Review: Film illustrates obstacles, triumphs of mission to Mars

"We were running out of money. We were running out of time."

So says one of the scientists in "Roving Mars" as he recalls the difficulties he and his colleagues at NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory faced in readying two Mars "rovers," Spirit and Opportunity, for their journey to Mars.

Scientists had to take advantage of a brief, close alignment of Earth and Mars, or there wouldn't be enough rocket fuel to get the little "robot geologists" to Mars. And money was bound to be a sticky issue in such a large-scale project.

The tension is palpable as the tests for the landing-craft parachute repeatedly fail, with one "chute" shredding after another. We know, from news accounts, that it all turned out well. But scientists at the time had more hopes than expectations. Two-thirds of earlier missions to Mars had failed.

In its 40-minute running time, "Roving Mars," which opens Saturday, uses computer graphics and behind-the-scenes laboratory footage to uncover every obstacle and triumph of the Mars rover mission. Made in 2006, the movie is enjoying its first run in Seattle in conjunction with Pacific Science Center's "Facing Mars" exhibit.

It's handsomely mounted, with a nicely brooding, propulsive score by Philip Glass and an instructive balance of solid facts and imaginative visuals. The scientists' enthusiasm for their "babies" and their sense of awe at what the machines will accomplish are contagious. "You're standing next to this little robot," one says, "and you realize it's going to spend eternity on another world."

Designed to have a 90-day work life, the rovers have been transmitting photographs and data for six years. Science-minded viewers may feel "Roving Mars" fudges the distinction between computer animation and bona fide Mars shots a little too cavalierly. And astronomy enthusiasts at the screening I attended were vocal in their dismay at the loud sounds of the rockets carrying the rovers through space, where there is no sound.

Still, this is a gripping little film about a mission so large, covering distances so vast, that it's difficult to wrap your head around it.

Michael Upchurch: mupchurch@seattletimes.com