Surviving Extremes is a study of coping with life-threatening situations in an unforgiving environment, and the qualities that will be needed for future space missions – particularly exploration of Mars. It is a product of the ABC Natural History Unit, so it’s appropriate that it focuses on two intrepid Australians, astronaut Andy Thomas and explorer and geologist Douglas Mawson.
The people who are eventually sent to Mars will face immense challenges, including intense isolation in a small group far from home; lengthy, dangerous journeys; living in an environment where unprotected human beings cannot survive for long; and the need to deal with unexpected emergencies with little or no outside help. The documentary looks at two cases where people coped unusually well with similar hardships and difficulties: Mawson’s 1911 Antarctic expedition, and missions to the Mir space station by Australian Andy Thomas and others during the 1990s. It concentrates on the tragic exploratory trek on which Mawson’s two companions died, plus two near-disasters on Mir: the worst fire in space history and a collision with a supply vessel during the delicate docking operation.
Surviving Extremes shows us Mawson’s journey using diary excerpts, some original film and photos, and a reconstruction filmed on location in Antarctica, plus interviews with experts. For Mir, it uses real and simulated images of the space station, interviews with astronauts, and even home-movie style footage from inside the Mir. The documentary intercuts every few minutes between Mawson’s polar expedition and life onboard the Mir, making explicit comparisons between the problems and dangers that each group of people faced, and how they coped. Along the way, the narrator points out characteristics shown by explorers and astronauts, which future explorers will need if they are to survive a mission to Mars.
As well as Surviving Extremes, the DVD includes the 1982 documentary, Douglas Mawson – The Survivor, made by the same team (David Parer and Elizabeth Parer-Cook). It is centered on an impressive reconstruction of Mawson’s journey, which appears to be the source of much of the Antarctic footage in the newer documentary.
Liver luck
Mawson and his companion Xavier Mertz were forced to eat their sled dogs, when Lieutenant B.E.S. Ninnis was lost in a crevasse with most of their provisions. During the near-impossible trek back, Mawson and Mertz became sick, and Mertz died. The cause is thought to be vitamin A poisoning from the dogs’ livers.
