Previously on Mars.
Getting to Mars will be
the greatest adventure ever, ever in human history.
With the science of innovators who came before us,
we set out on an uncertain journey.
A mission of exploration.
We traveled 30 million miles further than anyone had gone before.
And we successfully landed on Mars.
We're looking at a red planet.
But it was far from welcoming.
In the time we've been here,
the planet's tested us in ways we couldn't have imagined.
It's pushed us to our physical limits.
It's made us closer.
It's made us question our sanity, and it's taken lives.
But it's also given us hope
that we can make this another home for humankind,
without repeating the mistakes we've made on Earth.
There is life on Mars.
To make it more habitable,
we've begun 3-D printing solar mirrors
and launching them from the surface.
Eventually, they will form a reflective screen
over the ice caps to warming the planet and
changing its atmosphere.
With a space station now in orbit,
the Chinese government is a partner in this experiment.
Science has been the sole purpose for human presence here, until now.
Go ahead and run checks on mass flow rates.
Engine test should have been completed yesterday.
Launch is in a month.
We can only make propellant as fast as we can make it.
It's going to be fine, Mike.
If there's one thing Mars teaches you, it's patience.
Looks like they're here.
They shouldn't be.
It's not like anyone could stop them from coming.
I just wish they weren't going to be so close to us.
Commander, incoming debris.
Commander, come in.
Are you okay? Commander.
Jettisoned their heat shield.
Obviously designed to break up on entry.
With all the money this company has,
you'd think they could come up with one that didn't litter.
Or almost kill us.
Look at this mess.
Wow.
I can't believe we're on Mars.
Yeah, it's not to admire the scenery.
We have big plans for this planet.
Last month, we launched a new spacecraft
as part of a reenergized space program
that will send American astronauts to Mars.
Pushing out into the solar system.
Not just to visit, but to stay.
Mars is really the beginning of,
of our becoming truly a uh, space-faring race.
3, 2, 1, and lift-off.
The future of humanity is very much in the solar system.
All systems are go.
And so, the question, as we start to travel to these other worlds,
what kinds of civilizations are we going to build?
We need to protect our planet.
We're going to need more oil for the future.
We can't afford to make the same mistakes we made in the past.
Mars often functions as a great mirror
for concerns that we have on Earth now that are
ecological and political.
The front lines of climate change.
Melting ice sheets that will raise sea levels
and swamp coast lines.
The fire-fight is now a year-round event.
How do we keep the whole show going over the long-term and make it sustainable?
How do we get along together?
Does it become Lord of the Flies?
Who's in charge?
Should anyone be in charge?
We have plenty of evidence
of things going wrong in the history of actual
human conduct on Earth.
Protestors want the Dakota oil pipeline route
moved away from the Standing Rock Reservation.
We as a human species
have the ability to affect and transform our planet.
Some of us might think that we have to be stewards
of the worlds that we live on.
But at the same time, others might see planets
as something that are ours to use.
We can create millions of new American jobs
if we simply develop energy resources on
federal lands, off-shore.
The White House's argument is that the Paris Agreement is a job-killer.
The president announcing the US is quitting the Paris Climate Agreement.
Are we explorers on a path of discovery
or on a path of exploitation?
Of course, we're both of those things.
We have a right and a left hand, we explore, we exploit.
We're human beings.
We carry the entire evolution of our species with us.
There will never be a clean slate on Mars.
Solar mirrors successfully attached.
And we are at 6% completion.
At this rate, we'll have warmth, water,
and breathable air by the time your grandson retires.
The next solar mirror launch will be delayed a few weeks, unfortunately.
That's fine. We have plenty to keep us busy up here.
Keep busy, or look busy?
I don't know how you guys can stand it.
Cameras broadcasting 24/7.
Hey, it helps pay for the mission.
And it's made this one here a superstar back home.
So, no comment on the new neighbors?
Let's just say they made quite an entrance.
It's not like they planned
to do what they did, or that you can control where
jettisoned objects land.
You're way too understanding.
It's not just about how they arrived.
It's the fact that there's been virtually no communication with them.
Not before launch, and not even after landing.
They never even shared their mission information,
other than projected arrival date and location.
Lukrum's a private corporation.
They didn't really have to.
Especially since they came here independent of any space agency.
Elevator ascending.
It's not like the planet's ready for mass colonization.
I don't know.
I think it's smart.