thought the launch sequence was spectacular, especially all the separation events. Spirit's bounce-down was fun too. Watching Oppprtunity roll into Eagle Crater from above looked almost humorous. You just want to chuckle at the shear serendipity of it all.

If it comes to your town you have to go see it. I was at one point kicking myself for not making the hour and half drive to San Francisco, but by waiting for it to come to Sacramento I got to meet Dr. Adler, so that made it worthwhile.

Posted by: MahFL May 24 2006, 11:54 AM

They don't do anything on weekends !!, and only one person is there to keep an eye on things ? Nice to know my taxpayer $'s are being used as efficiently as possible..........sheesh.......

Posted by: djellison May 24 2006, 01:17 PM

Well - give them twice as much money to have twice as many people so they can shift work a full 24/7 schedule and I'm sure the MER team would be only to pleased.

It's a lack of taxpyers funds that mean they have to maintain a skeleton crew.

Or would you rather the scientists and engineers actually work 7 days a week, 365 days a year, on Martian time, for two and a half years without a break?

The Tax Payers money was $850M for two 90 sol missions. They got that - operating a full 24/7 crew. Now - for approx another $50M - they've had a further 750ish sols out of each rover.

Wasting tax payers money? It's the bargin of the century!

Doug

Posted by: MahFL May 24 2006, 05:32 PM

I know, plus they do actually get the rovers to do stuff at the weekends, I was just ranting a bit.....

Posted by: Shaka May 24 2006, 06:13 PM

Now there is an excellent idea! Where can we find a couple hundred million more taxpayers? Aha!....

Posted by: atomoid Jun 10 2006, 08:39 PM

I happened to catch an interview with Steve Squyres on the Colbert Report last thursday.

Steve's book is now in paperback and sports the cover art from the movie poster, which is a differnt cover than the hardcover edition i have.

The video is now online at the Comedy Central site -->
http://www.comedycentral.com/shows/the_colbert_report/videos/celebrity_interviews/index.jhtml

Posted by: ljk4-1 Jun 11 2006, 04:51 PM

Thread for this here:

http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.php?s=&showtopic=2832&view=findpost&p=57529

Posted by: ljk4-1 Jun 16 2006, 02:35 PM

I did not know they had renamed Opportunity to Infinity:

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060616/ENT01/606160390/1036/ENT

Posted by: djellison Jun 16 2006, 02:40 PM

I hope that they will release this thing on WMV-HD and not just DVD in the autumn, because it's STILL not hit the UK in any IMAX theatre

Doug

Posted by: ljk4-1 Jun 16 2006, 02:49 PM

Maybe they're waiting for ExoMars.

Posted by: Stu Jun 16 2006, 05:56 PM

I'm gnawing at my knuckles just like Doug, waiting for SOMEWHERE in the UK to show ROVING MARS. It seems that UK IMAX cinemas are very reluctant to show anything unusual or different, and prefer to show the same old tired films of dolphins, Grand Canyon helicopter flights, deep sea dives and Egyptian pyramid tours. The IMAX cinema at Bradford is a beauty, but getting rather run-down, and when they showed MAGNIFICANT DESOLATION (which actually made me cry!!!) they didn't exactly trumpet it to the heavens. I think they only showed it because the moon missions are "history" and because it was in 3D... the problem with Roving Mars might be, in their mind, that it's more like sci-fi, and without the 3D novelty value wouldn't attract people.

All b*****s of course. As those of us who regularly give presentations in schools and to community groups know, people are fascinated by space exploration, and if given the chance to see something "spacey" will leap at it, especially the kids. I gave a talk to a group of kids just this morning, with my local radio station, and the kids were lapping up the latest pictures from Cassini and old pictures of Jupiter, they LOVED it. Next week I give a talk to 100 kids about Mars, it fascinates them! I can't help thinking that if the IMAX people over here just had more faith in - and respect for - their audiences, everyone would be a lot better off.

If I don't get to see Roving Mars in its proper format and all its glory soon I'll be well and truly p'd off. Seriously. There could be tears.

Posted by: SigurRosFan Jul 21 2006, 04:29 PM

DVD Release Date: August 1, 2006

- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FIMG40/102-3234284-2172952?v=glance&n=130

Posted by: Ant103 Jul 21 2006, 04:55 PM

That's a good new Sigur. Non-unitedsates people will can watch this production.

Posted by: mars loon Jul 30 2006, 12:38 PM

Well I finally got to see "Roving Mars" last week just prior to Mars Day at NASM and I also loved it. I will definately go to see it again.

It is beyond doubt a "must see" for all mars fans here

I pretty much agree with all of James comments above. I only wish it was longer.

The new and more highly detailed Maas animation is fantastic and he has included new sequences of the parachutes opening, airbags deflating, rolling across the Gusev plains and more. Its incredible to see the projection on an Imax screen, especially against a backdrop of the Gusev landing site images in place of the animated hills. Like James, I felt like I was there and got a new perspective of Eagle and Endurance. Those shots alone make it unforgetable and worth attending. The last shots of the approach and flyover of Endurance will make you hunger for more and a sequel to cover the other 3/4 of the mission.

Its sad that its playing in so few theaters. The New York City run was rather short. But some recent good news is that its now playing at the IMAX theater in Philadelphia at the Franklin Institute.

Make every effort to see it on the big IMAX screen. I'm sure the DVD will be wonderful, but cant possibly compare to the thunder at liftoff, the 6 minutes of EDL terror and being "On Mars" and "Flying over Endurance".

ken

Posted by: paulanderson Jul 30 2006, 03:42 PM

It ran from the beginning of January to the end of June here in Vancouver, and was advertised both on TV and in print. I enjoyed it too and will get the DVD also as soon as I can.

Posted by: fredk Jul 30 2006, 08:57 PM

I don't know what the odds are, but given that this was a large-format IMAX production, it'd be extremely well suited to a high-definition DVD format. I would love to have a DVD, but I'd hesitate buying immediately if there was a chance they'd eventually release HD or bluray formats. This said, I don't even have any high-def hardware, but eventually expect to, so I'm thinking a bit long term here.

Posted by: Stu Jul 31 2006, 07:36 AM

Why do the words "rubbing", "salt" and "wound" spring to mind...?

Posted by: djellison Jul 31 2006, 08:10 AM

Fred - I'm suprised they didn't release a WMV-HD format version to be honest. It's a format that's out, it works, it's cheap to build for...but nope

Science Museum in London say they'll have it this Autumn...at some point.

Doug

Posted by: edstrick Jul 31 2006, 10:21 AM

I would ASSUME that most Imax films that are sufficiently "commercial" (mostly haven proven profitable in prior DVD release or even VHS) will be re-released in HiDef format, but it will be "over time". Recent ones like the Apollo and the MER ones will come out early in the release cycle, I'm sure.

Posted by: paulanderson Jul 31 2006, 04:36 PM

Sorry...! It ran longer here than I thought it was going to actually, and I'm surprised to hear now that it hasn't been shown at all in the UK yet (?!). They should have jumped on it when it first came out.

Posted by: djellison Jul 31 2006, 07:04 PM

I've emailed and phoned every Imax theatre in the UK and only one has any plans to show it, and they can't give me a firm date for opening. Do you know what I think's happened....they're waiting for the theatres in the US to stop showing it - so they can rent/buy/hire/whatever it is you do for an imax film..cheap. (i.e. a second hand copy )

Doug

Posted by: Oersted Aug 28 2006, 08:17 PM

The film copies are expensive to make, I think it is quite normal that copies travel to other places when they finish a run somewhere. I hope that will mean they will come to europe at some point. Writing emails to your local imax theatre might be a good idea?

Posted by: djellison Aug 28 2006, 08:35 PM

Done to every Imax facility within the UK....and all said "no". However the Science Museum in London do now list it as starting ' in the Autumn ' - but when phoned, would not give a firm date.

http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/imax/coming_soon.asp


Doug

Posted by: mars loon Aug 28 2006, 09:39 PM

Doug,

have I got a deal for you!

I can get you 1 (or 2 with Helen) free tickets to IMAX Roving Mars on Sep 19 at the Franklin Institute Science Museum in Philadelphia, Pa, USA. You only have to buy a plane ticket(s)

There will be 2 free IMAX showings in connection with my Mars Rover presentations for the museum as part of their "Blast-Off for Space: Community Science Night" event. The entire evening event (5 - 8 PM) is free with seating on a first come, first serve basis.

The show times (subject to change) are at 5 PM and 6:40 PM. I will give a short intro to the film in the IMAX theater and a brief overview using the latest images (hopefully including VC) with audience Q&A.

Details will appear at the Museum website soon:
http://www2.fi.edu/visitor-guide/events/community-events.php

and will also be posted soon at this Community Chit Chat thread:
http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.php?showtopic=1972

ken

Posted by: Tom Tamlyn Aug 28 2006, 09:55 PM

And if you do, I can personally guarantee that one or more local forum members will buy you (and Helen) dinner.

TTT

Posted by: djellison Aug 28 2006, 10:07 PM

Hmm - tempting though it is... £880's worth of flights puts it into the catagory 'prohibatively expensive'
Doug

Posted by: RJG Sep 7 2006, 06:52 PM

The (UK) wait is over!

The London Science Museum IMAX will be showing Roving Mars later this month. Only limited showings with a promise of more regular showings in 2007.

see http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/imax/rovingmars.asp

Looking forward to it -though can't make it to the first showing on the 18th September I will be aiming at the showing on the 22nd.

Rob

Posted by: djellison Sep 7 2006, 06:58 PM

I'm going to double check with my secretary ( Helen ) - but I THINK I might be able to make the 22nd....not 100% sure.

Doug

Posted by: djellison Sep 8 2006, 06:22 PM

Nope - can't do ANY of the weekday shots this year.

Perhaps some sort of UMSF london meet-up to see it when it runs properly in '07

Doug

Posted by: RJG Sep 23 2006, 10:36 AM

WOW! Well worth seeing.

OK, the usual cringes at the sound of rocket motors in space etc, but the film really did capture the emotion of it all with breathtaking pictures. The landing sequence was particularly good.
Of course it was far too short and if there is ever an update to include the entire lives of Spirit & Opportunity then things will have to be further compressed to fit within Joe Public's attention span .

This was only the second preview showing at the London Science Museum IMAX so it is currently not receiving any publicity. I hope the fact that there were only four people in the audience (including one guy who clearly had come in to shelter from the rain) won't deter them from giving it a full run.

I'd happily see it again!

Rob

Posted by: lyford Nov 2 2006, 09:02 PM

Well, I got to see it for my birthday, and to tide me over during conjunction. It was pretty impressive, but I must say I was hoping for more MARS - it was really about the rovers. The MERs were the stars, not Mars.

Well worth admission just to see Dan Maas' animations in large format. The final shot I wish they would just loop over and over - a long pan across Meridiani and zooming around Endurance. But I was left wanting more Mars images - not that I don't love seeing more rover assembly footage.

Which brings me to the IMAX problem in my mind - what I think is the format's strength is the size when it comes to peripheral vision - you really feel immersed in the landscape. When the director tries to focus on a particular detail, it just doesn't work, in my opinion. During the rover assembly scenes, there was too much to look at, and the camera wouldn't stay still, so it was hard to even discern what was on the screen at times.

I think I may have had it worse, since the IMAX in the http://rhfleet.org/ is really a repurposed planetarium - the screen is a big dome and you are sitting close to it, projected on the ceiling. You had to lie back and look up to see the center of the screen and turn your head to see any thing on the side of the frame. GREAT - for the landscape panoramas - I can't describe how awesome they were - but really tiring for anything that you needed to focus on.

Oh, and I don't want to sound like an old man complaining about the soup, but I am getting so tired of theatres confusing LOUD sound with GOOD sound -way too much treble and crunch and not enough boom during launch!

Recommended, but I would want to see it on a flat screen next time. Is anyone else's IMAX in "dome" format? I am not sure I will go back to that one because of it...

Posted by: elakdawalla Nov 2 2006, 09:26 PM

Lyford, you're right on with that critique. I was introduced to IMAX at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, which has the Omnimax screen (the dome). It is an unparalleled experience to watch films with landscapes on such a screen -- my favorite was the Great Barrier Reef film, because you were completely surrounded by the water and fish, and I'll bet the Dan Maas animations would look great -- but it's almost impossible to focus on small details. I saw Roving Mars on a relatively small screen here (at the IMAX headquarters), and even on that smaller flat screen I felt like my brain was going to explode when they showed those closeup views of the rovers under construction. I wanted a pause button so I could stop the movie and take the time to look around and notice the details. And the engineers' heads were so big...it's like looking at a billboard from the billboard's catwalk. You just can't take it all in.

--Emily

Posted by: mars loon Nov 4 2006, 06:27 PM

In response to the last 2 comments, I highly recommend a 2nd look. I enjoyed it greatly the first time, but even much more the second time.

First time I saw it on a flat screen at NASM Wash DC. And 2nd time on an Omnimax dome at the Franklin Institute Phila (where I did a short intro to the film also for the crowd). I prefered the dome. First time it is overwhelming to try and see everything exactly because there is so much detail. Second time I could relax, savor and enjoy it more thoroughly since I knew what was coming next and where to focus.

Of course since the film ends about at the 9 month point, we all clamor for more. another 45 min would be ideal, otherwise Roving Mars: Part 2

so, see it and enjoy it in the theater

The DVD will be nice I'm sure, but NO comparison to seeing that hi res Maas magic on a giant screen !




ken

Posted by: dvandorn Nov 5 2006, 02:36 AM

The moment that caught me in a very surprising and stunning sense of recognition was the Spirit final bounce-roll, as the airbag-studded lander bounded across Sleepy Hollow, leaving the airbag marks we all saw a few hours later. I saw that and a voice inside my head screamed "I know that place! That's the real place where Spirit landed!!!"

Knowing what to expect, watching Oppy roll around the inside of Eagle Crater as it settled gave a very similar sense of recognition -- but this time, I savored the moment.



-the other Doug

Posted by: hendric Nov 14 2006, 01:52 AM

Anyone have any word on a DVD release?? It's listed as "postponed/cancelled", without a distiction between which state it is in, or why it might be in that state. Would Steve know?

Posted by: climber Nov 27 2006, 08:30 PM

In France now!
Cité des Science (Géode) in Paris.
This is far away from where I live BUT on November 29th there's a special "Moon Night" in the Cité de l'Espace in Toulouse (and this is very close to me ) with astronauts and "our UMSF" Olivier de Goursac.
I'll be there...

Posted by: Rakhir Nov 27 2006, 08:54 PM

It's a few minutes from my place. I plan to go there on Sunday

Posted by: climber Nov 29 2006, 05:22 PM

Lucky man! So, it was not enough you won the pool?

Posted by: Rakhir Nov 29 2006, 08:24 PM

Sure, not far from La Géode but I don't see any mountains when I wake up each morning

Posted by: Oersted Jan 18 2007, 11:54 AM

Ahh, but Montmartre, Montparnasse, lot's of mountains... :-)

I'm in Brussels, hope it will play in Paris for a while yet, I'll go there in the spring...

EDIT: Oh darn', seems they took it off...

Posted by: Rakhir Jan 18 2007, 12:13 PM

You have till February 4th. It has been extended.
But you still have to advance your visit if you want to see it here.

Posted by: climber Jan 18 2007, 02:27 PM

How did you like it, Rakhir?

Posted by: Rakhir Jan 18 2007, 09:57 PM

My preferred part was the one with the rover assembly sequence. I will have to buy the DVD to see all the details I missed.
The EDL and Endurance sequences were very impressive to see in Imax immersion.
I'm waiting for a part 2 with the arrival at Victoria.

Posted by: Oersted Jan 25 2007, 07:31 AM

Thanks for the write-up. Feb 4. is still a bit too early for me...

Posted by: Nocturne Mar 11 2007, 05:32 PM

I was beginning to fear "Roving Mars" would never make it to a small market like Spokane, but it did! I finally got to see it yesterday and I was really deeply impressed and moved. Obviously there was much left out, but the overall experience was just fantastic. My Dad, who is a professional geologist, went with me and pronounced it the "best thing he had ever seen on film".

Posted by: Pertinax Jul 23 2008, 07:42 PM

Finally in Richmond, VA!

I had given up and stopped checking our local Imax's listings. Last Saturday my wonderful wife noticed it in the paper and off we went that afternoon, all six of our loony troop. Not many surprises from what I remembered having already being posted here. None the less, it was a joy to see the rovers from eyes other than their own (both during assembly and testing and CGI on Mars, which itself was extraordinary). My 4.5 loved the launch and EDL while my 3 year old cowered in fear! The 4.5 year old the next day was telling me about the rocket launch and the robot that landed on the "lava desert". He loved it.


-- Pertinax