The Pathfinders (2017)
• January 1st, 2017 • 1h 2min
Documentary
Overview
It started with an order to land something on Mars - cheaply. In NASA's new era of "faster, better, cheaper," this mission had to create a radically different way of building a spacecraft. "The Pathfinders" tells the story of a small group of JPL'ers who dismissed warnings that a cut-rate mission to Earth's distant neighbor would cut short their careers. With a Martian parachute that could not be tested in Earth's atmosphere, and the last-minute addition of a remote controlled vehicle that would not look out of place in a toy store, the Pathfinder mission was a doubter's dream. Vet the future prospects of JPL and of a Mars program in its infancy, depended on bouncing successfully onto the rocky Red Planet and releasing a curious six-wheeled wanderer, in hopes of starting a revolution in space exploration.
Make sure to check your pop-up blocker!!
Trailer
Similar Movies
Last Exit: Space
Released on: 2022-03-10
Documentary
Documentary about space colonization: a voyage across our planet, into the stars and beyond.
Moonscape
Released on: 2013-12-29
Documentary
Moonscape is a free and freely downloadable high-definition documentary about the first manned Moon ...
Touching the Asteroid
Released on: 2020-10-22
Documentary
Spacecraft OSIRIS-REx attempts to grab a piece of an asteroid to bring back to Earth so scientists c...
Edge of Darkness
Released on: 2015-11-01
Documentary
The film features amazing scenes of places never before seen gathered by key space missions that cul...
The Last Man on the Moon
Released on: 2016-02-26
Documentary, History
The 1960s was an extraordinary time for the United States. Unburdened by post-war reparations, Ameri...
Lifequest Mars: Search For Life
Released on: 2003-04-08
Documentary
A look into what the first manned mission to Mars will really look like, and the plans that NASA has...
Apollo 13: Survival
Released on: 2024-03-08
Documentary, History
Using original footage and interviews, this documentary tells the nail-biting story of Apollo 13 and...
The Voyagers
Released on: 2010-09-25
Documentary
In the summer of 1977, NASA sent Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 on an epic journey into interstellar space....
Ultimate Mars Challenge
Released on: 2012-11-14
Documentary
With access to the scientists and engineers responsible for the Curiosity rover's on-the-ground expe...
Dark Side of the Moon
Released on: 2002-10-16
Documentary
A French documentary or, one might say more accurately, a mockumentary, by director William Karel wh...
Aliens on the Moon: The Truth Exposed
Released on: 2014-07-20
Documentary
Never-before-aired NASA footage presents evidence that the Moon is being used as a base.
Interstellar: Nolan's Odyssey
Released on: 2014-11-05
Documentary, TV Movie
A look behind the lens of Christopher Nolan's space epic.
Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon
Released on: 2005-09-23
Documentary
Twelve men who belong to one of the world's most exclusive fraternities -- people who've walked on t...
For All Humankind
Released on: 2023-02-05
Documentary
Discover the story of humanity and space exploration as witnessed in the interrelated events of 1968...
Rodez
Released on: 2017-11-01
Documentary
An exploration of Rodez Cathedral and its stained glass windows: praying figures and scientific imag...
For All Mankind
Released on: 1989-11-01
Documentary, History
A testament to NASA's Apollo program of the 1960s and '70s. Composed of actual NASA footage of the m...
Cosmic Voyage
Released on: 1996-08-09
Documentary
The Academy Award® nominee Cosmic Voyage combines live action with state-of-the-art computer-generat...
Mission Saturn
Released on: 2017-09-15
Documentary
NASA's biggest spacecraft, Cassini, plunges into Saturn in the final act of a 20-year mission showca...
Space Station 3D
Released on: 2002-04-17
Documentary
Some 220 miles above Earth lies the International Space Station, a one-of-a-kind outer space laborat...