Description: Life on Mars. For over a century, artists and scientists, philosophers and politicians have all been enthralled by the prospect of learning about Mars. For many, Mars serves as a reflection of our hopes and concerns and as a means to learn about Earth's ecology. In the face of diminishing natural resources, drastic atmospheric changes, and other signs of environmental instability here on Earth, some scientists believe that the exploration and settlement of Mars may be key to human survival.

Red Planet, an educational DVD-ROM for home, library, or school use, employs the latest multimedia technology to offer indepth, cross-disciplinary analyses of Mars as both an object of scientific study and a cultural artifact. Red Planet constitutes an entire virtual library on Mars. With more than 4.0 gigabytes of material, it features extended video interviews with scientists, cultural critics, and visionaries, and includes animation, hundred of pages of text, voiceover narration, biographies of key figures, bibliographies, and technical glossaries. Throughout, hyperlinks provide access to additional resources and Mars-related web sites on the world wide web. The host server will link to web pages that will be regularly updated with the latest information on the red planet. Exploring the significant roles Mars has played in nineteenth- and twentieth-century astronomy, literature, and speculative thought, Red Planet presents fascinating discussions with science fiction writers such as Kim Stanley Robinson, cultural critics such as N. Katherine Hayles, and a diverse group of major scientific figures including Richard Zare, Carol Stoker, Christopher McKay, and Robert Zubrin. Together they helpstudents investigate the social, philosophical, and economic values and assumptions that underlie different views on the future of our encounters with Mars, the next frontier.

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