Space Odyssey (TV series)
| Space Odyssey: Voyage to the Planets |
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|---|---|
US DVD Cover
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| Created by |
Joe Ahearne Christopher Riley |
| Narrated by | David Suchet |
| Music by | Don Davis |
| No. of episodes | 2 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 100 min. |
| Production company(s) | Impossible Pictures |
| Release | |
| Original network |
BBC One Discovery Channel |
| Picture format | Widescreen |
| Original release | 2004-11-09 – (UK) |
Space Odyssey: Voyage to the Planets (released as Voyage to the Planets and Beyond in the United States) is a fictional documentary about a manned voyage through the solar system. Space Odyssey premiered in 2004 and was made by the BBC. It was written and directed by Joe Ahearne and produced by Christopher Riley, who was presented with the 2005 Sir Arthur Clarke Award for Best TV & Radio Presentation.
The story is set at an unspecified time in the future, though in the accompanying book, the mission's chief science officer recalls reading Arthur C. Clarke's 2010 (published 1982) some 40 years earlier.
Five astronauts pilot the nuclear thermal rocket powered Pegasus spacecraft on a tour of the solar system. Their mission is a collaboration of the NASA, CSA, ESA and RКА space agencies and takes the crew to Venus, Mars, a close flyby of the Sun, Jupiter’s moons Io and Europa, Saturn, Pluto, and the fictional Comet Yano-Moore. Most of the planetary destinations the crew reaches are followed by a manned landing there. Prior to the mission large tanks of hydrogen were deposited in stable orbits around the planets to allow the crew to refuel to have sufficient delta-v for the multi-year mission.
The crew encounter many hardships and disappointments along the way. A Venus EVA that almost ends in disaster when the lander Orpheus encounters launch delays, the near-loss of the shield during the aerobrake in Jupiter's upper atmosphere and the loss of samples from Jupiter's moon Io all test the crew's resolve. The most devastating blow comes when the ship's medical officer dies of solar radiation-induced lymphoma in Saturn orbit, forcing the crew to decide whether to continue the mission to Pluto, or abort and return to Earth. In the original British release, the crew decides to press on to Pluto, making history. The American version, broadcast on The Science Channel, was trimmed for length, the crew deciding to turn back at this stage rather than continue. The programme is narrated by David Suchet.
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