Many thanks for that, Dalhousie.
Yes, the up-coming programme has a good pedigree of producers who have done some very good work, except for stuffing up the countdown to liftoff of the Apollo 13 Saturn 5 (ignition at zero and liftoff at plus 9.? seconds) and having Neil Armstrong take his first step by placing his foot on an existing but weak footprint in the dust (* below)! Let's hope they don't have rockets burning all the way to Mars orbit and smoke billowing away from the spacecraft while on the journey.
I can't quite make out exactly what Elon Musk says at 0:42 in the trailer because he speaks so quickly and my hearing has deteriorated a little, but it sounds like,
"Creating a self-sustaining supposition on Mars would be the greatest adventure in human history. It would be so exciting to wake up in the morning and think that that's what's happened."
Who can say with any certainty? The experience might be a thoroughly miserable and depressing one for those who are there once they settle in, due to the cold, the isolation and the inability to have direct Earth-like sunlight on their faces and bodies.
I disagree with Elon on one point. He might be too young to have experienced what I did.
In my opinion one of the greatest ever events in the entire history of our planet was the one I witnessed at 8:17:40 am NZST on Monday 21 July 1969. And I witnessed it the only way any other human being could, except for Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin: live on the radio.
To me it was far more exciting than almost anything in the future could be, because there can only ever be one first landing on any other body in the universe besides Earth.
And it was indeed very exciting to wake up in the morning and learn on the radio that man might make his first ever landing on another body in about 1½ hours.
After the landing I was too excited to work, so used up a half day of paid leave and wandered around the Wellington central business district and listened to snippets of the reports and the EVA on radios and black-and-white TV sets. Having lived trough Sputnik 1 and Kennedy's famous speeches, I didn't care so much about the first step and the EVA – I cared most about what JFK said: landing and then finishing off the mission by returning safely to the Earth.
And to wander home about 5:45 pm away from the high-rise buildings and see that half moon in the north-northwest and think, "There are two men on that, and one going around it" really made the day perfect and brought a lump to my throat and tears of happiness and gratitude to my eyes. And thinking about it still does that.
An unforgettable, exhilarating and wonderful day and an incredible privilege to have experienced it!
*
From the Earth to the Moon:
0:50:23 Bruce McCandless: And we're getting a picture on the TV.
0:51:08 Error: Charlie Duke is shown as Capcom — the Capcom at this time was Bruce McCandless.
0:51:52 First step on the Moon GET 109:24:15 — 20 July 1969 (2:56:15 pm Monday 21 July 1969 NZST)
0:51:52 Error: Neil Armstrong places his foot on an existing boot print.
0:51:59 Neil Armstrong: That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.
0:52:35 Error: Earth is shown too big and too low in the lunar sky.
0:52:42 Buzz Aldrin on the top step
0:52:51 Error: Neil Armstrong is on the right side of the LM and doesn't have the camera. He should be at the left front taking photos of Buzz Aldrin.
0:53:06 Error: There is a large hill in the background which wasn't there in reality.
